Norfolk, VA Swimming Pools & Spas: Pool Permits (2026)

Sec. 1-3's Building Permit/Inspection Fees table lists swimming pools separately from other residential construction: an above-ground pool carries a $50 permit fee, an in-ground pool carries a $125 fee, and the pool barrier required around it is a separate $50 permit. The table specifically notes plumbing and electrical permits may also be required for a pool installation, since pool equipment like pumps, heaters, and lighting falls under the city's electrical and plumbing fee schedules in the same section. Before the building permit stage, Sec. 1-3's Building Plan Review Fees line covers swimming pools, commercial fences, riprap, bulkheads, piers and similar accessory structures at a flat $50 review fee, which applies when plan review is needed ahead of permit issuance.

As with every fee in Sec. 1-3, the final charge is the schedule amount increased 2% to fund the state Building Code Academy under Code of Virginia Sec. 36-137, plus a flat $15 processing fee. Because the USBC and this fee schedule are adopted under Sec. 1, pool construction, like any other regulated structure, must be permitted and inspected before use, and the code official enforces that requirement under Sec. 1. This general code file does not contain the zoning ordinance's pool setback, fencing height, or lot-coverage standards; those dimensional rules sit in Norfolk's separate zoning ordinance, not in the code of ordinances reviewed here.