Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05
Who changes what
Florida Electrical Code Amendments: The Local Rules
Florida runs one statewide building code, and local governments can amend it under conditions in section 553.73. The Commission keeps a matrix of the electrical amendments that have been filed, and it's short.
Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed
On this page
How a local amendment is allowed to happen
Section 553.73 lets a local government adopt technical amendments that are more stringent than the state code, and it fences that permission in.
- No more than once every six months.
- After a public hearing with ten days' notice.
- Addressing a demonstrated local need.
- Without introducing new subjects and without discriminating against materials.
- Transmitted to the Commission within thirty days, and effective thirty days after publication.
More stringent is the operative phrase. A local government can't make the state code easier.
What the electrical matrix records
The Commission publishes a matrix of local electrical amendments. These are the entries on it.
Broward County
Amendments to Florida Building Code, Building sections 454.1.4.1, 454.1.4.1.1, 454.2.16 and 454.2.16.1, and Residential sections R4501.16 and R4501.16.1, on ground fault protection for pool equipment and on swimming pool lighting voltage limits, effective December 31, 2020.
Miami-Dade County
Amendments to section 454 for public pools and 454.2.16 for private pools, on the maximum voltage for underwater pool lighting, made by Ordinance No. 21-18 and effective March 2, 2021.
Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board
An amendment to Florida Building Code, Building section 2701 on bonding of metal enclosures and raceways. The matrix records that it references Article 250.96 and requires that all raceways contain an equipment grounding conductor.
City of Winter Park
An amendment to Florida Building Code, Building section 2703.
The Pinellas amendment, in plain terms
Bonding of other enclosures sits at 250.96 in the National Electrical Code, and that section number is the same in the 2023 edition Florida's exam uses and in the 2026 edition. Our record of the numbers that moved between the two has no entry for it.
The county's amendment adds a requirement that the code itself leaves conditional in places, that raceways contain an equipment grounding conductor. If you work in Pinellas County, read the amendment itself rather than a summary, this one included.
Broward keeps its own administrative chapter
Beyond the technical amendments, Broward County's Board of Rules and Appeals publishes its own administrative chapter of the Florida Building Code on Municode, as Florida Building Code, Chapter 1 (8th Edition), with a companion set of Broward County amendments to the Florida Fire Prevention Code.
Administrative means permits, inspections and enforcement rather than wiring rules. It still changes how a job runs in that county.
What counties say on their own pages
Orange County's Division of Building Safety says it enforces the Florida Building Code, the National Electrical Code and the county's own Code of Ordinances Chapter 9, without naming edition years on that page.
That's the pattern statewide. The county page tells you which documents apply and the edition question goes to the plans examiner.
The licensing side is local too
Amendments aren't the only thing that changes at a county line. Journeyman licensing is entirely county and city law under section 489.5335, and the exams, vendors and passing marks differ.
The county exam page has what each county publishes. Pinellas County, for example, also asks contractors for fourteen hours of continuing education in each odd numbered year, with a September 30 renewal deadline.
We're not a training provider, an approved course or an examination vendor, and nothing here is endorsed by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board or Pearson VUE. We're independent of all three.
Questions people ask
Does Florida amend the National Electrical Code?
The state adopts NFPA 70 through the Florida Building Code, and local governments may adopt technical amendments that are more stringent under section 553.73. The Commission keeps a matrix of the electrical ones filed.
Which counties have electrical amendments?
The Commission's electrical matrix records Broward County, Miami-Dade County, the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board and the City of Winter Park.
What did Broward and Miami-Dade change?
Both amendments deal with swimming pool lighting voltage. Broward's took effect December 31, 2020, and Miami-Dade's came by Ordinance No. 21-18 effective March 2, 2021.
What's the Pinellas raceway amendment?
The matrix records an amendment to Florida Building Code, Building section 2701 on bonding of metal enclosures and raceways, referencing Article 250.96 and requiring that all raceways contain an equipment grounding conductor.
Can a city make the code less strict?
No. Section 553.73 permits technical amendments that are more stringent than the state code, under conditions including a public hearing and a demonstrated local need.
How do I find out what applies on my job?
Ask the building department that issues your permit. County pages often name the documents without naming edition years, and the plans examiner is the one who applies them.
Thirty free questions, timed, with the working shown
Every miss comes back with the arithmetic worked out and the code section named, so you learn the trap and not just the answer. No account.
All questions here are original. They are not actual exam questions, and no question bank can promise you a pass.
What this page cites
- Section 553.73, Florida Statutes The section founding the Florida Building Code on model codes including the National Electrical Code, requiring an update every three years, and setting the conditions for local technical amendments. Read 5 September 2026. source
- Electrical local amendment matrix The Commission's record of local electrical amendments, with the county or city, the code section amended and the effective date. Read 5 September 2026. source
- Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals The county board that publishes its own administrative chapter of the Florida Building Code. Read 5 September 2026. source
- Broward County administrative chapter on Municode Florida Building Code, Chapter 1 (8th Edition) as Broward County publishes it, with a companion fire code amendment set. Read 5 September 2026. source
- Orange County Division of Building Safety The county page naming the Florida Building Code, the National Electrical Code and county ordinance Chapter 9 as what it enforces. Read 5 September 2026. source
- NEC 2026 renumbering, article by article Our own record of the article and section numbers that changed address between the 2023 edition and the 2026 edition, each one read in the 2026 text before it went on the list. source
The 2023 to 2026 section crosswalk maps every section that moved, both directions, $29 once.