Lincoln County, SD Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

Lincoln County adopted the International Residential Code, 2018 Edition, as its residential building code under § 151.30, with local amendments at § 151.33. R105.1, titled Required, obligates any owner or authorized agent who intends to construct, enlarge, alter, or repair a building or structure, including installing regulated electrical, gas, mechanical, or plumbing systems tied to it, to first apply to the building official and obtain a permit; the building official may exempt only minor work. R105.2 lists eleven specific exemptions, covering items like small accessory structures, fences, low retaining walls, sidewalks, and re-roofing, and item 7 exempts only prefabricated swimming pools less than 18 inches deep.

Because the exemption is worded that narrowly, any in-ground, above-ground, or prefabricated residential pool at or beyond that 18-inch depth threshold falls back under the general R105.1 permit requirement. Once a pool is built, it also triggers the county's adopted pool-barrier rules: R326.1 and the parallel IBC Section 3109 require outdoor pools 18 inches deep or more to be enclosed by a barrier at least 42 inches tall with self-closing, self-latching gates, enforced by the same building official who issues the permit. Permits issued under R105.1 expire 365 days after issuance under R105.S, though the building official can grant extensions of up to 180 days in writing for justifiable cause.