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Building permits in Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota can be confusing, and the cost of getting it wrong lands on the homeowner, the contractor, or the buyer at closing. A permit that was never closed becomes a lien on the title. Work done without a permit can trigger stop-work orders, fines, or a requirement to open walls for inspection. When a deal is days from closing and an open permit surfaces in the title search, the pressure is real and the window is short.

Sarasota Permits exists to handle exactly these situations. This business does one thing: permits. No construction crews, no design work, no side services. The entire operation is focused on preparing, submitting, tracking, and closing permits with Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota. That narrow focus means the people doing the work know the local portals and plan reviewers and understand the specific rules that apply in each jurisdiction.

The questions below come from homeowners planning renovations, contractors who need someone to run permits while they stay on the job site, and buyers, sellers, or property owners dealing with open, expired, or unpermitted work. If you have a situation that fits one of those descriptions, the answers here should give you a clear picture of what permit expediting involves and what it can and cannot accomplish.

If your question is not covered here, call 888-825-7696 or email hello@sarasotapermits.com. The goal of this page is to give you enough information to decide whether to pick up the phone, not to replace that conversation.

What does a permit expediter actually do?
A permit expediter prepares and submits permit applications, tracks the application through the review process, responds to correction requests, coordinates inspections, and follows up until the permit is closed. The work is administrative and procedural. Sarasota Permits does not perform construction or design work. The value is in knowing the local process well enough to avoid the delays that come from incomplete submissions or missed steps.
Do I need a permit expediter, or can I handle the permit myself?
Many homeowners and contractors do file their own permits. The reason to use an expediter is time and familiarity with the process. Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota each have their own portals, checklists, and review workflows. If you have filed permits in these jurisdictions before, you may be fine. If this is new territory or you are managing a busy project, having someone who does this daily tends to reduce errors and back-and-forth.
What is an open permit, and why does it matter?
An open permit is one that was applied for and approved but never closed with a final inspection. It stays attached to the property record. When a title company searches the property before a sale or refinance, open permits appear and can delay or kill the closing. The original contractor may be gone, or the work may have changed since the permit was pulled. Resolving it requires going back to the building department to get the file properly closed.
What is an expired permit, and is it the same as an open permit?
Not exactly. A permit expires when no inspection activity occurs within a set time window, usually six months, though the rules vary by jurisdiction. An expired permit is technically inactive, but the underlying work still needs to be accounted for. In many cases the permit has to be renewed or a new one opened before a final inspection can happen. Either way, expired permits show up in property records and need to be resolved before a clear title can be issued.
What happens if work was done without a permit?
Unpermitted work creates risk for the current owner and every future owner. If discovered during a sale, the buyer may require it to be resolved before closing. If a contractor later pulls permits for related work, the unpermitted portion may come to light and require inspection or even removal. In some cases, the building department can require that walls or systems be exposed for an inspector to review. Resolving it usually means applying for an after-the-fact permit, which Sarasota Permits can handle.
What is an after-the-fact permit?
An after-the-fact permit is applied for work that was already completed without going through the normal permit and inspection process. The building department reviews what was done, sometimes requiring inspections, engineering letters, or photos to verify the work meets code. It is not a guaranteed fix, but it is usually the correct first step when unpermitted work needs to be resolved. Sarasota Permits prepares and submits these applications and manages the review process on your behalf.
I am buying a property and the title search found an open permit. What should I do?
Contact Sarasota Permits as soon as you know about it. The first step is pulling the permit history to understand what was permitted and what it will take to close it. Some open permits can be resolved quickly with a single inspection. Others involve expired permits, missing contractors, or work that needs to be re-inspected. The sooner you start, the better the chances of meeting your closing timeline.
Can a permit be closed if the original contractor is no longer available?
Often, yes. The path forward depends on the jurisdiction and the type of work, as well as how far along the original permit got. In some cases a new contractor can take over the permit. In others, an owner-builder permit or an after-the-fact permit is the right approach. Sarasota Permits can research the existing permit and lay out your options before you commit to a course of action.
What is owner-builder permit assistance?
Florida allows property owners to act as their own general contractor and pull permits for work on their primary residence, subject to specific rules. The application process has its own requirements and affidavits. Sarasota Permits helps owner-builders prepare the correct paperwork and submit the application, then manages the permit through to a closed final inspection. This is not a workaround for unpermitted work; it is the standard path for homeowners who want to oversee their own projects directly.
What is a permit history report, and when would I need one?
A permit history report pulls the full record of permits associated with a property, showing what was applied for, approved, inspected, and closed over time. Buyers use them during due diligence to understand what work has been done and whether it was properly permitted. Owners use them before starting a renovation to understand existing conditions. Real estate attorneys and title companies request them when resolving permit issues before a closing.
How does inspection scheduling work, and what is permit closeout?
Once a permit is approved and work is complete, a final inspection must be scheduled and passed before the permit can be closed. Sarasota Permits coordinates that inspection with the building department on your behalf and follows up on the result. If the inspector notes corrections, the process continues until those are resolved. Permit closeout is the last step: confirming the file is marked closed in the building department's system.
Does Sarasota Permits work with contractors or only homeowners?
Both. Contractors use the service to keep their administrative workload manageable when multiple projects are running at once. Rather than having an office employee learn a new permit portal or spend hours on hold with the building department, they hand the permit work to Sarasota Permits and stay focused on the job site. Homeowners, buyers, sellers, and real estate professionals also use the service for the same reason: permits are the whole focus here, not a side task.

A building permit is not just a formality. It is the paper trail that proves work on your property was reviewed, inspected, and signed off by the authority having jurisdiction. When that trail is incomplete, it shows up at the worst possible moment: during a title search before a sale, during a refinance appraisal, or when a new contractor pulls the permit history before agreeing to work on your home.

The two jurisdictions that cover this area, Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota, run separate portals and separate review processes, and their timelines for the same type of work do not match. A permit for a roof replacement or an electrical panel upgrade does not move through the same steps in both places. Someone who files permits here regularly knows where applications stall, which correction letters are routine, and when to follow up versus when to wait.

Sarasota Permits handles all of that. Homeowners use the service to avoid spending hours on hold with the building department while managing a renovation. Contractors use it so their office staff is not learning a permit portal while a crew sits idle. Buyers and sellers use it when an open or expired permit appears in the title search and the closing timeline cannot absorb weeks of back-and-forth with the county or city.

None of those problems require construction work from a permit service. They require someone who knows the system and follows through until the permit status shows closed. That is what this business does every working day across Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota.

If you have a permit question, an open file that needs to be resolved, or a project coming up that needs a permit from the start, reach out. The contact information is on every page of this site.

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