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Okaloosa County

Okaloosa County Department of Growth Management, Planning Division

In short

Okaloosa County Department of Growth Management, Planning Division issues 2 permits we publish for Okaloosa County, last verified 2026-10-27. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.

What this agency issues

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Development Permit, Commercial Site Plan Review and Change of Use (Unincorporated Okaloosa)only if it applies to youOkaloosa County Department of Growth Management, Planning DivisionPer the LDC Chapter 12 schedule (Sec. 12.01.00, Schedule of Fees): Development Permits $30.00; Commercial Site Plan Review, minor project (0 to 9,999 square feet) $500.00, major project (10,000 square feet and above) $500.00 for the first 10,000 square feet plus $40.00 per 1,000 square feet or fraction, revised plan submittal $150.00 each; Minor Change of Use (0 to 9,999 square feet) $250.00, revised plan submittal $125.00; Major Change of Use (10,000 square feet or more) $500.00 for the first 10,000 square feet plus $20.00 per 1,000 square feet or fraction, revised plan submittal $150.00. The schedule notes that cost recovery for outside consultants is billed directly to the applicant.per application2026-10-27
Alcohol Zoning Signature and Distance Rules (Unincorporated Okaloosa)only if it applies to youOkaloosa County Department of Growth Management, Planning Division$75 per application ("Alcohol Signature", item 20 of the LDC Chapter 12 schedule)one-time, per state alcoholic beverage license application for the location2026-10-27

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

About each permit

Development Permit, Commercial Site Plan Review and Change of Use (Unincorporated Okaloosa)

Growth Management's Land Development Code page states that the code, Ordinance 91-1 as amended by Ordinance 20-14, "provides for the Land Developing Regulations in the Unincorporated Sections of Okaloosa County." The fee figures above come from the LDC Chapter 12 schedule (Sec. 12.01.00) as posted on that page; Sec. 12.00.00 states that no action is taken on any application or appeal until all applicable fees, charges and expenses are paid in full, and that the schedule may be altered or amended only by the governing body. A new commercial site, an expansion or a change of use of a building in the unincorporated county goes through development permit, site plan or change-of-use review, with the minor or major tier set by floor area. The same schedule lists Special Exceptions and Variances at $800.00 each and a Temporary Use Permit for special events at $50.00. Since November 3, 2025, development-related approvals are applied for through the county's online CSS portal, per the Permitting page. Sites inside the nine incorporated cities follow that city's own zoning rules. Growth Management: 850-651-7180.

Alcohol Zoning Signature and Distance Rules (Unincorporated Okaloosa)

The state alcoholic beverage license is issued by DBPR's Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco; Land Development Code Sec. 2.20.01(1) makes it unlawful to sell alcoholic beverages of more than one percent alcohol by weight at any establishment, including a private or bottle club, without that license. The county's part in the unincorporated area is a zoning sign-off, which the LDC Chapter 12 schedule prices as "Alcohol Signature $75.00". Under Sec. 2.20.01(2), apart from vendors licensed under F.S. 561.422 and other listed exemptions, no establishment licensed for consumption on premises may be located within 1,500 feet of a church, school, cemetery, residential zoning district or residential use, measured as a radius from the closest improved part of the property (excluding stormwater facilities and landscape buffers) to the nearest such parcel. Sec. 2.20.01(3) allows closer locations for uses listed in F.S. 561.20(2) and (7); for restaurants that meet three criteria (no outdoor serving within 300 feet of a residential use or zone except as the code provides, the kitchen open whenever beverages or food are served, and at least 51 percent of gross receipts from non-alcoholic food and beverages); for private clubs approved at public hearing in a master-planned or mixed-use development; for yacht clubs; and for uses authorized under F.S. 561.422. Sec. 2.20.01 sets further limits near residential uses that the code text lists in full. The same Chapter 12 schedule prices a Special Exception at $800.00. These rules apply in unincorporated Okaloosa County.

Contact

Jurisdiction
Okaloosa County
Phone
850-651-7180

Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.

Sources

Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

  1. Land Development CodeOkaloosa County Department of Growth Management · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-27
  2. Land Development Code Chapter 12 – Fees, Fines and Penalties (Sec. 12.01.00 Schedule of Fees)Okaloosa County Department of Growth Management · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-27
  3. Land Development Code Chapter 2 – Zoning Regulations (Sec. 2.20.01 Alcoholic Beverage Establishments)Okaloosa County Department of Growth Management · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-27

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