Temporary Structure

Temporary structures are those structures that are greater than 120 square feet, including connecting areas or spaces with a common means of egress or entrance that are used or intended to be used for gathering of 10 or more persons that are erected for a period of less than 180 days.

Special event structures, tents, umbrella structures and other membrane structures erected for a period of less than 180 days shall also comply with the Florida Fire Prevention Code.

Temporary structures shall conform to the means of egress requirements of Chapter 10 of the Florida Building Code – Building and shall have an exit access travel distance of 100 feet or less.

Any structure that is to be erected for 180 days or longer shall comply with the applicable sections of the Florida Building Code – Building.

Temporary Structure Requirements

The following requirements shall be met when erecting a temporary structure:

1. Tents located on UF campus must use ballast and not stake the structure. For tents not located on UF campus, there must be a minimum of 10 feet between stake wires.
2. All tents must be constructed of flame-retardant material.
3. If the structure has enclosed sides, exit signs will be required above all designated Egress requirements must comply with the Florida Building Code – Building and the Florida Fire Prevention Code.
4. Temporary structures greater than 1,000 square feet or any structure regardless of size that has open flame devices, must possess (2) A:10-B:C type The extinguisher must have a current inspection tag from a licensed Florida fire equipment dealer. A sufficient number of extinguishers shall be available such that the travel distance to any extinguisher does not exceed 75’.
5. Temporary structures shall not be erected such that they block any egress or mechanical room doors from any building, fire lanes, fire hydrants, fire department connections and/or any other appurtenance determined to be critical to the operation of the building during normal or emergency conditions.
6. After issuance of the permit and erection of the temporary structure, the “contractor” shall request an inspection through EH&S’ permitting Failure to obtain a permit may result in removal of the temporary structure by the structure owner and denial of future temporary structure permits.
7. Generators and other internal combustion power sources shall be separated from the temporary structure by a minimum of 5’. Fuel tanks shall be of sufficient capacity for the duration of the event. Refueling shall only be conducted when not in use. All generators must have (2) A:10-B:C type extinguishers. The extinguisher must have a current inspection tag from a licensed Florida fire equipment dealer.
8. Erection of the temporary structure shall not begin earlier than 48 hours prior to the event without written permission. At the conclusion of the event, the temporary structure shall be removed Under no circumstances shall the temporary structure remain in place longer than 24 hours after the conclusion of the event. Clean up of the site and restoration to original state of all grounds is the responsibility of the sponsoring organization and contractor.
9. Obtaining a permit from EH&S does not relieve the sponsoring organization and contractor from obtaining permission for a special event permit from Facilities Services.
   1. Registered Student Organizations may obtain information about event permitting at: https://orgs.studentinvolvement.ufl.edu/
   2. All others may obtain information about event permitting at: https://businessaffairs.ufl.edu/events/gatorconnect/

Temporary Structure Permitting

Temporary structures shall not be erected, operated, or maintained for any purpose without obtaining a permit from the building official. The temporary structure installer shall provide the following documents to EH&S for review and approval:

1. Temporary Building Permit Application
2. A site plan showing the location(s) of the structure(s) and information delineating the means of egress
3. For tents – a flame retardant certificate shall be submitted

All documents shall be emailed to codes@ehs.ufl.edu as separate PDF files (no Portfolio PDFs) or the email will be rejected.

Temporary Structure Inspections

The temporary structure permit holder shall schedule inspections after the structure has been completely setup and before use. EH&S will inspect the structure to make sure it complies with the submitted site plan, for proper means of egress, and Fire Safety compliance.

Inspections shall be scheduled through the customer Portal. Failure to request an inspection prior to occupying/using the structure will result in that structure having to be removed. Continuation of erecting structures without proper inspections may result in EH&S not issuing permits to the temporary structure company in violation.

If the applicant or temporary structure installer does not have access to the Portal, call EH&S at 352-392-1591 and ask for the Codes desk or email codes@ehs.ufl.edu.

Temporary Structure Fees

Fees for erection of temporary structures shall be the minimum permit and plans review fee charged for a building permit by the EH&S Building Code Enforcement fee schedule. An applicant with multiple tents for a single event will not be charged for each individual tent. A grouping of tents will be considered as one allotment for the purpose of fee calculation. Permit fees for failure to obtain a permit prior to erection of a temporary structure shall result in a fee double the usual permit fee.

See the fee schedule for the required permit fees.