Six months after Broward County’s Board of Rules and Appeals (BORA) voted to repeal restrictions on remote virtual inspections, the transformation is becoming a reality.
Since Chapter 1, Section 110.3.13 of the Florida Building Code has been amended, homeowners and contractors across Broward County are now seeing a more streamlined permit process. While it is not perfect across the board, the experience for contractors, who once faced debilitating delays, has dramatically improved.
Ian Cohen is CEO of Inspected. (courtesy, Ian Cohen, photography by Lifetouch)
As CEO of Inspected, a private provider delivering remote virtual inspections, plan reviews and permitting services for construction and renovation professionals, I’ve witnessed this transformation firsthand. The shift represents more than a technological advancement. It marks the end of permit purgatory that forced homeowners and contractors to experience construction delays on essential property improvements and renovations due to bureaucratic backlogs. Contractors who were laying off workers due to inspection delays are now hiring additional staff to meet growing demand.
Private provider partnerships have significantly reduced permit processing times across Broward County. Building departments that struggled with outdated manual processes now offer technology solutions that benefit everyone. BORA’s interpretation of Florida Statute 553.791 for Broward County building officials helped transform potential chaos into systematic improvement.
The results speak loudly across the county. Based on our internal data that tracks the timing from permit issuance through closure, contractors are completing their projects in days instead of months when they work with Inspected. Property values increase when projects finish within reasonable timelines. Local contractors book more jobs, creating positive economic cycles that benefit entire communities.
Since launching our Permit Hub platform, we’ve completed over 250,000 remote virtual inspections since 2024 across more than 400 Florida municipalities. The platform uses high-definition video streaming, inspection checklists, geo-tagging and access to approved plans to ensure thorough and code-compliant inspections without having to be onsite.
Building officials in Broward County deserve significant credit for changing outdated processes that created unnecessary bottlenecks. They recognized that a prompt permitting and inspection process serves everyone’s interests. Their willingness to adapt demonstrates forward-thinking leadership from BORA.
And the technology continues to advance. Plan reviews through a private provider like Inspected average 48-hour turnaround times, contrasting sharply with the months-long waits that once characterized the process of working directly with building departments. Contractors can now deliver appropriate documents for specific municipalities, schedule inspections, upload plans and track permit status in real-time.
These improvements align with our broader efforts in Tallahassee to modernize Florida’s construction oversight. The Legislature wrote remote virtual inspections into law because lawmakers recognized their value in keeping pace with rapid growth. The International Code Council endorsed this approach, providing national validation for what we’re accomplishing locally. And we are continuing to work with state legislators to improve the statutes that govern how private providers and building departments work together to deliver the most efficient process possible.
The transformation in Broward County proves that embracing innovation enhances safety. Digital documentation creates clearer audit trails than traditional paper-based systems. More frequent inspections catch potential issues earlier. Licensed inspectors maintain identical professional standards regardless of their employer.
For homeowners planning renovations, Broward County now offers a model worth celebrating. The days of permit delays are ending, replaced by systems that prioritize both safety and efficiency. This progress required courage from building officials willing to modernize outdated practices.
The success in Broward County sends a clear message to other jurisdictions: innovation and safety work together, not in opposition. Other South Florida counties such as Miami-Dade should take note. Homeowners and contractors are finally winning when their government embraces the future instead of clinging to the bureaucratic obstacles of the past.
Ian Cohen is CEO of Inspected, a company that offers virtual home inspections and permitting services.