Offices and review bodies
State SHPO
Florida Division of Historical Resources
- Covered properties
- Florida Division of Historical Resources is the State Historic Preservation Office for Florida. It handles National Register nominations, Section 106 consultation, Certified Local Governments, survey records, and federal tax-credit certifications. Homeowners usually interact with it when a house is listed or eligible, contributes to a listed district, is in a tax-credit rehabilitation, or is touched by public funding or a federal permit; age alone, including a pre-1970 date, is a screening clue, not automatic state control.
- Review process
- For private residential work, the SHPO does not issue ordinary building permits. It reviews National Register eligibility, federal undertakings, and rehabilitation tax-credit applications. Income-producing projects seeking the 20% federal credit use the National Park Service three-part certification, with SHPO review before the NPS decision. No simple statewide percentage is shown in this guide; confirm any property-tax or grant incentives before budgeting. Local historic districts still require the city commission's Certificate of Appropriateness even when the SHPO or NPS is involved.
City commission
Miami Historic and Environmental Preservation Board
- Covered properties
- Miami Historic and Environmental Preservation Board covers locally designated landmarks, local historic districts, and related design-review areas in Miami, Florida. Covered houses are contributing buildings in adopted districts or individual local landmarks; many predate 1940, but designation or district status is the trigger, not a simple pre-1970 cutoff.
- Review process
- Miami Historic and Environmental Preservation Board reviews visible exterior work, demolition, new construction, additions, window and door changes, porches, siding, masonry, signs, and site features. Owners file a Certificate of Appropriateness or local design-review application before permits; staff may approve minor work, while major changes go to a public commission hearing. Tax credits are normally handled by the SHPO, NPS, or revenue agency.
City commission
Orlando Historic Preservation Board
- Covered properties
- Orlando Historic Preservation Board covers locally designated landmarks, local historic districts, and related design-review areas in Orlando, Florida. Covered houses are contributing buildings in adopted districts or individual local landmarks; many predate 1940, but designation or district status is the trigger, not a simple pre-1970 cutoff.
- Review process
- Orlando Historic Preservation Board reviews visible exterior work, demolition, new construction, additions, window and door changes, porches, siding, masonry, signs, and site features. Owners file a Certificate of Appropriateness or local design-review application before permits; staff may approve minor work, while major changes go to a public commission hearing. Tax credits are normally handled by the SHPO, NPS, or revenue agency.
When you need preservation review
You need preservation review in Florida when the property is locally designated, sits inside a local historic district, contributes to a National Register district, is individually listed, or is part of a project using federal money, federal permits, or historic tax credits. A house being old is not enough by itself; the practical screen is whether it is designated, eligible, or inside a mapped review area. Before replacing windows, changing porch details, removing masonry, adding dormers, installing new siding, building an addition, or demolishing an outbuilding, check the city map and ask whether a Certificate of Appropriateness is required. Interior work is often outside local review unless it affects designated interiors, structural character, or a tax-credit scope. Building, zoning, lead-safe, floodplain, and energy-code approvals can still apply separately, so get preservation clearance before ordering materials or signing a fixed-price renovation contract.
Federal vs state tax credits
The federal rehabilitation credit is a 20% income-tax credit for certified rehabilitation of income-producing historic buildings. It does not apply to owner-occupied private residences, and it requires the building to be a certified historic structure and the completed work to meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards. The SHPO reviews the application first, but the National Park Service makes the federal certification decision and the IRS controls tax use. State credits are separate. Florida does not have a single statewide percentage-based income-tax credit represented in this dataset; look for local abatements, property-tax incentives, grants, or revolving-loan programs before assuming state help is unavailable. Do not add percentages mechanically: caps, application rounds, transfer rules, minimum spending thresholds, owner-occupancy rules, and timing can change the real value. Local commissions usually do not award credits; they decide whether visible work is appropriate for the district.
Plan preservation review before pricing the job
Historic review can affect windows, siding, porches, masonry, roofing, additions, demolition, and visible site work. Confirm the local design-review path before ordering custom materials or signing a fixed-price contract.
Source: ProFix Editorial Team. Last updated 2026-06-09. This guide is informational and does not replace municipal ordinances, building permits, SHPO review, National Park Service review, tax advice, or legal counsel.