HomeThe law40-year recertification
Florida's 40-year recertification, and what applies to condo owners now
For condo owners and boards: the 40-year recertification was the local program under Miami-Dade County Code s. 8-11(f). Since 2022 the state milestone inspection (s. 553.899, F.S.) puts a condo building's first inspection by the year it turns 30, and some places use 25. Miami-Dade's page says it amended its ordinance on June 1, 2022 and starts new properties at 30 years, then every 10. Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach describe a first inspection at 25 years.
Miami-Dade and Broward have 2,686 condo communities with 25 or more units and a year-built record of 1986 or earlier, so 40 years old or more this year. DBPR's SIRS database lists a study for at least 882 of them (33%).
Updated October 24, 2026 · pages read October 24, 2026 · statute text read October 5, 2026 · counts: DBPR condo file Oct 3, 2026, SIRS database pulled Oct 24, 2026
What each place's own page says
| Place | First inspection | Repeat | What the page says | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade County | 30 years for new properties; 25 years for condo and co-op buildings of three or more stories within three miles of the coast and built in 1998 or later | Every 10 years | The county says it has had a building recertification program since 1975, amended June 1, 2022 (the state law took effect May 26, 2022). Coastal condo and co-op buildings built 1983 to 1997 and other buildings built 1983 to 1992 had to be recertified by December 31, 2024. Buildings built on or before 1982 that already had an initial recertification continue on their schedule. | miamidade.gov, building recertification Read October 24, 2026 |
| City of Miami Beach | 30 years (page headed "Previously 40 Year Recertification") | Every 10 years after | Cites Miami-Dade County Code s. 8-11(f)(ii)(1). Reports cover structure and electrical. | miamibeachfl.gov, building recert Read October 24, 2026 |
| Town of Surfside | The year the structure "becomes 41 years old" | Every 10 years after the first | The page's text still describes the 40-year program under Miami-Dade County Code s. 8-11(f) and does not mention s. 553.899. A link at the top points to Miami-Dade's page on its new condo recertification rules. | townofsurfsidefl.gov, 40-year recertification Read October 24, 2026 |
| City of Fort Lauderdale | 25 years ("buildings and structures that are 25 years of age or older") | Every 10 years after | Notices go out between June 1 and August 31 each year, and the report is due within 180 days of receiving the notice. The page says the Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals policy complies with Senate Bill 154 and does not mention s. 553.899. | fortlauderdale.gov, building safety inspection program Read October 24, 2026 |
| City of Pompano Beach | 25 years (the Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals program) | At 10-year intervals from the original required inspection date | The same June 1 to August 31 notice window and 180-day report deadline. The page gives no effective date for the program. | pompanobeachfl.gov, building safety inspection program Read October 24, 2026 |
Broward County's own building safety page refused our fetch (HTTP 403) on October 24, 2026, so we describe Broward through the two cities above and state nothing from the county. The pages disagree with one another: Surfside's still reads 40 years. A city page can lag its county's ordinance, so the building department that sent your notice has the clock that applies.
How the state rule fits
The state milestone inspection applies to condominium and cooperative buildings of three or more habitable stories. The first inspection is due by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, counted from its certificate of occupancy, and then every 10 years. The local enforcement agency may require 25 years where local circumstances, such as proximity to salt water, call for it (s. 553.899(3)(a)-(b), F.S.). Miami-Dade's page says new properties become subject to recertification at 30 years and that buildings already in the older cycle continue on it. Neither the Fort Lauderdale page nor the Surfside page says how its program relates to s. 553.899, so ask the building department that sent a notice whether its report also counts as the milestone inspection. See the milestone inspection law for the phases, the notice and the report, and the deadline calculator for the year. What the inspection costs is on the cost page: firms publish $5,000 to $150,000 or more for Phase 1, by building size (read October 5, 2026).
