Building Inspections — Palm Bay, Florida

Palm Bay inspections are booked in the iMS e-Portal, and a request placed before the 3:00 p.m. cutoff is scheduled for the next day.

The Building Department posts the cutoff on its main page: there is a 3:00 p.m. cutoff to schedule next day inspections, and the same iMS screen is used to cancel one (City of Palm Bay Building page). The department's service listing gives the Automated Inspection Line at (321) 952-3484 and the permit desk email permitinfo@palmbayfl.gov (City of Palm Bay service directory).

Palm Bay inspectors work a field window from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM on regular business days (Palm Bay Building Permits FAQs). The FAQ advises contacting the assigned inspector on the morning of the inspection, whose phone and email appear on the inspection tile in iMS, or calling the Building Department at (321) 953-8924 for the inspector's name and cell number. The arrival window the inspector gives is not guaranteed, and the FAQ asks the permit holder to stay at the job site until the inspector arrives. The FAQ directs permit holders to the city's Online Services web portal to check inspection results.

The office itself sits at 110 Malabar Rd SE, while Palm Bay City Hall is at 120 Malabar Road SE (City of Palm Bay directions page), and is open Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (City of Palm Bay Building page). Scott Stafford is listed there as Acting Chief Building Official.

Since November 1, 2021, Palm Bay has split the old frame-all inspection on homes into rough electrical, rough mechanical and rough plumbing, which must all pass before the framing inspection can be booked.

The Palm Bay Building Department announced the change to contractors in 2021: the frame-all inspection was replaced with four inspections, and the three rough trade inspections can be scheduled in any order the contractor prefers (City of Palm Bay notice on residential inspections). Each has its own code in the scheduling system, listed in the table below. Permit packages submitted from September 20, 2021 carry the four inspections automatically.

Landscaping on a new Palm Bay home has no separate visit: the Building Department inspects it as part of the final certificate of occupancy inspection (City of Palm Bay Building page). The final also depends on approvals from other offices. The city's residential checklist requires driveway approval from Public Works at 321-952-3437, a Brevard County impact fee receipt from 321-633-2068, septic and well approval from Environmental Health and a water, sewer and trash collection receipt from Palm Bay Utilities Customer Service at 321-952-3420 before a certificate of occupancy is issued (Palm Bay residential certificate of occupancy requirements).

Palm Bay runs two roof sequences: licensed contractors on single-family re-roofs upload photos and affidavits for the sheathing and dry-in stages, while owner-builders must have all four roof inspections seen in person.

The contractor procedure took effect April 14, 2024 (Palm Bay Roof Inspection Procedures for contractors). Once the old roofing is stripped and the contractor confirms the sheathing complies, the contractor uploads 4 to 6 photos of the sheathing with the Roof Sheathing / Water Barrier Affidavit to the permit record in iMS, and a permit technician marks that step complete. At dry-in, another 4 to 6 photos, one detailed enough to tie the roof to the permitted address, go up with a dry-in affidavit; the contractor then schedules the dry-in inspection and a plan reviewer or inspector results it from the upload. The final inspection is on site. Both affidavit forms appear on the Palm Bay Building Department forms list (Palm Bay Building Department forms). On commercial re-roofs in Palm Bay, the dry-in and final inspections are both on site, with 4 to 6 photos kept available if the roof cannot be reached.

Owner-builders follow an older Palm Bay rule that applies to applications received on or after 03/31/2021: four inspections at the property, in order roof deck and sheathing, then water barrier and dry-in (which can be booked together), then final (Palm Bay Roof Inspection Procedures for owner-builders). The owner supplies a ladder or other access, and if underlayment already covers the deck, someone must be on site to open it, since the inspector will not move or cut it. Affidavits and photos are not accepted from owner-builders.

Under Palm Bay Resolution 2025-32, the first reinspection after a failed inspection costs $25.00 and each additional reinspection costs $100.00, while an after-hours inspection costs at least $200 for the first two hours.

The Palm Bay City Council approved Resolution 2025-32 on September 24, 2025, setting Building Department fees for fiscal year 2025-2026 (City of Palm Bay Building page). The reinspection fees are the same for residential and commercial permits, including fire permits (Resolution 2025-32, Exhibit A, page 3). The same page sets the permit fee for new or replacement roofing on a single-family home at $150.00, or $75.00 when a private provider does the inspections, and $100.00 for a roofing or siding repair. Exhibit A also charges a $75.00 non-compliance fee when a Palm Bay permit holder fails to call for a final inspection (Resolution 2025-32, Exhibit A, page 4).

After-hours work goes through a separate Palm Bay form. An After Hours Inspection Request covers a time outside the inspectors' regular shifts and is filed in person at 110 Malabar Road SE or emailed to permitinfo@palmbayfl.gov with AFTER HOURS INSPECTION REQUEST in the subject line (Palm Bay After Hours Inspection Request). Each request depends on inspector availability. The fee is paid before the inspection is scheduled, extra time is billed in one-hour steps, and the result is not posted until all after-hours fees are paid. A cancellation or change made at least one business day ahead, during business hours, keeps the minimum fee refundable or moves it to the new date. Resolution 2025-32 states the fee is charged only if an inspector is available (Resolution 2025-32, Exhibit A, page 5).

Palm Bay's FY 2024/2025 utilization report lists 79,295 inspections and reinspections requested and 78,082 conducted, with private providers carrying out 34,653 inspections.

The report, which the Palm Bay Building Department posts each year, also counts 41 personnel dedicated to enforcing the Florida Building Code, issuing permits and inspecting, and $4,535,690 in revenue derived from fees (Palm Bay Building Permit and Inspection Utilization Report FY 2024/2025). It records 0 audits of private provider inspections in that year. Palm Bay charges a $250.00 building permit fee when a private provider performs the inspections, except on fire permits (Resolution 2025-32, Exhibit A, page 2).

Some inspections in Palm Bay come from other offices. Annual fire inspections are handled by Palm Bay Fire Rescue at (321) 726-2663, and driveway and lot drainage permits go to Palm Bay Public Works at (321) 952-3403 (City of Palm Bay permits and inspections list). Last verified: October 12, 2026, on the City of Palm Bay Building Department website.