Contact your local county health department (in the county the pool is located) for the following:
To protect public health, the Florida Department of Health has adopted sanitation and safety standards for public pools in Chapter 64E-9, Florida Administrative Code, and enforces those rules through the issuance of operating permits and inspections.
Permitting and inspections are done by the Environmental Public Health section of the Florida Department of Health in each county.
The Florida Department of Health is responsible under Chapter 514, F.S., for the routine surveillance of water quality and safety at all public swimming pools.
The board meets on the second Wednesday of odd numbered months. Meetings are conducted via conference call beginning at 9 a.m. on the meeting date.
Complete, collated variance packages are due in the State Health Office by October 29, 2024.
For detailed information, and to avoid any delay in processing your application(s) please refer to the Public Swimming Pool Variance Application Submission Checklist .
To be placed on the next scheduled variance board meeting, you will need to submit:
If you will be speaking on behalf of a client, a letter of owner authorization, with their contact information including email address will be required before a variance will be processed. Include a check, made out to the Florida Department of Health, for the $300 application fee.
Please also email an electronic copy of your completed application(s) to DOHPoolVariances@FLhealth.gov.
If you are requesting a variance for more than one public pool, at the same property, even for identical issues, each separate water body must have a separate variance application with a separate $300 fee and 8 copies of the above-required Documents.
If you have any questions, please contact 850-901-6499 or DOHPoolVariances@FLhealth.gov.
USPS Mailing Address:
Florida Department of Health Bureau of Environmental Public Health 4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin A-08Tallahassee, FL 32399-1710
FedEx/UPS Shipping Address:
Florida Department of Health 4025 Esplanade Way Floor 2, Room 220-ATallahassee, FL 32399
Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this workshop/meeting is asked to advise the agency at least three days before the workshop/meeting by contacting the variance coordinator.
If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency using the Florida Relay Service, 800-955-8771 (TDD) or 800-955-8770 (Voice).
Section 514.028, F.S., requires the Governor’s appointed advisory board to be comprised of:
To inquire to become a board member, please contact the Governor’s Appointment Office.
For private pool fencing criteria to prevent drowning, referenced in Chapter 515, F.S, visit CPSC's Safety Barrier Guidelines for Home Pools.
As of October 1, 2014, changes to Chapters 514 and 553, F.S., require an application for an operating permit must be submitted to the Florida Department of Health before the building department can issue a construction or modification permit for a public pool.
The DH4159: Application For Swimming Pool Operating Permit and the permitting sequence is found in the next section below. The building department cannot issue a certificate of completion or occupancy until the Florida Department of Health issues the operating permit.
We recommend you contact the Department at least a week before the planned opening. Program office staff is available in Tallahassee at 850-901-6517, or Orlando at 850-274-2928, to answer any questions.
An individual who services a public pool by maintaining the cleanliness, water quality, and chemical balance of public pools shall be certified. To be certified an individual must demonstrate knowledge of public pools.
Examples of such knowledge include: pool cleaning, general pool maintenance, make-up water supply, bacteriological, chemical and physical quality of water, water purification, testing, treatment, and disinfection procedures.
To ensure that the pool technicians are knowledgeable, technicians shall attend a minimum 16 hour training course of national recognition that is approved by the Florida Department of Health and pass a Department-approved test.
Section 514.075, F.S. allows the owner or owner’s direct employee to operate a pool without being certified, and allows a pool servicing contractor who is licensed under Chapter 489, F.S.
View tips on preventing fecal accidents and response procedures, as well as help in determining the time frame and how much liquid chlorine should be added to your pool to sanitize and re-open the pool after an accident.
These forms are available for download in a "fill-in" rich text format (rtf). If you are not familiar with problems that may arise using this type of form, please download the read_me (rtf) file.
NEW – Updated for 2024 8th Edition Florida Building Code: Checklists for Public Pool Plan Review
Section 514.0315, F.S.(opens in a new window), requires all public swimming pools and spas to be equipped with an anti-entrapment system or device that complies with American Society of Mechanical Engineers/American National Standards Institute Standard A112.19.8, or any successor standard.
