McHenry County, IL Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

The McHenry County Board adopted the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code 2021, with local amendments, at § 15.60.010 of the County Code, and put the Department of Planning and Development in charge of it as the 'code official.' Amended Section 105.1 of that adopted code, 'When required,' states that any owner or authorized agent who wants to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move or demolish a pool or spa, or install, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any regulated system, must first apply to the code official and obtain a permit before the work begins. A permit is not required just to replaster, reline or resurface an existing pool or spa, and amended Section 105.1.1 adds a further exemption for prefabricated swimming pools shallower than 24 inches.

The adopted code also folds in McHenry County's own flood and barrier rules: amended Section 304.2 requires pools and spas in a mapped flood hazard area to comply with the County's Stormwater Management Ordinance in addition to the International code's flood provisions, with the stricter rule controlling wherever the two conflict, and amended Section 305 applies the barrier standard to any pool or spa unless it has an ASTM F1346-compliant lockable safety cover. Because Section 105.1 sits inside the countywide Pool and Spa Code rather than the separate Public Health Ordinance, a McHenry County pool project needs sign-off from Planning and Development on both the permit and, where applicable, the barrier and flood-hazard provisions before construction can start.