Garage door permit guide for Plantation and Davie, FL

Which building department handles your address?

The city on your property record decides, not your ZIP code. ZIP codes follow mail routes, and 33324, 33325, 33317 and 33322 each cross city lines.

To be sure, search your address on the Broward County Property Appraiser's website. The city named on your record is the one whose building department issues the permit, and Davie asks for a printout of that record. If it shows an unincorporated area, we find out which office handles it before we file anything.

The ZIP checker on this page gives a quick first answer. The property record has the last word.

Plantation and Davie, side by side

Why Broward asks for a permit on a new door

All of Broward County lies in the Florida Building Code's high-velocity hurricane zone (HVHZ). For a typical home, the design wind speed is 170 mph, and every garage door must pass the large-missile impact test by itself or sit behind an approved protection device. That applies whether the door has windows or not.

The permit is how the city checks all of that. The application names the exact door by its approval. Both cities accept Florida's own Product Approval or a Notice of Acceptance (NOA) from Miami-Dade, as long as it hasn't expired. NOAs do expire, so a model approved years ago may not be covered today. After the install, an inspector looks at the door on your house. What sets a Broward door apart is on our page about impact garage doors.

Plantation, step by step

In Plantation, the city's Building Safety department at 401 NW 70th Terrace issues the permit. Its checklist for windows and doors on single-family homes (Window/Door SFR, revised February 18, 2026) says outright that it includes garage doors.

What gets filed

• A Broward County Uniform Permit Application from a licensed contractor.
• A sketch with the door's location and size.
• The city's form for Retrofit of Windows, Doors, Garage Doors, Shutters and Skylights.
• The Broward County Retrofit Window and Door Schedule.
• The door's current approval (Florida's Product Approval, or an NOA issued by Miami-Dade), with the parts used marked on it.
• The checklist itself, signed.

How it's filed, and how fast

Applications go through Accela Citizen Access (ACA), the city's online portal. On Wednesdays from 6 to 9 a.m., Plantation also runs Same Day Permit Services for stand-alone permits on existing single-family homes, filed by contractors registered with the city. Otherwise, the city's FAQ says minor permits can be issued the day you apply, and larger ones take one week to 10 business days.

Fees, as of November 2026

The city code lists garage doors among miscellaneous permits: 1.75% of the subcontract value, with a $95 minimum, plus a processing charge by page and 2.65% for card payments.

Notice of Commencement, deadlines and inspection

When the job is over $5,000, a Notice of Commencement must be recorded and turned in to the city before the first inspection. The city's FAQ says a permit expires 180 days after it's issued, or 90 days after the last inspection. The job ends when an inspector checks the installed door; we book that visit.

One Plantation rule is about big remodels, not a door alone: work of $50,000 or more, on a home valued at $750,000 or more that was permitted before September 1, 1994, triggers opening protection on the whole house.

Davie, step by step

For homes inside Davie, FL, the Town of Davie Building Division issues the permit. It sits at 8800 SW 36th Street, Building A, and is open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (954-797-1111).

Online only since January 12, 2026

Every permit now begins in the Town's Online Application Submittal (OAS). Next, an email from ProjectDox invites the applicant to upload the plans and documents. Davie no longer accepts paper permits.

Walk-through Wednesdays

Every Wednesday from 8 to 10:30 a.m., Davie takes walk-through permits online and at the counter, and its list includes garage doors. Approved requests get payment instructions by email; the rest move to the regular review in ProjectDox. The Town doesn't promise the permit that same morning.

What gets filed

• The Building Permit Application.
• The Town's addendum, signed by both the contractor and the owner, and notarized.
• A Notice of Commencement when the job is over $5,000, with the contract attached.
• An owner-builder disclosure or a workers' comp exemption, if either one applies.
• Your record from the Broward County Property Appraiser.
• A plan with each opening numbered, its size, and the mean roof height.
• The door's NOA and the Window/Door Installation Form.
• The Broward County Wind Load Chart.

Fees, as of November 2026

Under the fee schedule in force since October 1, 2026, a job valued up to $7,500 pays $70. Above that, the fee is 1.6% of the job value. Training and technology charges are added for each thousand dollars of value, plus state and county surcharges, and card payments add 2.95%. Work started without a permit pays double.

