1. A written request must be submitted to the attention of the Building Official.
2. The letter must be typed on the General Contractor Company’s letterhead
3. It must bear the signature of the qualifier.

Requests may be made in person, or by fax at 305.234.2133

Requests will not be accepted without the qualifier's signature.

• Include the permit number and job address
• State the reason for the request. Applicant must show a hardship.
• Identify the specific area(s) included for request, if job is being completed in phases.
• State the issues that are pending for final CO/CC approval.
• State the number of days that you would like your request for.
• Include a contact name and telephone number.
• Include the following sentence: “We hereby hold harmless and release the Village of Pinecrest Building Department and Miami-Dade Fire Department from any liability that may during the use of designated areas in the aforementioned facility while under the limitation of the Temporary Certificate of Occupancy.”
• Include the following sentence: “We hereby certify that all means of egress shall be kept clear and accessible and that all life safety systems will be maintained and operable at all times while the building is being occupied.”

Once reviewed, we will call the contact person and inform that person of the result. If approved, we will advise you of the fee and schedule the necessary inspections.

It is the responsibility of the contractor to request TCO/TCC inspection(s) from the Fire Department if a fire final has not been obtained. A copy of the approved final fire inspection from the Miami-Dade Fire Department must be at the job site at the time of inspections.

If you have any questions about this process, please feel free to contact 305.234.2121  

The Building & Planning Department typically issues TCOs for commercial projects that are pending something minor, for example a revision to the approved plans. In other instances, a TCO may be issued to a portion of a project where construction work is being done. Big projects are generally done in phases so as to minimize disruption to everyday business operations. TCOs are only issued to projects that have been inspected and are in compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and all life safety requirements. In addition, the Village of Pinecrest only issues TCOs for a period of thirty (30) days. In the event that a project is not completed within that period of time, an extension to the TCO will be required.

Please keep in mind that a TCO is not an approval to begin the operation of a business; it is only an authorization to occupy the space. In order to operate a business within the Village, you must first obtain a Local Business Tax Receipt from the The Building & Planning Department, Business Tax Receipt Division.

For more information please contact 305.234.2121

In the past, requesting a TCO involved making two separate requests: one to the Miami-Dade Fire Department and one to the municipality. Each agency would approve the request for a specific number of days (the number of days did not always coincide), perform the necessary inspections, and issue a final approval to occupy the space. The process became confusing when the TCO approval from the Fire Department or the municipality came up for renewal while the other was still active. In order to streamline the process of requesting and issuing TCOs, the Building Official’s Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to the building code enforcement profession, has been working diligently with the Fire Department to standardize TCOs throughout Miami-Dade County.

Starting November 1, 2009, customers will only need to make a single request to the municipality (a letter written by the project’s contractor of record). The Building Official will then review the letter and either approve or deny the request. If the request is approved, the customer will be given a TCO Inspection Reporting Form indicating the project’s information, necessary inspections, and approval time. (If the request is denied, the TCO process stops.) Once the customer has received the form, they must first contact the Fire Department and request TCO inspections(s) for the project. The Fire Department will verify that the space is safe to be occupied and sign off on the form. The customer will then need to request the other TCO inspection(s) required by the municipality as indicated on the form. The Village’s inspectors will perform their inspections at this time; they will check that ADA compliance and life safety requirements have been met and sign off on the form. Once all of the trades have approved the TCO inspections, the customer will need to bring the form back to the Building Department to obtain final approval from the Building Official. 

A TCO is always issued to a Master Permit number. If the Master Permit is allowed to expire, the TCO will automatically be revoked and the space must be vacated immediately. TCOs may be revoked by the Building Official at any time should the space become unsafe or if any code violation(s) affecting the proper occupancy of the area is evident. Additionally, TCOs that are allowed to expire without renewal or have been revoked may result in the issuance of a Notice of Violation, civil violation and/or disconnection of utility services. It is the responsibility of the contractor(s) and property owner(s) to monitor the progress of the permit and any TCOs issued to the property. For more information about Temporary Certificates of Occupancy please contact the The Building & Planning Department at 305.234.2121