Building recertification (40-year) in Palm Beach County

Recertification in Palm Beach County

• The county sends certified letters to associations in the year the inspection is due, and the inspection must be completed within 180 days of receiving the letter unless a fixed legacy deadline applies.
• Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase One Amended reports all use Form EB18-2024 and are uploaded through the county's Milestone Inspection Form Submission portal with the building's Reference ID, one building and one report type at a time, and only by the architect or engineer who prepared the report.
• Buildings that reached 25 or 30 years before 1 July 2022 were due by 31 December 2024, and those reaching that age between 1 July 2022 and 31 December 2024 were due by 31 December 2025. Later buildings are due by 31 December of the year they reach the trigger age.
• The county lists daily fines of up to $500 or more per day, referral to Code Compliance and a special magistrate, unsafe building cases before the Construction Board of Adjustment and Appeals, and a report to the state Division of Condominiums.
• The county's milestone page describes a structural inspection and lists no electrical report, thermography, or parking lot guardrail or lighting certificate.
• A 60-day Phase 1 extension needs a written request from the architect or engineer, good cause from the owner, no evidence of unsafe conditions and a sealed statement that the building may stay occupied; a Phase 2 extension needs the request and the sealed statement.
• The county page covers unincorporated Palm Beach County only. Cities with their own building departments, such as Boca Raton, apply their own rules.

How we handle building recertification in Palm Beach County

Palm Beach County does not run a 40-year recertification of the Miami-Dade or Broward kind on its milestone page; the county applies the state milestone inspection to condo and co-op buildings three stories or more. Boards that hear the word recertification are usually being asked for that milestone inspection, or are in a city such as Boca Raton with its own program.[1][2]

Permits for building recertification (40-year) in Palm Beach County

• Palm Beach County Building Division: Milestone inspection notices and filings for unincorporated Palm Beach County

How is recertification different from a milestone inspection?

The milestone inspection is a state requirement in s. 553.899 for condo and co-op buildings. County recertification is local law that covers most building types, includes an electrical recertification, and has its own schedule, fees and penalties. A condo building in Miami-Dade or Broward may need to satisfy both, so ask the professional how one inspection can serve both programs.[3][5][6]

Miami-Dade recertification schedule

• Buildings built before 1983 keep their established recertification schedule.
• Coastal condo and co-op buildings 3 stories or more within 3 miles, built 1983 to 1997, and other buildings built 1983 to 1992, were due by 31 December 2024.
• Coastal condo and co-op buildings built 1998 or later recertify at 25 years.
• Other buildings built 1993 or later recertify at 30 years.
• Every 10 years after that.
• Courtesy notices are sent two years and one year ahead; reports are due within 90 days of the notice.

Broward Building Safety Inspection Program (Fort Lauderdale)

• First inspection at 25 years, then every 10 years
• Notices sent by certified mail from 1 June to 31 August each year
• Safety report due within 180 days of the notice
• Repairs within 180 days of the report unless the Building Official sets otherwise
• Review fee $375

Frequently asked questions