Pool Permits in Port St. Lucie

A Port St. Lucie pool starts with a Building Department pool permit, in-ground or above-ground, and an in-ground pool also needs Public Works engineering approval of its site and drainage before the building permit is issued.

The city's list of permit applications carries separate PDFs for an In Ground Pool Permit, an Above Ground Pool Permit, a Pool Barrier Permit, a Pool Heater Permit and a Pool Renovation Modification Permit, along with matching checklists for in-ground pools and spas, above-ground pools and spas, and in-ground spa or hot tub renovations (City of Port St. Lucie Building Department, Permit Applications, Fees and Checklists). Both pool applications state that construction must follow the 2023 Florida Building Code, 8th edition, need notarized signatures from both the contractor and the owner, and are filed with the Building Department at 121 SW Port St. Lucie Boulevard, phone 772-871-5132 (In-ground pool permit application).

For a new in-ground pool in Port St. Lucie, items that are often thought of as separate jobs go in together: the checklist says that when a pool heater, pool enclosure, child safety barrier or pool alarm is proposed, its designs and specifications are part of the pool permit submittal, and work added after issuance goes in as a revision to the pool permit, with no separate permit applications accepted (In-ground pool and spa checklist).

The Port St. Lucie in-ground checklist asks for pool plans signed and sealed by a Florida licensed architect or engineer, a signed and sealed survey showing the pool location and setbacks, Public Works engineering approval and the related subcontractor applications.

On the application form itself the City of Port St. Lucie asks for the pool's maximum width and length, perimeter and square footage, minimum and maximum depth, patio type, number of lights, pool gallons, barrier type, spa, heater and heater source, and the job valuation (In-ground pool application and checklist). The selected safety barriers have to be listed on the engineered pool plans. An electrical subcontractor application is always required; plumbing, structural for a screen enclosure, gas and a gas system design are added when they apply.

For Port St. Lucie pool jobs, a recorded Notice of Commencement is required for work valued at $5,000 or more and must reach permitting before the first inspection is scheduled. Commercial pools add Planning and Zoning approval and Health Department approval, while enclosure permits are not required for that submittal (In-ground pool checklist, notes).

Yes: Port St. Lucie has a separate Above Ground Pool Permit application, and its form says a safety barrier is required when the pool wall stands less than 48 inches above grade.

The Port St. Lucie above-ground form records the pool's dimensions, shape (round, oval or rectangular), water depth, wall height above grade, ladder type and barrier type (Above-ground pool permit application). Its checklist adds an electrical subcontractor permit application for the pump, the manufacturer's specifications for the pool, ladder and pump, a Pool Safety Barrier Affidavit signed by the homeowner, and a property survey showing the pool location. A separate electrical permit application is needed if new electric is being installed, and a pool installed partly in the ground follows the in-ground checklist instead.

Beyond the Port St. Lucie form, state law lets the structure of an aboveground pool serve as its barrier, or carry a barrier mounted on top, as long as it meets the barrier rules, and any ladder or steps must be able to be secured, locked or removed, or be surrounded by a compliant barrier (section 515.29, Florida Statutes).

Port St. Lucie Public Works reviews the survey and drainage for a residential pool under its Residential Review and Permitting Guidelines, and its fee schedule effective October 1, 2026 lists $250 for an accessory use, such as a pool, review and inspection.

The table follows the Port St. Lucie handout's fee page and inspection reminders (Public Works Residential Review and Permitting Guidelines, Pool Permitting). The survey must be new, signed and sealed by a Florida licensed surveyor, drawn to scale, and show the lot easements, the legal description, the pool and pool deck and the distances from each property line to both; a pool deck and screen enclosure may encroach into the rear 20-foot drainage and utility easement only with an approved revocable encroachment permit.

The same Port St. Lucie handout cites City Code 51.04(4)(E) for an 80% maximum permissible impervious area, prohibits artificial grass in the city right of way and easements, and shows a 10-foot accessory setback on its typical 80 by 125 foot inside lot. It also lists neighborhoods where Public Works does not permit or inspect, including Bay St. Lucie, Sawgrass Lakes, Charleston Oaks, South River Shores, Kitching Cove, Vikings Landing, Lake Lucie Estates, Vikings Lookout and Osprey Ridge; there the homeowners association approves site and drainage plans sealed by a Florida professional engineer (Public Works pool handout, Notice to Contractors and exhibits).

The Port St. Lucie Public Works final inspection checks slopes from the pool deck, which may be no steeper than 3 to 1, along with sod, restored swales and leftover construction debris.

The Port St. Lucie handout also makes the builder responsible for drainage that keeps surface runoff out of the pool, lets Public Works set the type, size and gauge of any drainage pipe the builder chooses to install, and requires a signed and notarized Hold Harmless document if part of the rear lot is kept natural or landscaped (Public Works Pool Inspection requirements). Its sod exhibits call for at least one row of sod along rear property lines and a 10-foot strip of sod next to a drainage right of way, and they mark canal or ditch banks as areas not to disturb.

Port St. Lucie final inspections are typically scheduled within two days of the request, depending on demand. Results go to the Building Department by 3 p.m. each day, and the handout asks callers not to phone inspectors for results (Public Works inspection reminders). The handout states that meeting the sod standard is between the homeowner and the pool company.

To pass final inspection, a new residential pool in Port St. Lucie must have at least one of five safety features listed in section 515.27.

The options are a barrier meeting section 515.29, an approved safety pool cover, exit alarms on doors and windows with direct access, self-closing and self-latching devices on those doors, or a swimming pool alarm. For Port St. Lucie pool owners choosing alarms or latches, the statute requires door and window exit alarms rated at least 85 dB A at 10 feet, a door latch release no lower than 54 inches above the floor, and a pool alarm independently certified to ASTM Standard F2208 (section 515.27, Florida Statutes). Under section 515.29, a barrier must be at least 4 feet high on the outside, have no gaps, openings, indentations, protrusions or structural components that could allow a young child to crawl under, squeeze through or climb over it, and be placed sufficiently away from the water's edge to prevent a young child or medically frail elderly person who may have managed to penetrate the barrier from immediately falling into the water; gates must open outward away from the pool and be self-closing and equipped with a self-latching locking device whose release mechanism is on the pool side of the gate (section 515.29, Florida Statutes). The statute also allows a wall of the dwelling to count toward the barrier, but only when that wall contains no door or window that opens to give access to the pool.

Port St. Lucie applies these through its forms: the in-ground application asks for barrier type and the checklist requires barriers on the engineered plans, and the city lists a separate Pool Barrier Permit for barrier work (Port St. Lucie permit applications list).

A Port St. Lucie homeowner can apply as an owner-builder with proof of ownership and an owner-builder affidavit, and the in-ground checklist adds an in-person visit to the Building Department to have the signature notarized.

Each of the two Port St. Lucie pool checklists accepts either a recorded warranty deed or a printed property card naming the homeowner, taken from the property appraiser's site, submitted together with the HOB affidavit (In-ground pool checklist, homeowner builder note). State law limits the exemption to work for the owner's own use: the disclosure statement in section 489.103 warns that when a building or residence the owner-builder built or substantially improved is sold or leased within 1 year after the construction is complete, the law will presume it was built or substantially improved for sale or lease, which violates the exemption, and the statement requires the owner-builder to provide direct, onsite supervision (section 489.103, Florida Statutes, owner-builder disclosure).

Last verified: October 22, 2026, against the in-ground and above-ground pool applications, the Public Works pool permitting guidelines with fees effective October 1, 2026, the Building Department application list and sections 489.103, 515.27 and 515.29, all re-read that day.