Does kitchen or bathroom remodeling require a permit?

It depends on the work, and it depends on which office has the parcel. Paint and floor covering are not the same job as moved plumbing, new circuits, or a wall taken out. Cabinets left in place are not the same job as a new layout. City of Ocala and Marion County do not publish the same exception list. This page does not declare cabinet-only work universally exempt.

Paint is not the same job as moved pipes

A kitchen or a bath can be several scopes wearing one name. Painting walls is one scope. Replacing a floor covering is another. Replacing cabinets in the same locations is another. Moving the sink, adding a circuit for a new appliance, opening a wall between the kitchen and another room, relocating a toilet, or rebuilding a shower are others. The invoice can say ‘remodel’ for all of them. The building department sorts them by what changes.

Inside the City of Ocala, the city says a permit is required for most interior and exterior work, with the exception of painting and floor covering. That is a short list. It does not say cabinets. It does not say a gutted bath is exempt because the tub happens to land in the old spot. If you are inside the city, read Ocala building permits and use the city’s words. Do not edit them with a county screenshot.

City wording and the county FAQ do not match

On unincorporated parcels, Marion County Building Safety’s FAQ says a permit is required to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change occupancy, and for regulated electrical, gas, mechanical, or plumbing. The FAQ also gives examples that do not require a permit: ordinary minor non-structural repairs that do not violate the code; painting or replacing cabinets, carpet, vinyl, tile and gutters; roofing repair of 100 square feet or less; and stucco or siding of 100 square feet or less. Those are the county’s published examples, not a guarantee for every scope. The Marion County building permits page keeps that list in the county, where it belongs.

The cabinet sentence is the point that gets abused. The county FAQ names replacing cabinets in an example. The City of Ocala does not. A cabinet-only job on a county parcel is a question about that example, and only if nothing else in the scope leaves the example. A cabinet-only job on a city parcel is not something this page will call exempt. Moved plumbing, new circuits, and removed walls are not cabinet replacement in either office. The county’s 100-square-foot notes are about roofing repair and stucco or siding. They have nothing to say about a kitchen layout.

As of September 2026, the edition to name as in force is the 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code. The 9th Edition is scheduled for December 31, 2026. Confirm the edition on the permit. A wall removed between a kitchen and a living room can be a structural question under that edition even when the finish plan looks simple. This page does not decide which walls are bearing from a photograph.

Kitchens, baths, and the work that changes the answer

In a kitchen, ask what moves. Cabinets that stay on the same wall, with the same sink and the same circuits, are a different permit question from cabinets that slide to a new wall and drag the plumbing and the wiring with them. A new range circuit, a new dishwasher circuit, or a hood that needs a dedicated run is electrical work. On a county parcel, regulated electrical is on the FAQ’s permit side. On a city parcel, it is not painting and it is not floor covering. The service description is kitchen remodeling. What changes a price, without a published figure, is kitchen remodel cost.

In a bath, the wet assembly is the scope that gets people in trouble. A fan that already ducts outside and stays put is not the same as a new fan, a new duct, and a new roof or wall cap. A tub that stays is not the same as a shower pan poured in a new place. A toilet that stays is not the same as a toilet moved to make a walk-in shower. Those moves are plumbing. Bathroom remodeling is the work. The permit question is still the parcel’s office, not the showroom where the tile was chosen.

Electrical, plumbing, and HVAC are separate licenses. They are subcontracted. A building contractor license does not swallow those trades. If the remodel is only paint and, where the office allows it, a floor covering, say that plainly. If it is more, the application should say what is more. Hiding a relocated drain inside a ‘refresh’ is how a job becomes unpermitted work.

What a remodel visit opens and what it leaves closed

The visit writes two lists. The first list is work that matches a stated exception or a county FAQ example, and only when the parcel is in that jurisdiction. Paint. Floor covering in the city. On a county parcel, the FAQ’s example of painting or replacing cabinets, carpet, vinyl, tile and gutters, if that is actually all that is happening. The second list is everything else: a wall coming out, a sink moving, a new circuit, a shower rebuilt, a window enlarged, an exterior opening cut for light.

The visit looks at the existing wet walls without demolishing them for curiosity. It notes the panel location if new circuits are likely. It notes whether a bath fan has a path to the outside or dies in the attic. It notes whether people will live in the house and which bath has to keep working. It does not poke holes so the page can claim a discovery. If a permit follows, the permit card lists the inspections. Rough plumbing and wiring an inspector still needs to see stay open. There is no made-up inspection sequence here that overrides the card.

Assumptions that cause unpermitted work

The assumption to drop is that cabinet-only work is exempt in every office. It is not what the City of Ocala states, and even the county FAQ example stops being the example when the scope grows. The next assumption is that a city house and a county house with the same Ocala ZIP share a rule book. They do not. Another is that replacing a tub in a new location is ‘the same bathroom.’ Another is that a bearing wall can come out because a carpenter is willing. Another is covering the rough-in so the countertop template can happen. The template can wait. The inspector cannot see through a finished wall.

Questions to answer before cabinets are ordered

• Is this parcel inside Ocala, another city, or unincorporated Marion County?
• Will any cabinet, fixture, or appliance leave its present location?
• Is any plumbing, gas, electrical, or mechanical work included?
• Is any wall removed, opened for a beam, or otherwise structural?
• Does the city exception or a county FAQ example actually match this scope, or only part of it?
• What will stay uncovered until the permit card’s inspections are done?

Sources

City of Ocala statements about permits, painting, and floor covering are at https://www.ocalafl.gov/?navid=3912 and https://www.ocalafl.org/government/city-departments-a-h/growth-management/building/construction-permits. The county FAQ, including its cabinet example and its trade rules, is at https://www.marionfl.org/agencies-departments/departments-facilities-offices/building-safety/permitting-faqs. The code edition is checked at https://floridabuilding.org.