Pinellas County Seawall Permits: Water and Navigation and City Rules

Who Issues What in Pinellas County

Pinellas County's Water and Navigation section (opens in a new tab) permits docks and 'dredge and fill' projects, and the county states plainly that 'this includes projects in the cities and unincorporated areas.' Seawalls and riprap are on its list, along with private, multi-use and commercial docks, marinas, tie poles and 'all dredging or filling within the waters of Pinellas County.' The county has 24 incorporated municipalities, and the same county marine permit applies in each of them.

The building permit is a separate track. In unincorporated Pinellas, the county's Fences & Walls page lists 'seawalls of any height' among work that always requires a building permit, and Seawall is a residential permit type under Fences and Walls. Building and Development Review Services also acts as the building department for six cities, which the county calls partner communities (not to be confused with Florida Bulk Head's contractor network); Indian Rocks Beach, for example, says the county has assumed the role of its building department. Other cities, including St. Petersburg, St. Pete Beach and Madeira Beach, run their own building offices.

The County Water and Navigation Permit

Water and Navigation reviews projects 'for environmental impacts, navigational impacts and construction requirements, as well as consistency with the Pinellas County Water and Navigation Code.' New applications go through the Pinellas County Access Portal (opens in a new tab), where the county's instructions say to choose the Dock/Dredge & Fill Permit record type. A paper application is available by request at (727) 464-4170 or WNPermitIntake@pinellas.gov. For status on a filed application, email WaterNavPermits@pinellas.gov with the permit number and address.

• Check habitat first. The county's Coastal Environmental Resource Zone Map (opens in a new tab) shows whether a property falls in a zone where 'seagrass and/or mangroves have been found nearby' based on the county's most recent data.
• Watch review times. The county publishes a Water & Navigation Permit Times Dashboard (opens in a new tab) with permits issued, first review times and what is on schedule or delayed.
• Know the fee structure. The county's fee schedule (opens in a new tab) (effective Oct. 1, 2026) lists dock permit types and dredge/fill permit types priced by volume, but no line item named for seawalls, so ask staff which type your wall falls under. The schedule also lists pre-application coral and mangrove surveys.
• Mangroves. DEP lists an Order of Delegation to Pinellas County for the regulation of mangroves (02/27/96), and the county's fee schedule includes mangrove trimming permits.
• Old pilings have disposal rules. The county says CCA-treated lumber must go to a permitted landfill, by appointment, cut to 4 feet or less and free of wires, metal attachments and decking.

City Seawall Rules: Height Limits Run Both Ways

Two Pinellas barrier-island cities publish seawall height rules, and they pull in opposite directions. St. Pete Beach sets a floor; Madeira Beach sets a ceiling tied to the street and the neighbors. Neither rule applies outside that city, so check your own city's requirements before design.

• St. Pete Beach turbidity barrier. A city notice to seawall contractors says a turbidity barrier must be installed before any construction, and failure to do so 'will result in a failed inspection and stop work order.' The 2021 sheet is the document we confirmed; ask the city whether a later standard applies. Our St. Pete Beach page has more.
• Madeira Beach applications are submitted through the MGO Connect portal listed on the checklist; the Building Department is at 300 Municipal Drive.
• Indian Rocks Beach. The city's posted guidelines list seawalls and dredge and fill among permits that go to Pinellas Water & Navigation without city approval, while docks need city approval first.
• Clearwater. The city's Marine and Dock Permit Checklist (opens in a new tab) says its Planning and Development Department 'must provide pre-approval' before a dock application goes to the county, and that boat lifts require a building permit. It does not address seawalls, so ask the city before a combined seawall and dock job.
• St. Petersburg. The Construction Services and Permitting Division (opens in a new tab) handles building permits at the Municipal Services Center. We did not confirm which city permit type applies to a private seawall; see our St. Petersburg page for the city's seawall planning.
• Other cities. For Treasure Island, Gulfport, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs and the county's other municipalities, ask the city building office what it requires alongside the county permit.

Aquatic Preserves and the Pinellas Bulkhead Line

The Pinellas County Aquatic Preserve (opens in a new tab) 'includes all the state-owned submerged land within the boundary of Pinellas County,' extending 9 miles into the Gulf and following the county line in Tampa Bay. It also reaches fresh water, taking in large portions of Lake Tarpon and Lake Seminole. Its estuarine basins include the Anclote River, St. Joseph Sound, Clearwater Harbor, Boca Ciega Bay, southwestern Tampa Bay, Riviera Bay, Feather Sound and western Old Tampa Bay.

