Virtual Private Provider Inspections in Florida: How Remote Inspections Keep Your Project Moving

Waiting three to eight days for a municipal inspector to show up is one of the most expensive forms of "nothing" in construction. Crews stand down. Trades get rescheduled. Draw requests slip. And none of it has anything to do with the quality of your work.

Virtual inspections — performed by a licensed private provider — are how a growing number of Florida builders erase that wait. Here's how they work, what Florida law now says about them, and when they're the right call.

What is a virtual private provider inspection?

A virtual inspection is a code inspection conducted remotely by a licensed private provider using live video, guided photos, or a short recorded walkthrough, instead of an in-person site visit. Under Section 553.791, Florida Statutes, a private provider can perform building inspections in place of the local building department. When those inspections are done virtually, you get the same certified result without waiting for an inspector to physically drive to your site.

There are two common formats:

• Live video inspection. Your crew connects on a scheduled video call and walks the private provider's inspector through the work in real time. The inspector directs the camera, asks questions, and signs off on the spot when it passes.
• Offline / recorded submission. For simpler scopes, your team submits date-stamped photos or a short video against a checklist, and the inspector reviews and certifies it.

Either way, the deliverable is a certified inspection that moves your permit forward.

Florida law now protects virtual inspections

This isn't a workaround. HB 803, which took effect July 1, 2026, explicitly prohibits local governments from banning virtual inspections performed by private providers. In other words, a jurisdiction cannot force you back into a multi-day, in-person queue when a qualified private provider can inspect your work remotely and certify it under the statute.

Combined with the rest of HB 803 — a 10-business-day permit shot clock when a private provider is used, mandatory permit fee reductions, and limits on duplicate inspections — virtual inspections are now a core part of how efficient teams build in Florida.

Where virtual inspections save the most time

Virtual inspections shine anywhere the bottleneck is scheduling rather than complexity:

• Single-trade permits — roofs, pools, HVAC, solar, windows and doors. One defined scope, one checklist, nothing that needs an inspector to walk a whole building.
• Trade rough-ins and progress inspections — electrical, plumbing, and mechanical stages that hold up the next trade.
• Repairs and service work — panel changes, water heater swaps, small HVAC jobs, and re-inspections after a correction.

A word on where we draw the line. Tew & Taylor does not perform virtual inspections for entire structures. That isn't a legal limitation; nothing in HB 803 or Section 553.791 prevents it. It's our own standard: a whole-building project involves too many interdependent systems, concealed conditions, and life-safety details to certify responsibly without an inspector physically on site. For those projects we inspect in person — and we'll tell you up front which category your job falls into.

Virtual inspection vs. waiting on the building department

What you'll need for a smooth virtual inspection

• A reliable phone or tablet with a decent camera and signal at the site.
• A point person on site who can move the camera and answer questions.
• The work fully ready and accessible — the same standard as an in-person inspection.
• Your permit and plan set handy for reference.

How Tew & Taylor handles it

Tew & Taylor has performed private provider inspections across Florida since 2008 and is registered in more than 300 municipalities. We schedule inspections same-day or next-day, run them virtually for simple scopes like roofs, pools, HVAC, solar, and windows and doors — and in person for whole structures — and certify the result so your permit keeps moving — no municipal queue, no wasted trips.

If your projects keep stalling on inspection scheduling, that's exactly the problem we solve. Talk to our team about setting up virtual inspections for your next job.