The short answer
Whether your Florida pool permit needs a survey depends on the building department that issues it, and the checklists give different answers. Davie requires a signed and sealed survey and wants it at its original size, neither reduced nor enlarged [1]. Miami Beach's residential pool checklist, dated 5.23.2024, lists a "Site Survey Signed & Sealed" [2]. Okaloosa County takes a certified survey or a site plan [3], Orange County a site plan or a survey [4], and Indian River County a survey or a plot plan [5]. Where the checklist requires the signed and sealed survey, a licensed surveyor prepares it. Where it takes a site plan, the plan can be drawn to the checklist on a survey you already hold.
So the first step is the checklist of the department that will issue your permit, read for two things: whether it names a signed and sealed survey, and what it wants the drawing to show. The sections below take each answer in turn. How a site plan, a plot plan and a survey differ is set out in site plan vs plot plan vs survey.
Read the checklist for the survey rule
| What your department's checklist says | What goes in with the permit | Where a checklist says so |
|---|---|---|
| A signed and sealed survey | The surveyor's signed and sealed survey, at its original size in Davie [1] | Davie [1]; Miami Beach, checklist of 5.23.2024 [2] |
| A survey or a site plan | Either one; a site plan is drawn to the items the checklist lists | Okaloosa County, certified survey or site plan [3]; Orange County, site plan or survey [4]; Indian River County, survey or plot plan [5] |
| Several copies for an above-ground pool | 3 legible surveys or site plans showing the distance to the structure | Indian River County [5] |
The checklist that sets these rules is the building department's own. Nassau County's pool checklist comes from its Building Department [6], and Davie's from its Building Division [1].
Davie and Miami Beach: where the seal is required
Davie. The Town's residential pool checklist asks for a signed and sealed survey and tells the applicant not to reduce or increase its size [1]. The survey goes in as the surveyor issued it, at its own scale.
Miami Beach. The checklist of 5.23.2024 lists two documents [2]. One is the signed and sealed site survey. The other is a site plan that shows the setbacks, the existing and proposed structures, the property lines and the lot dimensions, with the grade elevation taken from the survey [2]. In Miami Beach the survey and the site plan are separate documents, and the site plan takes its grades from the survey.
In both places the seal on the survey is the surveyor's. The site plan, where one is asked for, is drawn after the survey and from it.
Okaloosa, Orange and Indian River: where a site plan stands in
Okaloosa County. Its residential pool guide takes a certified survey or a site plan [3]. The same guide sets the pool's distance from the lot lines: 5 feet from the edge of the pool water to any side or rear property line [3]. The measurement on an Okaloosa plan therefore starts at the water, not at the edge of the deck around it.
Orange County. Its residential swimming pool permit takes a site plan or a survey, and the permit page covers above-ground pools as well [4]. A pool entry deck needs digitally signed and sealed plans [4], so a deck at the pool's entry adds a sealed sheet to the package; the deck permit site plans page covers decks.
Indian River County. Its swimming pool permit checklist takes a survey or a plot plan [5]. For an above-ground pool, it asks for 3 legible surveys or site plans that show the distance to the structure [5].
What the drawing must show
Whichever document goes in, the checklists that list contents want the pool placed and measured on the lot. Nassau County wants the location and dimensions of the pool, with the setbacks from the pool to each property line, and any easements or overhead or underground power lines [6]. Hillsborough County wants all easements, conservation and wetland areas and setbacks identified, and a statement that no trees will be removed to build the proposed improvements [7]. Miami Beach wants the setbacks, the existing and proposed structures, the property lines, the lot dimensions and the grade elevation as per survey [2]. Okaloosa's distance runs from the edge of the pool water [3], and Indian River's above-ground copies show the distance to the structure [5].
The full item list for a pool plan, checklist by checklist, is on the pool permit site plans page, and the items every permit site plan carries are on the permit site plans hub.
The rest of the pool permit package
The survey or site plan is one part of the package. Florida pool permits also need engineer-sealed pool drawings [7, 4], and Orange County adds digitally signed and sealed plans for a pool entry deck [4].
Above-ground pools follow their own thresholds. Nassau County requires no permit for an above-ground pool that is less than 24 inches deep, holds no more than 5,000 gallons and is installed entirely above ground [6]. Lady Lake publishes its above-ground pool rules on a Pool and Hot Tub Permits page [8].
