Electrical Permits in Palm Beach County: A Builder's Guide

Builder's guide: Palm Beach County

From the ePZB sub-permit to the final

County or city: who has the address

Palm Beach County's Planning, Zoning and Building Department (PZB) issues permits for unincorporated Palm Beach County. Cities with their own building departments, such as Boca Raton, issue permits inside their limits with their own portals and rules. Confirm which department has the address before anything is submitted, and treat that department's current checklist as the final word.

The county's permit center is the starting point for unincorporated work (Palm Beach County PZB permit center). Its online system is ePZB, and the county's search services include an open permit search by address or by PCN, the parcel control number on the tax record (Palm Beach County search services). Run that search before a remodel: an open permit from a previous owner is easier to deal with before your permit is in review than after.

Sub-permits in ePZB

In ePZB, trade work goes in as a sub-permit under the main permit. The county's portal FAQ walks through it (ePZB building portal FAQ):

1. Choose New Sub Permit Request and select the certification (license) you are applying under.
2. Enter the main permit number and search. The portal shows the permit description, contractor, owner, address and status, plus any sub-permits already issued or applied for.
3. Choose Add Fee Sub, pick the sub-permit description offered for your license trade, and add it to the scope. No-fee sub-permit scopes are selected separately; the system asks you to pick one type or the other.
4. Finish the application the same way as a new permit request.

For a GC, the order is the same as anywhere in South Florida: the master permit number has to exist before the electrical contractor can attach a sub-permit to it. Our guide to master permits and electrical sub-permits covers who holds what and why the qualifier on each permit matters.

Palm Beach County's electrical inspection codes

Unincorporated Palm Beach County takes inspection requests online or through its IVR at (561) 355-2222, which uses a 7-digit contractor PIN. These are the county's electrical inspection codes (Palm Beach County inspection codes):

The county's code sheet also says service changes are inspected between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. and are booked the day before through a scheduler (Palm Beach County inspection codes). Plan the window around the occupants on a service change to an occupied house, since the inspection timing affects when the service can be reconnected. On inspection day, the portal shows the inspector's itinerary and location once you enter the permit number and choose View Inspections (ePZB building portal FAQ).

TOP, TUG and construction power

FPL's service standards describe TOP and TUG options in which the permanent meter socket is used for construction power after the temporary inspection (FPL Electric Service Standards, 2023 edition; check the current edition). On a job using one of those options, the permanent service equipment is carrying construction power while the building is still being wired, which is worth raising with PZB when you ask which inspections, including 220 Rough with TUG, your permit needs.

The same standards say FPL cannot energize a new service until the local electrical inspection is done and FPL has formal notice from the inspecting office, and that the meter's flood elevation is set by the inspecting office rather than FPL. New service requests start in FPL's Project Portal (FPL, how new construction works). Our guides to the temporary power pole and the FPL new construction service process go step by step.

Not every Palm Beach address is FPL territory. The City of Lake Worth Beach runs its own electric utility (Lake Worth Beach Utilities), so a job there coordinates service with the city utility instead.

Renewals and inactive permits

Palm Beach County renews inactive permits through the My Permits (Revision/Renewal) area of ePZB. According to the portal FAQ, a renewal is approved immediately, and the permit becomes active once the fees are paid, when all of these are true (ePZB building portal FAQ):

• The permit has fewer than 3 renewals.
• It has been inactive for less than 6 months.
• No change of contractor has been requested.
• The impact fee has not increased since the last submittal or renewal.

If any of those fail (3 or more renewals, inactive more than 6 months, a change of contractor, or an impact fee increase), the renewal goes to sufficiency review instead. A change of contractor on an active permit is its own request, and only registered contractors can file it online. For older records the county uses an Inactive Permit Research form (ePZB building portal FAQ). The county's own time limit for inactivity is not something we could confirm from a primary source, so ask PZB before assuming a date.

State law sets a floor for single-family work: since July 1, 2026 a single-family permit is valid for 1 year after issuance, or until the next Florida Building Code edition takes effect, whichever is later (section 553.79, Florida Statutes). See Florida permit expiration rules for 2026.

Boca Raton: Boca eHub and the 180-day rule

Boca Raton runs its own building department on Boca eHub, a Tyler EnerGov portal (Boca eHub). You can search records by address without an account (Boca eHub search).

• Inspections from the sub-trade record. Electrical inspections are booked from the electrical sub-trade record under the master permit, not from the master itself (Boca Raton, how to schedule inspections).
• Three ways to book. Online, by text at 833-821-0601, or by IVR at 561-393-7914 (Boca Raton inspections).
• 180 days. A permit expires if no inspection is approved within 180 days. It can be renewed once, or extended before it expires, under City Code sections 19-82 to 19-87 (Boca Raton, how to renew expired permits).

On a long job, the 180-day rule means the electrical sub-trade needs an approved inspection on the calendar, not just the building trades. Other Palm Beach cities publish their own rules; check the one for your address.

Not in the HVHZ, but flood rules still apply

Palm Beach County is not in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, which the Florida Building Code limits to Broward and Miami-Dade (HVHZ definition, FBC-Residential R202). The HVHZ-only sections, such as the rooftop equipment rules in FBC 1522, do not apply here; the rest of the Florida Building Code does. Builders moving between counties should not carry HVHZ assumptions north, or Palm Beach assumptions south.

Flood rules are statewide. The county's flood requirements summarize FBC-Residential R322.1.6: electrical systems and equipment go at or above the required flood elevation, including exterior equipment replaced after flood damage or as part of a substantial improvement, with exceptions for equipment designed to ASCE 24, pool and spa equipment that is anchored and on GFCI circuits, and wiring below that meets wet-location rules (Palm Beach County flood requirements). Since 2023, standby generators follow the same rule (Florida Division of Emergency Management, 8th Edition flood provisions). More in flood zone electrical requirements.

Before the first inspection

Two statewide items are worth settling before the first inspection. The first is the Notice of Commencement: the owner records it and posts it at the site before the first inspection (section 713.13, Florida Statutes), and the permit office needs a copy when the contract is above the statutory threshold (section 713.135, Florida Statutes). See our Notice of Commencement guide.

The second is the code edition. Palm Beach, like the rest of Florida, is on the 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code, which adopts NEC 2020 (FBC-Building Chapter 27). The 9th Edition is proposed to take effect Dec 31, 2026 and is not final (Florida Administrative Register notice). Drawings and inspections follow the edition that applies to your permit; ask the department if your application straddles the date.

How KRW Electric fits on a Palm Beach job

KRW Electric Company LLC holds Florida certified electrical contractor license EC13012832, a statewide license (DBPR license verification), and serves Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade from Miami Beach. On our jobs we handle the electrical permit and the inspections: the ePZB sub-permit under your master, the IVR or online bookings, and any corrections. Builders bring us in for new construction electrical, rough-in wiring, finish electrical, panel and service upgrades and generators.

Compare the three counties in the side-by-side permit comparison, or read the Miami-Dade and Broward guides. The South Florida electrical permits guide collects the series, and our Palm Beach County page lists the areas we serve.

Starting a Palm Beach job? Send us the address and scope or call (305) 359-7312.