Inside it sits the Boca Ciega Bay Aquatic Preserve (opens in a new tab), which DEP describes as the first legislatively designated aquatic preserve in Florida, established in 1969 'in response to extensive dredge-and-fill activities.' Both preserves are managed under one DEP management plan, and a draft of a new plan was posted in 2026.

• No new walls waterward of the high water line. Rule 18-20.004(1)(c), F.A.C. (opens in a new tab) says there shall be no construction of seawalls waterward of the mean or ordinary high water line in aquatic preserves, except for certain public road and bridge projects and as provided in section 258.42(3)(e)4., F.S.
• Restoration allowance. Section 258.42(3)(e)4., F.S. (opens in a new tab) allows restoration of seawalls at their previous location, upland of it, or within 18 inches waterward, while Rule 18-20.004(1)(e)7. still uses one foot for restoration exempt from a consent application. Confirm the allowance with DEP before design.
• The Pinellas bulkhead line. Statewide, section 253.1221, F.S. (opens in a new tab) re-established old bulkhead lines at the line of mean or ordinary high water. Pinellas has its own provision: under section 253.66, F.S. (opens in a new tab), once a county bulkhead line fixed by 'the water and navigation control authority of Pinellas County' is approved by the state's Board of Trustees, 'no further change in said bulkhead line shall be made.' A bulkhead line is not a property line or a permit; ask Water and Navigation whether one affects your shoreline.
• Estuary walls may need riprap. For repair or replacement of an existing vertical seawall, section 373.414(5), F.S. (opens in a new tab) says the agency 'shall generally require such seawall to be faced with riprap material, or to be replaced entirely with riprap material' unless an exception applies, such as an existing manmade canal already lined with vertical seawalls. DEP describes Tampa Bay as Florida's largest open-water estuary.
• Gulf beaches. Pinellas County's Coastal Construction Control Line is described in Rule 62B-26.011, F.A.C. (opens in a new tab). It covers the sandy Gulf beach and dune system, not bay, canal or lake walls.
• Manatees. FWC's list of approved county manatee protection plans does not include Pinellas County as of this review. Ask DEP which in-water work conditions apply to your project.

State and Federal Review

Pinellas lies in DEP's Southwest District and in the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Under the DEP and water management district operating agreements (opens in a new tab), DEP generally reviews systems serving a single-family home that are not part of a larger development, plus anything seaward of the CCCL; SWFWMD takes the other ERP applications. State-owned submerged land in Pinellas is aquatic preserve, so state-lands authorization usually rides along with that review.

For federal authorization, the Corps' SPGP VI lists an expiration date of July 27, 2026, and we could not confirm a successor as of this review. Federal authorization may instead come through a nationwide permit, such as NWP 3 (Maintenance) or NWP 13 (Bank Stabilization), under the 2026 reissuance (opens in a new tab) that took effect March 15, 2026, or through an individual permit. Ask DEP or the Corps which applies to your project.

Typical Permit Steps in Pinellas County

1. 1Confirm your jurisdictionFind out whether the property is in a city or unincorporated Pinellas, since that decides who issues the building permit. The county permit applies either way.
2. 2Check habitat and city rulesLook up the Coastal Environmental Resource Zone Map, and read your city's seawall checklist, including any minimum or maximum cap elevation.
3. 3Define the scopeHave the wall assessed and decide between repair and replacement. Note where the new face would sit relative to the old one, since aquatic preserve and state exemption limits turn on that distance.
4. 4Get city pre-approval if requiredSome cities review first; Clearwater, for example, requires pre-approval before a dock application goes to the county.
5. 5Apply to Water and NavigationSubmit through the Pinellas County Access Portal with the drawings and surveys the county asks for.
6. 6Handle state, federal and building permitsConfirm the DEP exemption, self-certification or ERP, the federal authorization, and the city or county building permit, plus a CCCL permit for Gulf-front work.
7. 7Build and close outInstall turbidity controls before work, pass inspections, file any required elevation certificate and dispose of old treated pilings properly.

Documents and Contacts