Permits and jurisdiction
What permits are needed for ductless installation in Florida?
A ductless mini-split is mechanical work and is permitted like any other changeout — a City of Longwood mechanical permit inside the city, a Seminole County permit outside it. HB 803's sub-$7,500 single-family exemption does not reach it, because the exemption expressly excludes mechanical work.
The statute, stated as a negative
A mini-split is mechanical work
Florida's CS/CS/HB 803 (2026), effective 1 July 2026, requires local governments to exempt single-family work valued under $7,500 from permitting. It does not help here. The exemption expressly excludes “any electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, or gas work performed on property containing a single-family dwelling,” and it does not apply in a flood hazard area either. An air conditioning changeout is mechanical work, so it stays permitted at any dollar value, in Longwood and everywhere else in Florida.
Mini-splits attract this question because they feel like an appliance rather than a system: one outdoor unit, one wall head, no ductwork. The code does not see it that way. Refrigerant lines and a dedicated electrical circuit are mechanical and electrical work, and Longwood's own Chapter 1 amendments exempt only eight mechanical items — portable units, in-equipment piping, minor part replacement, evaporative coolers, small self-contained refrigeration, load-management devices. A mini-split is none of them. The full list.
Separately — and this is a different statute, not part of HB 803 — an HVAC replacement is a “single-trade inspection” under §553.791(1)(r), the private-provider law, which predates HB 803. That is an inspection category, not a permit category: it lets an owner or contractor elect a private provider instead of the municipal inspector, by 2 p.m. two business days before the next scheduled inspection. What HB 803 did add is a permit-decision clock: §553.792(1)(a)1. puts single-trade plans review for a one- or two-family dwelling on a 5-business-day deadline rather than the usual 20, provided the application is complete when it is filed.
Equipment and money
A2L refrigerant, and what a single zone costs
Refrigerant is the second consideration and it is specific to this equipment class. Under the EPA's Technology Transitions rule, mini-splits are field-assembled systems with a 1 January 2025 installation compliance date, subject to the exception for systems where every specified component was manufactured or imported before that date. In practice a new mini-split installed today uses an A2L refrigerant such as R-454B or R-32. What the transition means.
Cost, for scale: published guides put a single-zone ductless mini-split at $3,500–$7,000 installed, a researched third-party range rather than a quoted price. Inside the city, add the mechanical permit at $246.61. All the ranges.
Where they make sense here
Additions, garages and bonus rooms
Where mini-splits genuinely earn their place in this market: a Florida room or enclosed porch added to a 1970s house without extending the original duct; a converted garage; a bonus room over a garage that the central system has never reached; or a detached workshop. All four are common on Longwood's larger lots, and all four are cases where extending fifty-year-old attic duct is the worse option. Duct work, priced.
The permit and inspection route is the same as any changeout: inside the city, the City's mechanical permit with plans examination waived for equipment replacement and an inspection booked by 3:30 p.m. the day before on 407-260-3471. Outside the city, Seminole County. Which one applies.
Sources
- Florida CS/CS/HB 803 (2026), enrolled text. https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2026/803
- Florida Statutes §553.79 — §553.79(1)(a) baseline permit requirement; §553.79(1)(g) the $7,500 single-family exemption and its carve-outs (created by s. 8, ch. 2026-63). https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/553.79
- Florida Statutes §553.791 — private provider statute; §553.791(1)(r) defines “single-trade inspection” and names HVAC replacements; §553.791(2)(a) the owner's election. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/553.791
- Florida Statutes §553.792(1)(a)1. — permit decision deadlines, including the 5-business-day tier (created by s. 10, ch. 2026-63). https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/553.792
- City of Longwood, 2020 FBC Chapter 1 Administrative Amendments (Exhibit A to Ordinance No. 21-2196), Sections 105.2, 105.2.1 and 107.3. https://www.longwoodfl.org/DocumentCenter/View/4736/2020-FBC-Londwood-Administrative-Amendments-PDF-
- City of Longwood Fee Schedule (Resolution 26-1724, effective 1 July 2026). https://www.longwoodfl.org/702/Fee-Schedule
- U.S. EPA, HFC restrictions by sector (AIM Act Technology Transitions rule). https://www.epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction/hfc-restrictions-sector
- Airborne Tech Service, Orlando AC replacement cost guide (third-party pricing guide). https://airbornetechservice.com/ac-replacement-cost-orlando/
- City of Longwood, Permitting and Inspections. https://www.longwoodfl.org/169/Permitting-and-Inspections
- City of Longwood FAQ: “Is my address/parcel located within the City of Longwood City limits?”. https://www.longwoodfl.org/Faq.aspx?QID=159
Figures are dated. Permit fees, rebate amounts and code cycles change — re-check the primary source before you rely on a number here.
Tell us what room you are trying to cool
A mini-split is the right answer for some Longwood additions and the wrong one for others. The duct decides it.