What do these permits involve in Miami?

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Business Tax Receipt

Priced by what you do, from a schedule of more than six hundred categories, so the range above is the schedule's rather than any one business's. Worked examples: a restaurant is $27 up to ten seats and $2 for each seat beyond that; a retail shop is $63 for the first $1,000 of merchandise and $6 for each additional $1,000; a barbershop is $20 for the first chair and $15 for each further chair; a garage runs $68 to $400 by headcount; a veterinary establishment is $99 and the vet's own receipt $116; a gym or health club is $99 each location. A separate receipt is needed for each location AND each classification at the same location, so a café with a retail counter may owe two. It expires 30 September whenever you bought it, but the tax halves if you start on or after 1 April. Late renewal costs ten per cent in October plus five per cent a month to a twenty-five per cent ceiling, with a further penalty of up to $250. A valid certificate of use has to exist first.

Miami-Dade County Local Business Tax Receipt

This is the second receipt, and missing it is the most common Miami mistake — the county says plainly that businesses within a municipality must obtain both a city receipt and a county one. The county charges municipal businesses a discounted rate: an eating establishment is $45 for one to thirty seats against $75 in unincorporated Miami-Dade, rising through $90, $135 and $180 by seat count. A barber or beauty shop, an auto or truck service, a body shop and a child day care facility are each $45 for one to ten employees plus $4.50 for every additional employee. A veterinary clinic is $60 and a peddler $60. Penalties mirror the city's — ten per cent in October, five per cent a month, twenty-five per cent maximum, plus up to $250 after a hundred and fifty days. Florida also requires an attestation that you do not do business with Cuba in violation of federal law.

Certificate of Use

The gateway permit — you need it before the business tax receipt, so it sets your opening date. Three inspections must pass: the county environmental department, fire, and code compliance. The deadline that catches people is that all of them must be completed within ninety working days of the application starting, or you begin again and pay again. The most frequent failure is not having a solid waste hauler contract in place before the inspection. Renewal is invoiced by the finance department and covers your fire safety permit renewal at the same time. Reinstating a revoked certificate costs $500, a temporary certificate is $250 with $50 extensions, and a home office accessory use certificate is $94, free for anyone over 65. Food trucks and businesses with no physical Miami location are exempt. Note there is a second one: Miami-Dade requires a Municipal Certificate of Use approval through its environmental department even inside city limits, and publishes no fee for it.

Commercial Building Permit

One per cent of construction cost is the headline, but the surcharges are what move the number: the solid waste commercial surcharge alone adds another two and a half per cent up to a $10,500 ceiling. A $200,000 fit-out therefore runs roughly $2,000 in permit fee plus $5,000 in solid waste surcharge before the energy surcharge. The city's schedule also warns that state and Miami-Dade County surcharges sit on top and are not shown in it. Starting work without a permit is expensive by design — the after-the-fact base is $110 plus four times the base fee for commercial work. Reinspection is $57, and revisions after the second review cost $56 per discipline. Extending an expired commercial permit application older than 180 days is $500.

Certificate of Occupancy

Ten cents a square foot with a $250 floor, so anything under 2,500 square feet pays the minimum. Know the difference between the two documents: a certificate of occupancy is for space people will occupy, and a certificate of completion, at a $150 minimum, is for shell work with no occupancy. Either has to be in hand before you apply for the certificate of use if the space is new or has been altered — which puts it two steps before the business tax receipt on the critical path. Extending a temporary certificate costs the same per-square-foot rate for the first two requests, and half the building permit fee on the third.

Annual Fire Safety Permit

City fire, not county — the City of Miami runs its own fire department, so Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's operating permit does not apply inside city limits. Priced by what the building is: a place of assembly, which includes restaurants, bars and stores, runs $95 for an occupant load of 50 to 99 and climbs through $125, $158 and $315 to $442 above 10,000. Retail sales is a flat $150 whatever the floor area. An office is $53 up to 3,000 square feet, rising to $341. A private school, day care or nursery is $68 plus $1.30 per student to a $698 ceiling. Arenas, bowling lanes and banquet facilities are $210, and anything not listed is $250. You apply for this at the same time as the certificate of use, and it renews on the same invoice. The permit does not transfer, so any change of use or occupancy needs a new one. A reinspection after continuing violations past the second inspection is $53.

Permit	Issuing agency	Fee	Renews	Last checked
Business Tax Receipt	City of Miami Business Licensing, Finance Department	$2–$2,324 per year, by business category under section 31-50	1 year, expiring 30 September	2026-09-03
Miami-Dade County Local Business Tax Receipt	Miami-Dade County Office of the Tax Collector, Local Business Tax Section	$45–$180 per year at the discounted municipal rate, by category	1 year, tax year 1 October to 30 September	2026-09-03
Certificate of Use	City of Miami Office of Zoning	$50 application fee, credited toward the total, plus an inspection fee of $313 for the first 2,000 square feet of commercial or office space and $63 for each additional 1,000 square feet. Annual re-inspection runs $50 under 500 square feet up to $125 above 50,000	expires 30 September, renewed annually	2026-09-03
Commercial Building Permit	City of Miami Building Department	1.00 per cent of estimated construction cost up to $30,000,000, then 0.50 per cent above that, with a minimum permit fee of $110 and a $40 non-refundable application fee. A solid waste commercial surcharge of 2.50 per cent of construction cost applies, minimum $57 and maximum $10,500, plus an energy conservation surcharge of $0.11 per square foot on new construction or additions	per permit	2026-09-03
Certificate of Occupancy	City of Miami Building Department	$0.10 per square foot for a commercial certificate, subject to a minimum of $250 for a certificate of occupancy and $150 for a certificate of completion. Residential is $105 per unit	one-time issuance	2026-09-03
Annual Fire Safety Permit	City of Miami Department of Fire-Rescue, Fire Prevention Bureau	$53–$1,000 per year, banded by occupancy type and size	annual, renewed with the certificate of use	2026-09-03

Business licenses and permits in Miami, Florida

What are you opening in Miami?

Permits that apply to every type of business in Miami