Biloxi, MS Swimming Pools & Spas: Fencing Requirements (2026)

Biloxi enforces pool safety through its adopted building code, not a stand-alone pool ordinance. Mississippi's framework: Miss. Code Ann. §17-2-1 et seq. created the Mississippi Building Codes Council and authorizes adoption of the IRC and IBC, while Miss. Code Ann. §21-19-25 lets municipalities adopt and amend nationally recognized codes by reference. Mississippi adopted the 2018 IRC (with the 2024 IRC moving in for new state-level adoption) and IRC Appendix G or its successor R326 governs residential pool barriers. Key requirements: barrier minimum 48 inches (4 ft) high measured on the side facing away from the pool; openings cannot allow passage of a 4-inch sphere; bottom of barrier within 2 inches of grade on solid surfaces and within 4 inches above grade on grass; vertical members maximum 1.75 inches apart on barriers under 45 inches tall; gates must open outward from the pool, be self-closing and self-latching, with the release mechanism at least 54 inches above the bottom of the gate or located on the pool side with screening; where a wall of the dwelling forms part of the barrier, doors must have alarms or self-closing/self-latching mechanisms. Mississippi has no statewide pool-fence preemption statute, so Biloxi may add stricter local conditions; in practice the city enforces the IRC standard through residential building permits issued by the Community Development Department, (228) 435-6280. Public/commercial pools fall under separate Mississippi State Department of Health regulations (15 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 18).