AC Replacement Permits in Broward County

The short answer

In Broward County, replacing a central air conditioner or heat pump needs a mechanical permit from your city's building department, and the job isn't finished until the city inspects it. The permit is filed by the licensed contractor doing the work. It covers what's being installed, how the outdoor unit is anchored for hurricane winds, and the paperwork that shows the new equipment meets Florida's efficiency rules.

Why a changeout needs a permit

Florida law makes it unlawful to alter or repair a building's systems without the permit the law requires, and Broward's amendments to the Florida Building Code require a permit to "install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert, or replace" a mechanical system.

The exemptions are narrow. Replacing a part that doesn't change the equipment's approval or make it unsafe, such as a thermostat, doesn't need a permit, and neither does a portable unit that isn't connected to the house's air distribution. A full changeout of the indoor and outdoor equipment isn't on the exempt list.

Florida's permit exemption for small projects on single-family homes doesn't help here either: it specifically excludes mechanical work. In practice, your contractor pulls the permit.

What goes into the application

Broward's amendments list what a mechanical permit submittal has to include, and each city adds its own checklist. For a typical residential AC replacement you can expect:

• The Broward County uniform data form for residential and light-commercial AC replacements, which records the old and new equipment.
• A matched-system certificate (AHRI). Florida's energy code requires a replacement to be a certified indoor-and-outdoor match that meets the minimum efficiency.
• Load information. Broward's submittal list starts with heating and cooling load calculations as required by the energy code (see AC sizing and Manual J).
• A tie-down detail for the outdoor unit: a Florida product approval, a Miami-Dade notice of acceptance detail, or signed and sealed engineering.
• Site details where the city asks for them. Some checklists want a survey or setback information for ground units, plus an association approval letter where one is required.

Rooftop equipment adds attachment details that meet High-Velocity Hurricane Zone requirements and a roof-top mounted equipment affidavit.

The hurricane tie-down

The Florida Building Code defines the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone as Broward and Miami-Dade counties. For a typical house in Broward, the design wind speed is 170 mph. The mechanical code requires outdoor equipment to be "designed and installed to resist the wind pressures" the building code sets. Equipment fastened to rated stands, platforms, curbs or slabs in compliance with the code is deemed to comply.

That's why a new condenser in Broward isn't just set on a pad. It's fastened to an approved detail, and at the final inspection the anchoring has to match the product approval or engineering on file.

Other things the inspector looks at

The inspection checks the installation against the permit and the code. Two items that matter to homeowners:

• Condensate overflow protection. Where an overflow from the drain could damage the building, as with an air handler in an attic or above a finished ceiling, the code requires a backup. That can be an auxiliary drain pan, an overflow drain, or a water-level switch that shuts the system off. See AC not draining.
• The equipment matches the paperwork. The units installed are the ones on the permit, as a matched system.

Emergencies, and how long it takes

When a system fails in the middle of summer, waiting days for a permit isn't realistic. Broward's rules allow for that: where equipment replacements and repairs must be performed in an emergency, the permit application is submitted within the next working business day.

For planned replacements, timing has improved. Since July 2026, Florida law requires local governments to approve, approve with conditions or deny a complete mechanical permit application for an existing single-family home within five business days, for smaller jobs under the value limit in the statute, when the applicant uses the local government's plans reviewer. Some cities have faster tracks of their own: Hollywood accepts residential AC replacements through its express permitting service, and Weston handles AC change-outs as quick permits.

Who issues the permit where you live

Each Broward city on this site runs its own building department, so the office, the online portal and the checklist depend on your address. A few examples:

• Fort Lauderdale handles permits through its Building Services and the LauderBuild portal.
• Pompano Beach publishes a detailed AC change-out checklist, including the tie-down and the uniform data form.
• Wilton Manors' checklist asks for setback and landscaping details for ground units and an association approval letter where required.
• Pembroke Pines and Weston contract their building departments to private firms, but the permit is still the city's.

Each city's page on this site names its building department and links to it, and the list below shows all of them in one place. See all service areas.

Why it matters to you

A permit isn't just paperwork for the contractor. It means someone other than the installer looks at the anchoring, the drain protection and the equipment before the job is closed out. Keep the permit number, the final inspection result, the equipment model and serial numbers, and the startup readings together. A warranty claim, an insurance question or the next technician will ask for them.