Fire department fees
What will the fire department charge for our BDA?
Plan review, the acceptance test, re-inspections and a cancelled visit are billed by the fire department, not your vendor. Pick a fire department with a published schedule, enter the hours, devices and re-inspections, and get an itemized estimate with the schedule item and effective date on every line.
Published fees only
Fire department fee estimator
Official fees a fire department charges for permits, tests and re-inspections of an in-building radio system, from its own fee schedule. They are not installer prices. Each line names the schedule item and the date it took effect.
in published fees for these items
| Fee | Rate | Amount | Source |
|---|
Every published fee we have on file
| Fee | Fire department | Amount | Item | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signal strength verification and system acceptance test (per inspector per hour) | Miami-Dade County | $281.48 | 16 | Oct 1, 2025 |
| Re-acceptance test for existing systems | Miami-Dade County | $311.59 | 16 | Oct 1, 2025 |
| Equipment installation inspection, 1 to 6 devices | Miami-Dade County | $210.63 | 16 | Oct 1, 2025 |
| Equipment installation inspection, 7 to 100 devices | Miami-Dade County | $351.47 | 16 | Oct 1, 2025 |
| Each device over 100 | Miami-Dade County | $2.00 | 16 | Oct 1, 2025 |
| First or second re-inspection of a fire safety system | Miami-Dade County | $98.46 | 25 | Oct 1, 2025 |
| Third or later re-inspection | Miami-Dade County | $194.44 | 25 | Oct 1, 2025 |
| Inspection cancelled on the day it is scheduled | Miami-Dade County | $194.44 | 13 | Oct 1, 2025 |
| Plan review, bi-directional amplifier | Fort Myers Beach Fire District | $376.00 | I.G | Sep 1, 2023 |
| Bi-directional amplifier acceptance testing | Fort Myers Beach Fire District | $188.00 | II.D | Sep 1, 2023 |
| Radio signal testing | Fort Myers Beach Fire District | $50.00 | II.D | Sep 1, 2023 |
| First re-inspection of permitted work | Fort Myers Beach Fire District | $50.00 | II.Q | Sep 1, 2023 |
| Second re-inspection of permitted work | Fort Myers Beach Fire District | $100.00 | II.Q | Sep 1, 2023 |
| Third re-inspection of permitted work | Fort Myers Beach Fire District | $150.00 | II.Q | Sep 1, 2023 |
| Fourth re-inspection of permitted work | Fort Myers Beach Fire District | $200.00 | II.Q | Sep 1, 2023 |
| Fifth and each later re-inspection of permitted work | Fort Myers Beach Fire District | $376.00 | II.Q | Sep 1, 2023 |
- Miami-Dade County. Item 16 covers in-building public safety radio enhancement systems; item 25 covers re-inspections of fire safety systems, which names these systems; item 13 is the same-day cancellation fee. The schedule does not say how devices are counted for a radio system; ask MDFR how it counts yours. Plan review is not listed separately for these systems. Source: Implementing Order 04-123: Miami-Dade County Fire Prevention Fee Schedule (effective 10/01/2025), verified Nov 7, 2026.
- Fort Myers Beach Fire District. Flat fees: plan review of a bi-directional amplifier (I.G), radio signal testing and amplifier acceptance testing (II.D), and re-inspections of permitted work (II.Q). No hourly or per-device fee is listed for these systems. Source: Fort Myers Beach Fire District Schedule of Fees (effective 9/1/2023), verified Nov 7, 2026.
- Everywhere else. Not published in a schedule we have read. Cities with their own fire department set their own fees; in Miami-Dade, for example, the City of Miami and Miami Beach run their own fire departments.
Estimate only. These are the fees as published, applied to the numbers you enter. The fire department decides what it charges for your building; fees change, so check the current schedule before you budget. Miami-Dade lists "no contractor or unable to gain access on inspector's arrival" among the reasons a re-inspection is charged: keys and staff ready on test day save money.
Quotes go to up to 3 vetted installers who serve your area. No texts, no cold calls.
How the estimate is built
Each line is one published fee times the number you enter. Nothing is rounded up, padded or guessed:
- Miami-Dade County. Item 16 covers in-building public safety radio enhancement systems: the acceptance test per inspector per hour, the re-acceptance test for an existing system, and the equipment installation inspection by device count (1 to 6, 7 to 100, and $2.00 for each device over 100). Item 25 sets re-inspection fees for fire safety systems and names these systems. Item 13 is the same-day cancellation fee (Implementing Order 04-123).
- Fort Myers Beach Fire District. Flat fees: plan review of a bi-directional amplifier (I.G), radio signal testing and amplifier acceptance testing (II.D), and re-inspections of permitted work, which rise from $50 for the first to $376 for the fifth and each one after (II.Q).
Two readings to confirm with the fire department: for more than 100 devices we add $2.00 per device to the 7 to 100 fee, and the Miami-Dade schedule does not define what counts as a device for a radio system.
Keeping the fee total low
The fees that grow are the repeat visits. Before test day, follow the inspection checklist: keys to every stairwell, elevator room and roof door, the installer on site, and the plans and permit card ready. In Miami-Dade the acceptance test also needs the permit number, commissioning documents and the grid maps for both radio bands (MDFR guidelines). The BDA cost guide has the rest of the budget, and the cost per unit calculator splits the total across the owners.
Fees change. Check the fire department's current schedule before you budget, and confirm requirements with your fire marshal (AHJ).
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Questions people ask
Why are only two fire departments listed?
We list a fire department only after reading its published fee schedule. Miami-Dade County (Implementing Order 04-123, effective 10/01/2025) and the Fort Myers Beach Fire District (effective 9/1/2023) publish fees that name in-building radio systems. For any other fire department, the fee is not published in a schedule we have read; ask it for its current schedule.
Does Miami-Dade charge by the hour for the acceptance test?
Yes. Item 16 of Implementing Order 04-123 lists the signal strength verification test and system acceptance test at $281.48 per inspector, per hour. The schedule does not say how long a test takes, so the estimator asks you for the inspector hours.
What makes a re-inspection happen?
Miami-Dade's item 25 lists the reasons, including a failed inspection, the site not being ready, "no contractor or unable to gain access on inspector's arrival", no approved plans or permit card on site, earlier violations not corrected, and a same-day cancellation. A cancellation on the day of the inspection is also billed $194.44 under item 13.
Sources
Primary documents we read for this page. Rules change; confirm with your fire marshal (AHJ).
- Implementing Order 04-123: Miami-Dade County Fire Prevention Fee Schedule (effective 10/01/2025), Miami-Dade County
- Fort Myers Beach Fire District Schedule of Fees (effective 9/1/2023), Fort Myers Beach Fire District
- General Guidelines for the Deployment of Two-Way Radio Communication Enhancement System (BDAs), Miami-Dade County Fire Prevention Division