Yuba County, CA Swimming Pools & Spas: Hot Tub Rules (2026)

Yuba County's Swimming Pool Safety Act defines a 'swimming pool' to expressly include hot tubs, spas, and portable spas holding water over 18 inches deep (§10.40.030(5)). As a result, a hot tub or spa at a private single-family home generally needs a building permit (Chapters 10.05 and 10.40) and must satisfy the drowning-prevention requirements of §10.40.035 and the anti-entrapment suction-outlet rules of §10.40.046. However, §10.40.050 exempts certain hot tubs and spas: under §10.40.050(2), 'hot tubs or spas with locking safety covers that comply with the American Society for Testing Materials-Emergency Performance Specification (ASTM-ES 13-89)' are exempt from the Chapter's requirements. Other exemptions include public swimming pools, apartment complexes and non-single-family residential settings, facilities regulated by the State Department of Social Services, and any pool within a jurisdiction that has adopted an at-least-as-stringent ordinance (§10.40.050). Electrical work for a spa is covered by the building permit and the adopted State Building Standards Code (Chapter 10.05). Because the County's definition tracks Health & Safety Code §115921, a hot tub deep enough to count as a pool is held to the same standards as an in-ground pool unless an exemption applies.