For regular reviews, the Town's FAQ says they're done within 30 working days. Contractors must register with the Town first, with a state license or a county certificate of competency, insurance, workers' comp and a business tax receipt.

Repairs: springs, panels and openers

A spring, panel or opener repair with matching parts keeps your door as it was approved. For these repairs, we confirm the rules with your city before we start; if a permit applies, we file it under our license.

If you'd like to ask the city yourself, Plantation's Building Safety FAQ lists 954-797-2782 for questions about which work needs a permit, and Davie's Building Division is at 954-797-1111.

One line to watch in Broward: swapping a part for a different one (thinner track, fewer struts, other hinges) can take the door outside what its approval covers and weaken it. That's why we repair with the parts the approval lists. More on our spring repair page.

Can I skip the permit under the new state law?

No. A 2026 state law opened a permit exemption for some smaller home jobs, and Plantation still lists doors among the jobs that need a permit. Davie still lists garage doors among its walk-through permits. Plan on a permit in both cities when you replace the door; we file it under our license.

HOAs and gated communities: who goes first?

In HOA communities, the association approves the style and color first; then we file the permit. Under state law, the board reviews your plans without waiting for a city permit.

The same law helps with storm upgrades. Each board has to adopt specifications for hurricane protection, and reinforced garage doors are on the law's list. A door that meets those specifications can't be turned down, although the board can still hold you to the community's look.

What to send the architectural review board (ARB):

• The board's own application form, filled out.
• The door's spec sheet, with model, color, panel style and window layout.
• The product approval number for that exact door.
• The license number of your contractor, and proof of insurance.
• A photo of the house from the street.

In gated Davie communities such as Forest Ridge and Shenandoah, also ask the management office how the crew and the door delivery get through the gate. If you live in a condominium, ask your association how it handles door changes.

Who pulls the permit, and what to ask before you sign

Usually the contractor pulls it, and on our jobs we do, under our license. Florida has a state license for garage door contractors, and both cities accept that license or a Broward County certificate. The contractor must also be registered with the city or town that issues your permit.

You can also pull the permit yourself as an owner-builder. That takes a signed owner-builder disclosure and makes you responsible for the work and for passing the inspections.

What a written estimate for a new door should answer:

• Is the permit fee included, or billed on its own?
• Which product approval or NOA covers this door, and is it current?
• Does that approval cover the door's size and the wind pressure at your house?
• Who books the final inspection, and do you get copies of everything?

Ours answers all four in writing.

After the install: final inspection and papers to keep

A door job closes when the final inspection passes. Keep these papers together, where you can find them in a hurry:

• Permit number, plus proof that the final inspection passed.
• The product approval or NOA page for your door.
• The installation drawing the door was mounted to.
• The written estimate and the paid invoice.

Leave the door's permanent label where it is. Wind mitigation inspectors look at every opening, garage door included, and the weakest one sets the grade. Your papers may help that inspection, and your insurer can tell you which ones it accepts. The final inspection also closes the permit in the city's records.

Permit questions

Sources

1. City of Plantation: Window/Door (SFR) checklist, rev. 02/18/2026
2. City of Plantation: Same Day Permit Services
3. City of Plantation: Permit exemption
4. City of Plantation: Building Safety FAQ
5. City of Plantation: Notice of Commencement
6. City of Plantation: Opening Protection Mitigation
7. City of Plantation: Permit submittal and contractor registration
8. Plantation Code of Ordinances, Chapter 5 (permit fees)
9. Town of Davie: Building Division
10. Town of Davie: Walkthrough Wednesday FAQ
11. Town of Davie: Online Walk-through Permits
12. Town of Davie: Walk-thru Permit Requirements
13. Town of Davie: Windows and Doors Checklist
14. Town of Davie: Building Fee Schedule
15. Town of Davie: Building general information
16. Florida Building Code 2023, Chapter 16 (sections 1620 and 1626)
17. Florida Statutes, section 720.3035
18. DASMA TDS-183: replacement parts on wind load doors
19. Florida Office of Insurance Regulation: OIR-B1-1802
20. U.S. Census Bureau: 2020 ZIP code (ZCTA) to place relationship file
21. Florida DBPR: license search