Pinellas County, FL HVAC permit requirements

Mechanical permits are issued by Pinellas County Building and Development Review Services (BDRS). The county describes its reach this way: ‘Building and Development Review Services provides building permits, building inspections and code reference for unincorporated Pinellas County and six partner communities.’

The county’s FAQ names them: ‘Belleair Beach, Belleair Shore, Indian Rocks Beach, Kenneth City, Oldsmar and Safety Harbor’. The office is at 440 Court Street, Clearwater, (727) 464-3888.

County BDRS is not the answer for every Pinellas address. The county’s own directory says: ‘If you are located in a city, contact the appropriate building department.’ By our count that directory lists 24 municipalities, including Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Largo and Pinellas Park, each with its own building office.

Source conflict, flagged. The county FAQ intro still lists Belleair Bluffs as served, but the directory says: ‘The City of Belleair Bluffs transitioned all permitting and inspection services from Pinellas County Building, Development, and Review Services to SAFEbuilt on August 15, 2025.’ We treat the directory as the newer statement.

‘Pinellas County requires a permit for any new building, addition, remodeling, or demolition, or work in excess of $500.00 or which would require an inspection.’ The county’s FAQ also quotes Florida Building Code Chapter 1: a permit is required to ‘erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system, the installation of which is regulated by the technical codes’.

The Express page says what the category is for: ‘Like-for-like replacement of certain building systems or components.’ Its Mechanical record types include ‘A/C Equal Change Out (No Gas, Oil, or Electric)’, ‘A/C Equal Change Out with Duct (No Electric)’, ‘A/C Equal Change Out with Electric’, ‘Duct Replacement Existing’, ‘Furnace Change Out (No Electric, Gas, Or Compressor)’ and ‘Furnace With A/C Equal Change Out’.

Who can apply: ‘Online express permit applications are only available to Licensed Contractors, but homeowners can apply in-person.’ A system that is not an equal change-out falls under the Residential list, whose mechanical types are ‘New A/C System’, ‘New Minisplit with Electric’ and ‘Other Mechanical Standalone’.

Varies — listed as a possible submittal, not stated as a flat rule. No county page we read writes “Manual J” or “Manual S”. The intake checklist lists, under items that may accompany an application: ‘Signed energy forms & HVAC sizing calculations’, and adds ‘Requirements vary based on the type of permit.’

The county does not say which mechanical record types need the sizing calculation. Not verified: whether an Express A/C equal change-out needs one uploaded. A 2022 guide PDF carries the same wording.

The residential plan review list of general requirements includes ‘One set of Energy Code Forms’. The page does not name a form number, so we are not naming one, and it does not say the item applies to Express changeouts.

The county posts a duct leakage form, described as ‘required by the energy conservation section of the 2017 Florida Building Code’, so read it as an older document. For new houses it also requires blower door testing before a Certificate of Occupancy (paraphrase of the forms page).

Not verified. No county page we retrieved names Manual D or asks for a duct design drawing. The duct items we did find are the Express record types for duct replacement and the duct leakage test form above.

The county’s codes page gives the state edition: ‘Current: 2023 Florida Building Code, Building, Eighth Edition’. The Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board (PCCLB) lists local technical amendments for that edition, and one is mechanical. It is headed ‘FLORIDA BUILDING CODE 8th EDITION (2023) - RESIDENTIAL’ and amends M1411.3: ‘All primary condensate drain lines installed within unconditioned areas shall be insulated with insulation having a thermal resistivity of not less than R-3.’

Source conflict, flagged and not resolved. The county’s residential plan review page still cites ‘Florida Building Code, Residential 6th Edition (2017) R322.2.1’, and the duct leakage form is headed 2017 Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation, 6th Edition. Those are older than the 2023 edition on the codes page. Energy code edition: not verified from a county source. Climate zone: not verified.

Submission is online: ‘All Express permits are submitted through the Pinellas County Access Portal’. Contractors need a license on file: ‘Only licensed contractors can add a license to their Pinellas County Access Portal and contractor must be identified as the Account Owner.’

Notice of Commencement. The current checklist lists a recorded NOC ‘For any project value over $5,000 for building trade and $15,000 for mechanical equal changeouts.’ The 2022 guide PDF said ‘For any project value over $2500’, so the threshold has changed.

Inspections. ‘All inspection requests are made through our automated telephone system.’ The number is (727) 453-4000. For virtual inspections, the county’s Wire Size/Heat Shield Affidavit page says: ‘This form is required for all mechanical virtual inspections.’

The county’s residential and Express pages carry this notice: ‘Effective July 1, 2026, the building fee schedule will be updated specific to inspection fees and private provider fees for compliance with House Bill 803 and Florida Statute 553.79.’ We found no dated change to the HVAC sizing or energy-form wording.