Harrisburg, PA Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

The City of Harrisburg adopts the International Building Code, 2003 Edition, in § 8-101.2 and rewrites its section 105.2 in § 8-101.3. The rewritten list of work that needs no permit contains a single swimming pool item, item 6. It applies only to a prefabricated pool accessory to a Group R-3 occupancy, and the pool must meet all three limits at once: less than 24 inches deep, no more than 5,000 gallons, and installed entirely above ground. A pool that is 24 inches deep or deeper, that holds more than 5,000 gallons, or that sits in the ground is not described by item 6. The section also states that an exemption never authorizes work done in violation of the code or any other law or ordinance of the City.

A pool outside the exemption is priced like other construction. Section 8-101.4 charges a permit fee for the construction, alteration or repair of any building or structure, and the Zoning Code definition of a structure names swimming pools, whether above or below ground. For a residential building the fee is a $75 application fee plus $8 per $1,000 of estimated cost. The application fee plus $4 per $1,000 is due at submission for plan review and is nonrefundable, and $4 per $1,000 is due at issuance for inspections. Any permit fee also includes the then current Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code fee and any zoning fee for historic, flood or zoning ordinance review.

The Zoning Code treats a household swimming pool as a residential accessory use or structure. It defines a household or private pool as a man-made area with walls of man-made materials intended to enclose water at least 30 inches deep for bathing or swimming that serves the residents of only one dwelling unit and their occasional guests. Work done before the application is filed carries an administrative fee equal to the amount charged for the permit under § 8-101.4.