All new pools and spas are required to use a gravity drainage system that uses a collector tank. The law provides the owner or operator of a public pool or spa several options for pools and spas built before January 1, 1993.
Epsom salt float tank(s) fall under the jurisdiction and regulation responsibilities of the Florida Department of Health, as pools.
Detailed criteria for public pool construction design, equipment requirements, pool operation, and water quality may be found in the Florida Building Code, under section 454 Swimming Pools and Bathing Places, 454.1 Public swimming pools and bathing places, and in Chapter 64E-9, F.A.C., Public Swimming Pools and Bathing Places.
The Department has statewide, approved specific criteria and requirements, through the code variance process allowed by law, for epsom salt float tank manufacturers and specific site installations.
The manufacturer of equipment, which is not included on the statewide list, must submit a aariance application and supporting engineering information to the Florida Department of Health for consideration by the Advisory Review Board.
A DOH permit to operate the float tank is required, and some require building department pool or electrical permits so confirm this with your city or county building department.
The following manufacturers have been granted specific code section variances for their float tank or float room for statewide use, and the variances include requirements for the float tank owners too:
To ensure compliance with both state codes, facility owners may need engineering assistance from the device manufacturer for installation and approval of an eepsom salt pool.
On December 19, 2018, a law went into effect that requires retrofit actions to prevent entrapment drowning and injury at all public pools in the United States.
Any individual or organization that wishes to provide a lifeguard or swimming instructor training and certification course in the state of Florida must use a nationally recognized aquatic training program or equivalent, as defined in 64E-9.008(2)(a)2, F.A.C.
For information on submitting your lifeguard or swimming instructor training and certification program for verification of equivalence standards, please contact:
Florida Department of Health,Bureau of Environmental Health
4052 Bald Cypress Way, Mail Bin A08
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1710
850-245-4578
Healthy swimming provides information on recreational water illnesses and what the public, health professionals, and pool facility operators can do to prevent their transmission.
ANSI Certified Lab’s product listing websites for NSF/ANSI Standard 60 Drinking Water Treatment Chemicals - Health Effects
ANSI Certified Lab’s Product Listing websites for NSF/ANSI Standard 50 Swimming Pool Products
National Disease Outbreaks Report associated with treated recreational water nationally for the period 2000-14.
To prevent heat stroke, Florida requires that swimming pools (or spa pools) with heaters operate at a maximum temperature of 104° F.
Spa pool rules must also state that the maximum use is 15 minutes. A clock must be visible from the spa pool. There are no other temperature requirements.
The Florida Department of Health does not have a recommended temperature range, as the "ideal" temperature depends upon many factors. These include the activity, age of the patrons, the difference in temperature between the water and surrounding air, and personal preference. It is considered something best worked out between the pool patrons and management.
Florida has no specific rule against children in diapers entering public swimming pools. The use of swim diapers is recommended for children who are not toilet trained.
Service animals are allowed onto the pool deck, but not into the pool. While service dogs are generally allowed to accompany their owners anywhere the public would normally be allowed to go, they may be excluded under certain conditions, such as a threat to the health and safety of others.
The Florida Department of Health considers any animal in a public pool a public health threat.
Complete sections 1 and 2 of form DH415. Note any additional changes in the remarks section.
Send the signed and dated form to the Florida Department of Health office in the county that the pool is located in. This must be done within 30 days of the ownership change or a fee will be assessed.
Pool owners can choose when their pools can be used. There are no required hours that a public swimming pool must be open. However, it cannot be open at night unless the pool and pool deck have proper lighting for the safety of patrons.
The lighting above and below water must be approved by the local building department after a professional conducts a field test. Then, "night swimming approved" will be noted on the pool permit. State code defines night swimming as 30 minutes before sunset to 30 minutes after sunrise.
Pool hours must be posted on the rules sign.
