PUBLIC INFORMATION:

Permit Expiration Extended, City Inspections to be Conducted Virtually

City of Pensacola Inspection Services will be implementing operational changes to minimize the risk to employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, including temporarily suspending in-person inspections of occupied dwellings or buildings. Inspection Services will continue to provide inspections of unoccupied buildings, video inspections of occupied buildings, plan review and permit issuance.

All walk-in permitting at City Hall was suspended effective March 18 until further notice. Permitting services are available online only at mygovernmentonline.org.

The new changes will take effect as follows:
 
Permit Expiration Extension - Effective Monday, March 9
Permits that were set to expire on or after March 9, 2020 will be extended for the duration of the State of Emergency plus an additional six months. No request for extension needs to be made for projects in this case. This is pursuant to the Governor’s Executive Order 20-52 and 252.363, Florida Statutes.
 
Remote Video Inspection - Effective Monday, March 30
Inspectors will no longer be conducting inspections in occupied dwellings or buildings. Inspection Services is implementing a Remote Video Inspection, or RVI, process that uses Skype or FaceTime platforms. It is the responsibility of the permit holder to schedule the inspection and conduct the video walk through. The policy will be posted on the Inspection Services web page when it is finalized. Please review the policy and be familiar with it prior to scheduling. This policy will stay in effect until the State of Emergency is lifted, and city officials deem it safe for inspections personnel to conduct business. The RVI program will stay in effect as an option after this policy is terminated. Inspections on unoccupied buildings will continue, but the building should be clear of workers. It would be advisable to complete all trades prior to calling in framing and final inspections.
 
Paper Plans and Documents - Effective Wednesday, April 1
Inspection Services will no longer accept paper plans and documents pertaining to plan review. These must be in a PDF format and must be uploaded into the permit application during the upload portion of application submittal using the mygovernmentonline.org program. This is a permanent change and will stay in effect after the declaration of emergency is lifted.

For more information, please contact Inspection Services at 850-436-5600 or inspections@cityofpensacola.com.

For more information or general questions, email pio@cityofpensacola.com. To stay informed about what's happening with City of Pensacola government, sign up for email or text notifications through Notify Me or follow @CityofPensacola on social media.