Both counties replaced the old 40-year recertification after Surfside, but they did it differently. Age triggers, deadlines, exemptions, and report forms all change at the county line, and a licensed Florida PE working in both explains exactly how.
If you own buildings in both Broward and Miami-Dade, or you just moved a property across the county line, here is the trap: the two programs share a name, a history, and a purpose, but they no longer share the rules. An owner who assumes the Miami-Dade playbook applies in Fort Lauderdale, or vice versa, will get the age trigger wrong, the deadline wrong, and possibly the exemption status wrong.
Both counties overhauled their programs after the 2021 Surfside collapse. Here is where they ended up, side by side, from a firm that performs recertifications in both.
Miami-Dade created the original 40-year recertification program in the 1970s. Broward adopted its own version, the Building Safety Inspection Program (BSIP), in 2005, modeled directly on Miami-Dade's and effective countywide in January 2006. Both require two evaluations, structural and electrical, documented in a report signed and sealed by a Florida-licensed professional engineer or architect, and both repeat on a 10-year cycle after the initial recertification.
After Surfside, both counties tightened their programs, and the State of Florida layered its milestone inspection law (Florida Statute 553.899) for condominiums and cooperatives three stories or taller on top of both. That is where the similarities end.
Miami-Dade: Buildings become subject to recertification at 30 years of age (25 years for buildings near the coast), and every 10 years thereafter, under Section 8-11(f) of the county code. The change from 40 to 30 took effect in June 2022.
Broward: Under BORA Policy #05-05, buildings are inspected when they reach 25 years of age, then every 10 years thereafter. Broward went further than Miami-Dade, pulling the initial inspection forward a full 15 years from the old standard.
Practical impact: a 1999-built office building in Miami Gardens is not yet due; the identical building across the line in Miramar already is. This single difference catches more multi-county owners than any other.
Miami-Dade: The county sets the framework, but each municipality administers recertification within its own jurisdiction: its own portal, its own fees, its own submission process. The county handles unincorporated areas. As an owner, your experience in the City of Miami, Miami Beach, and Hialeah will involve three different administrative processes under a single county code.
Broward: The Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals (BORA) sets a uniform countywide policy with standardized inspection forms, and the city building departments enforce it. The rules and report format are consistent from Hollywood to Pompano Beach, even though you still submit to your local building department.
Practical impact: In Broward, an engineer's report looks the same everywhere. In Miami-Dade, jurisdiction-specific submission quirks are part of the job, which is why local experience matters when you hire.
Miami-Dade exempts: single-family homes, duplexes, and minor buildings with an occupant load of 10 or fewer AND 2,000 square feet or less.
Broward exempts: one- through four-family dwellings, fee simple townhouses as defined in the Florida Building Code, and minor structures under 3,500 square feet.
Practical impact: a 3,000 SF commercial building is subject to recertification in Miami-Dade but exempt as a minor structure in Broward. A triplex is covered in Miami-Dade but exempt in Broward. If you have been told your building is exempt, verify against the right county's definition, not the one your last property manager worked under.
Miami-Dade: Owners receive courtesy notices two years and one year before the recertification anniversary, then the formal Notice of Required Recertification, which starts a 90-day clock to submit the sealed report. Reports can also be submitted up to two years early. Missing the deadline sends the property to the Unsafe Structures process.
Broward: BORA policy likewise provides courtesy notices at two years and one year prior to the due date. After the formal Notice of Required Inspection, Broward's framework generally allows 180 days to complete the inspection and any required repairs, with extensions possible through the building official. Individual cities manage their own enforcement escalation, including Notices of Violation and special magistrate proceedings.
Practical impact: Miami-Dade's clock is shorter for the report; Broward's timeline wraps repairs into the compliance window. Either way, the engineer should be engaged on the day the notice arrives, and ideally at the two-year courtesy notice, when you control the schedule rather than the county.
Broward's post-Surfside policy added association-facing obligations: a summary of the inspection report must be distributed to all unit owners, posted conspicuously on the property, and, where one is required, published on the association's website. Miami-Dade's program centers on submission to the building department, with condominium transparency handled through state condo law. Boards operating in Broward should build these distribution steps into their recertification timeline.
For the full breakdown of how the county recertification interacts with the state milestone inspection, see our guide: Milestone Inspection vs. 40-Year Recertification in Florida.
Is the 40-year recertification still 40 years in Broward County or in Miami-Dade County?
No. Both counties changed after Surfside. Miami-Dade now requires the first recertification at 30 years (25 near the coast); Broward requires it at 25 years. The "40-year" name persists because the programs were triggered by a 40-year period for decades.
My building already passed a 40-year recertification. Does the new age trigger restart my clock?
No. Buildings that completed a recertification under the old program remain on their 10-year repeat cycle from that inspection.
Are the inspection requirements themselves different between the counties?
The substance is very similar: structural and electrical safety evaluations by licensed professionals. The forms, administration, deadlines, and exemptions are where the counties diverge.
Which rules apply if my building is a condo three stories or taller?
The statewide milestone inspection law applies in addition to the county program in both counties. Depending on your building's age and location, you may owe both a county recertification and a state milestone inspection, which are sometimes coordinated into a single inspection.
Can one engineering firm handle buildings in both counties?
Yes, if the firm actually works in both. The engineering is the same; the administrative fluency is not. Ask any firm you interview which specific cities they have submitted recertifications in.
Mimik Solutions performs recertification and building safety inspections throughout Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, and as both licensed Professional Engineers (PE #85427) and General Contractors (CGC #1531655), we carry buildings from inspection through any required repairs to final sign-off, whichever county's rulebook applies.
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