Clay County, FL Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

Section 6-37(c) states plainly that a homeowner may construct a swimming pool on his residence property without having to obtain a license as a pool contractor, an exception to the general rule in § 6-38(b) that permit work otherwise must be performed by a certified contractor. That exemption does not remove the underlying permit requirement: § 6-36 requires a permit from the building department before any structure, including a pool, is built in the unincorporated area, and § 6-40(a) requires that all permitted work, including pools, comply with the latest edition of the Standard Swimming Pool Code adopted for the county alongside the Clay County Building Code and Standard Plumbing, Electrical, Gas and Mechanical Codes.

The board of county commissioners reserves the right to amend or delete provisions of any of those adopted codes under § 6-40(b), and the building official keeps at least three copies of each on file for public inspection under § 6-40(c). Applications follow the same § 6-37(a) requirements as any other building permit: scaled drawings, a site plan showing distances to property lines, a legal description, and, on lots under one acre, a foundation survey before final inspection. Because the homeowner exemption applies only to licensing as a pool contractor and only to the homeowner's own residence, it does not authorize an unlicensed person to perform electrical or plumbing work on the pool equipment, which remains subject to the certification requirements of Chapter 7.