A SIRS is a separate requirement: how a milestone inspection differs from a SIRS. Other ways to check a building are ranked on ways to check a Florida condo's SIRS.
Where this page stops
We read five places, not every county and city that regulates a Florida condo, and a building department can change its page without notice. We cannot tell you the schedule for any one building, because no public record gives its certificate of occupancy year or habitable story count. Treat the table as a map of the shift from 40 years to 30 and 25. The notice from your building department is the answer for your building.
How many older condo communities sit in the 40-year counties
Communities with 25 or more units whose best year-built record is 1986 or earlier, and how many appear in DBPR's SIRS database:
| County | Communities built 1986 or earlier | With a SIRS on file (at least) |
|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | 1,198 | 387 (32%) |
| Broward | 1,488 | 495 (33%) |
Source: every condo community with 25 or more units in the DBPR condo file Oct 3, 2026, whether or not it has its own page here. We join it to the Florida Department of Revenue property rolls for year built and to DBPR's SIRS database (pulled Oct 24, 2026), by name and address, so each count is a floor. County pages: Miami-Dade, Broward. Year built is not a certificate of occupancy year, so a building's own page words its date as a condition.
Questions
Is the 40-year recertification still required in Florida?
Not as a 40-year rule in the places we read. Miami-Dade County's page says new properties become subject to recertification at 30 years and every 10 years after, and its ordinance was amended June 1, 2022. Buildings that were already on the older schedule keep their cycle. Broward cities we read use a 25-year first inspection. Some city pages, such as Surfside's, still describe 40 years, so confirm with the building department (pages read October 24, 2026).
What is the difference between the 40-year recertification and the milestone inspection?
The 40-year recertification was a local program under Miami-Dade County Code s. 8-11(f); the county says its recertification program dates to 1975. The milestone inspection is the statewide rule for condominium and cooperative buildings of three or more habitable stories (s. 553.899(3)(a), F.S.), which sets the first inspection by December 31 of the year the building turns 30 and every 10 years after, and lets the local enforcement agency require 25 years where local circumstances call for it (s. 553.899(3)(b)). Miami-Dade's page now shows a 30-year cycle for new properties. Read the full rules on the milestone inspection law page.
Does a 25-year rule apply to my building?
Only where the place that regulates the building says so. Miami-Dade County's page applies 25 years to condo and co-op buildings of three or more stories within three miles of the coast and built in 1998 or later. Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach apply 25 years under the Broward program. We apply no automatic three-mile rule on this site: the local building official sets the clock.
How do I find out when my building is due?
Open the building's page here for the probable first-inspection year, then check the page of the city or county building department, which we link on each city and county page. Ask the association for the certificate of occupancy year and the habitable story count, which no public record gives us.
Where do I find a building's recertification status?
Miami-Dade County runs a recertification portal for unincorporated properties (folio numbers beginning with 30); the county's 35 municipalities each have their own building official, and the county page tells you to ask the agency that contacted you. We link the portal we found for each place on its page.
Written by Condo Due Date from the sources listed below; how pages are written. Not legal or engineering advice; the local building official sets milestone notices and deadlines.
Sources
- Miami-Dade County, building recertification, read October 24, 2026: the program since 1975, the June 1, 2022 amendment, the 30-year and 25-year rules.
- City of Miami Beach, building recertification, read October 24, 2026.
- Town of Surfside, 40-year recertification program, read October 24, 2026.
- City of Fort Lauderdale, building safety inspection program, read October 24, 2026.
- City of Pompano Beach, building safety inspection program, read October 24, 2026.
- Broward County, building safety inspection program, requested October 24, 2026: HTTP 403, so nothing on this page comes from it.
- Florida Statutes s. 553.899, text read October 5, 2026: who needs a milestone inspection, the first-inspection year and the local clock.
- Counts: DBPR condo file Oct 3, 2026 and SIRS database pulled Oct 24, 2026, joined by Condo Due Date. Sources and methods.