How to find your roof and window permits in Palm Beach County
Checked
Not insurance advice. General information only. Your insurer or agent decides what it needs.
Short answer: permits are kept by whoever issued them. For unincorporated Palm Beach County that is the county's Planning, Zoning & Building Department (PZB), searchable on its ePZB portal. Inside one of the county's 39 cities, towns and villages, it is that municipality's building department. Window and shutter approval numbers can be checked for free on the Florida Building Commission's site.
Why permits matter for your inspection
- Roof covering (wind mitigation question 4): for each roof covering, the OIR-B1-1802 form asks for the permit application date or the FBC or Miami-Dade product approval number, and the year installed. This is how a newer roof gets credit for meeting the code.
- Building code (question 1): for homes built in 2002 or 2003, the inspector needs a permit application dated after 3/1/2002 to choose FBC 2001/2004; for 2007 or 2008, one dated after 12/8/2006 to choose FBC 2007. Citizens' guide says building code discounts are not applied when "unknown" is selected.
- Opening protection (question 9): the form's top answers require the protection on every opening to be verified, so product approval labels and permits for impact windows, doors and shutters matter.
- Roof age: Florida Statutes s. 627.7011(5)(d) counts roof age from the last date on which 100% of the roof's surface was built or replaced. Your roofing permit is one record that can show that date. See Florida's roof age rules.
Step 1: Find out who issued your permits
If your address is inside a city, town or village, that municipality issued your permits. If it is in unincorporated Palm Beach County (your mailing city is not always your municipality), the county did. PZB's own help page points to the Property Appraiser's Office (PAPA) to check whether a property is in an incorporated or unincorporated area; search your address at pbcpao.gov.
Step 2: Unincorporated county, use ePZB
- Open the county's ePZB Permits & Inspections search. PZB's Building FAQ says you can search online by address to see whether a property has open or inactive permits, or call the Records Department at 561-233-5160.
- With a permit number, the ePZB Building Portal FAQ says to enter it, click "View Inspections" and open the "Inspection History" tab to see each inspection and its result.
- PZB also sells a certified open-permit search for unincorporated properties: $63, or $94 for rush, with results in 7 to 10 business days (3 for rush). It covers only open permits, and PZB says its searches do not include properties in municipalities (except areas annexed from the county). PZB also says the public can run an open-permit search on ePZB by registering for an account.
- PZB's Building FAQ says an inactive permit from after about 1992 with no newer permit for the same work generally must be reactivated, and one from before 1992 needs a general inspection. The Building Division help desk is 561-233-5108.
Step 3: Inside a city, use its building department
PAPA keeps a list of the permit departments for all 39 municipalities. Permit pages for the cities on our site (from PAPA's list; we updated three links where the city's page had moved):
Some cities offer an online permit search; others handle lookups by phone, email or public records request. Check the city's page. City names link to our inspector listings for that city.
Step 4: Check window and shutter approval numbers
Impact windows, doors and shutters sold in Florida carry a state product approval number (an "FL number") or a Miami-Dade approval. You can look up an FL number for free on the Florida Building Commission's product approval search; the site says to enter the FL number and the code version (it notes the code version is the 2023 Florida Building Code, effective December 31, 2023; older products may be listed under earlier code versions). Florida Statutes s. 553.842 says a product may not be marketed as hurricane, windstorm or impact protection unless it is approved under that section or s. 553.8425. Keep any labels on the glass or frames until your inspector has photographed them.
If you can't find a permit
- Ask the permitting office. PZB takes public records requests, and each city has its own process.
- Gather what you have: the roofer's or window installer's invoice, permit card, product labels and closing documents.
- Tell your inspector before the visit. The form has answers for "no information provided for compliance" and "unknown," but those can earn less credit than a documented feature; Citizens' guide says building code discounts are not applied when "unknown" is selected for question 1.
FAQ
How do I find my roof permit in Palm Beach County?
If your home is in unincorporated Palm Beach County, search the county's ePZB Permits & Inspections portal. If it is inside a city, town or village, contact that municipality's building department; the Property Appraiser lists all 39.
Why does my wind mitigation inspector need my permit?
The OIR-B1-1802 form asks for the roof covering's permit application date or product approval number, and for some homes a permit date to prove which building code applied. Documented features can earn more credit than unknown ones.
How do I check if my impact windows are approved?
Look up the FL product approval number on the Florida Building Commission's free product approval search at floridabuilding.org, or check the Miami-Dade approval if that is what the label shows.
Sources
- Palm Beach County PZB, I Want To (permit search, public records, incorporated/unincorporated check): discover.pbc.gov (checked Oct 21, 2026)
- Palm Beach County PZB, Building FAQ: discover.pbc.gov (checked Oct 21, 2026)
- Palm Beach County ePZB Building Portal FAQs (updated 09-23-2026): pbcgov.org (PDF) (checked Oct 21, 2026)
- Palm Beach County PZB, Fine/Lien, Open Permit and Code Enforcement Open Violation Searches: discover.pbc.gov (checked Oct 21, 2026)
- Palm Beach County Property Appraiser, Municipal Permit Departments: pbcpao.gov (checked Oct 21, 2026)
- Florida Building Commission, Product Approval search: floridabuilding.org (checked Oct 21, 2026)
- Florida Statutes s. 553.842 (2026), product evaluation and approval: flsenate.gov (checked Oct 21, 2026)
- Florida OIR, Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 04/26): floir.gov (PDF) (checked Oct 21, 2026)
- Citizens Wind Loss Mitigation Guide (Rev. 04/26): PDF (checked Oct 21, 2026)
- Florida Statutes s. 627.7011 (2026), homeowners' policies; offer of replacement cost coverage and law and ordinance coverage, subsection (5) roof age: leg.state.fl.us (checked Oct 21, 2026)