Each checklist also carries its own date or code reference. Miami Beach's is dated 5.23.2024 [2] and Gainesville's Residential Swimming Pool Permit Checklist 10-11-2023 [9]. Nassau County's cites the Florida Building Code, Residential, 6th Edition (2017) [6], and Hillsborough's and Orange County's pages refer to the current Florida Building Code [7, 4].
The pool permit and Florida's development permit clocks
Florida's statutory review clocks are written for local development permits and development orders, and F.S. 166.033(6) gives those terms their F.S. 163.3164 meanings and says they do not include building permits [10]. A residential pool goes through the building department's review on that department's checklist, as the Nassau and Davie documents show [6, 1]. The development clocks that SB 1080 rewrote in 2025 govern those development permits and orders [10]; the Florida state page sets them out, and site plan for a permit explains which kind of plan each permit takes.
Who prepares each part
| Part of the package | Who prepares it | Checklist |
|---|---|---|
| Signed and sealed survey | A licensed surveyor, where the checklist requires it | Davie [1]; Miami Beach [2] |
| Site plan or plot plan | Drawn to the checklist, on the survey, where the department takes it | Okaloosa [3]; Orange County [4]; Indian River [5] |
| Pool drawings | A professional engineer, who seals them | Hillsborough and Orange County [7, 4] |
| Pool entry deck plans | Digitally signed and sealed | Orange County [4] |
Innowave Studio draws the pool site plan to the checklist of the department that will review it, on the survey you provide. Surveying is a licensed surveyor's work, and where a Florida checklist requires a signed and sealed survey, as Davie's and Miami Beach's do [1, 2], the surveyor prepares it and the site plan is drawn on it. Plans are preliminary, and engineering is by your engineer of record; where sealed pool or deck plans are required [7, 4], the preliminary plan is what the engineer of record builds on.
Florida pages and how to order
The sequence for any permit site plan, from finding the checklist to drawing the plan, is in how to get a site plan of my property, and the seal rules for commercial plans are in where unsealed site plans are accepted. For commercial and development work in the same regions, see the Florida state page and the Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville metro pages.
To order a site plan for your Florida pool, start a project, choose Residential: pool (in-ground or above-ground) as the project type, give the city or county as the location, attach one file (your survey), and name the department's pool checklist under program and stage.
Frequently asked questions
Does every Florida department require a sealed survey for a pool permit?
Can I reduce my survey to fit the application?
Not in Davie, which asks for the signed and sealed survey at its original size, neither reduced nor enlarged [1].
Does Miami Beach take a site plan in place of the survey?
Its residential pool checklist of 5.23.2024 lists both: a signed and sealed site survey, and a site plan showing setbacks, existing and proposed structures, property lines, lot dimensions and grade elevation as per survey [2].
What does an above-ground pool permit take in Indian River County?
Is a Florida pool permit a development permit?
Florida's statute keeps the two apart: development permits and development orders carry their F.S. 163.3164 meanings and do not include building permits (F.S. 166.033(6)) [10]. The pool checklists come from building departments and divisions, such as Nassau County's Building Department [6] and Davie's Building Division [1].
What else goes into the pool permit besides the survey?
Sources
- 1)Residential Pool Checklist, Town of Davie, Florida, Building Division. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 2)Permit Checklist for Pool, Residential New (5.23.2024), City of Miami Beach, Florida, Building Department. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 3)Permit Guide for Residential Swimming Pool, Okaloosa County, Florida, Growth Management. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 4)Residential Swimming Pool Permit, Orange County, Florida. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 5)Swimming Pool Permit Checklist, Indian River County, Florida, Building Division. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 6)Residential Swimming Pool Plan Review Checklist, Nassau County, Florida, Building Department. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 7)Residential Pool Requirements, Hillsborough County, Florida. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 8)Pool and Hot Tub Permits, Town of Lady Lake, Florida. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 9)Residential Swimming Pool Permit Checklist (10-11-2023), City of Gainesville, Florida, Building Inspection. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 10)Chapter 166 Section 033, 2025 Florida Statutes, The Florida Senate. Accessed 2026-10-10.
How these sources were chosen and when the page is reviewed: how we research.