Bay County seawall permits.
Find the office, the rules and the records.

Which office issues a seawall permit in Bay County?

The government that holds your parcel issues the permit, and your mailing address will not tell you which one that is. Bay County has unincorporated land plus seven cities, and permits are split among several offices. FEMA community list

• In ZIP 32408, 17,210 address points with a Panama City Beach mailing address are unincorporated, against 3,400 inside that city. County address layer
• Every address inside Callaway and Parker carries a Panama City mailing address. County address layer
• All 19 Goose Bayou Road points read Lynn Haven but sit in unincorporated Bay County. County address layer
• Mexico Beach shares ZIP 32456 with Port St. Joe in Gulf County. County address layer

A Panama City Beach reference sheet matches each Property Appraiser tax district to its building office. Building department list

Call ahead before you visit any office, since contract arrangements and portals change.

How do I check my parcel's tax district?

Look up the parcel, read the tax district, then match it to the table above. It takes a few minutes and keeps the file away from the wrong desk.

1. Search the parcel on the Bay County Property Appraiser's qPublic site. The main office is at 860 W. 11th Street, (850) 248-8401, and the beach office at 301 Richard Jackson Blvd., (850) 248-8470. Property Appraiser
2. Read the tax area. A parcel inside Panama City Beach shows Tax Area 13; property outside the city goes to a different building and code enforcement office. City jurisdiction note
3. Open BayViewer, the county GIS map, for flood, zoning and historical aerial layers on the same parcel. Report map errors to the GIS Division at (850) 248-8071. BayViewer
4. For unincorporated parcels, search permit history on the county portal by parcel number. Dock and seawall permits carry the prefix PRDC. Permit search Permit prefixes

BayViewer's historical imagery can show roughly when a wall or dock appeared, which helps when you ask an office for a specific file.

Unincorporated Bay County: Building Safety and Form B36

In unincorporated Bay County, any new dock or seawall, and any structural change or repair, needs a Building permit. County permit table Building Safety is at 840 W 11th Street, Panama City, (850) 248-8350, open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Building Safety contact

Form B36, the county's Dock and Seawall Plan Review Submittal, asks for these items: Form B36

• Engineered design specifications for the seawall
• A site plan with the work footprint, equipment location, setbacks and easements
• A complete, notarized building permit application
• Planning and Zoning approval if the use is commercial
• A certified Notice of Commencement if the job tops $5,000
• A development order if the lot is inside the City of Panama City

The form also warns that environmental permits may be required. The county says all permit applications must be notarized starting November 16, 2026, and a permit stays valid only while an inspection passes in each 180-day period. Building Safety page Applications go through the Bay County Portal. County portal

Contractors need a state license and must register with the county before pulling permits. Contractor registration Unincorporated Bay County issues no local business tax receipt, and that does not remove the state licensing requirement. Licensing FAQ Check a license with Bay County Contractor Licensing at (850) 248-8350, and see the contractor check guide. Licensing FAQ

What do Bay County seawall permit fees cost?

County building fees scale with the declared value of the job. These are Bay County's 2026 tiers: 2026 fee schedule

Plan review adds $75 for residential work, or a $90 minimum for scopes the schedule does not list. State surcharges of 1% and 1.5% apply, each with a $2 minimum. Fee rules Seawalls are not a named line item, so ask at intake which review fee applies. On a $60,000 job, the tiers work out to about $325 for the permit before review and surcharges.

Working without a permit costs $100 or double the permit fee for a first offense, whichever is greater, rising to $500 and then $1,000. Penalty schedule Cities use different bases. Panama City charges $4.10 per $1,000 of city valuation for residential work, and Panama City Beach uses its own valuation tiers. Panama City fees Panama City Beach fees

DEP Northwest District and the Corps Panama City Permits Section

Besides the local permit, plan for a state decision and a federal one. DEP generally handles single-family projects and docks, and the water management district handles larger developments. DEP and district split NWFWMD role

These offices cover Bay County shoreline work. DEP Northwest District DEP permitting staff Corps office list NWFWMD contact

State law exempts restoring a seawall at its old location, farther inland, or up to 18 inches farther out. Section 403.813(1)(e) Where the bottom is state-owned, a seawall reaching no more than 3 feet out past the mean high water line needs a letter of consent. Rule 18-21.005 DEP charges $100 to verify an exemption and $250 to verify a general permit. Rule 62-4.050

A state approval does not replace federal authorization. Corps guidance The Corps' 2026 Nationwide Permits took effect March 15, 2026. 2026 NWP notice Nationwide Permit 13 covers bank stabilization up to 500 feet, with advance notice required beyond that or when work touches special sites such as seagrass. NWP 13 The permit guide walks through each step.

Bay County shoreline rules: setback, seagrass, dunes and natural edges

Unincorporated Bay County adds its own shoreline limits on top of state review. These sections of the Land Development Regulations (LDR) bear directly on walls and docks. LDR 1904(4) LDR 1904(2) LDR 1904(8) LDR 2807 R-1 zone Policy 6.7.4

Because the setback does not apply where a seawall stands, ask Planning before you remove one. The erosion clause can matter if a new wall would push erosion onto a neighbor. Site plans for development orders must show in-water construction, the high water line and the CCCL where it applies. LDR 1805

Deer Point Lake, Lake Powell and the St. Andrews Aquatic Preserve

Three protected water bodies carry extra rules in Bay County. Check whether your shoreline touches one before design starts.

Deer Point Lake Reservoir

The 5,000-acre reservoir is the county's main drinking water source. SWIM plan Parcels created after the protection code must keep a 75-foot natural strip along the lake and its feeder creeks. Septic systems must sit at least 100 feet from the water. LDR 1906 The zone's rules do not apply to docks, piers, seawalls or bulkheads on submerged land, so state, federal and building permits govern that work. LDR 1906(8)(g) For the 2025-26 season, the county lowered the lake about 2.5 feet and told owners to plan dock and bulkhead repairs during the drawdown. Drawdown notice

Lake Powell

Lake Powell, Phillips Inlet and the lake's tributaries are an Outstanding Florida Water. Within 200 feet of the shore, county land is limited to single-family homes at 2 per acre, and septic drainfields are barred from the first 100 feet. LDR 1912 Work in an Outstanding Florida Water must be clearly in the public interest. Section 373.414(1)

St. Andrews Aquatic Preserve

The preserve, designated in 1972, covers 24,116 acres around the St. Andrew Bay entrance and reaches about 3 miles offshore. DEP preserve page It includes only state-owned bottom below mean high water; uplands and artificial canals are excluded. Management plan

• No new seawall or fill out past the mean or ordinary high water line. Rule 18-20.004(1)(c)
• Restoring a seawall at its old line, farther inland or up to one foot farther out needs no consent of use. Rule 18-20.004(1)(e)7
• Converting a vertical bulkhead to riprap or plantings is listed as an example of a public-interest benefit. Rule 18-20.004(2)(d)4

Seagrass covered about 12,200 acres of the St. Andrew Bay system in 2010. SWIM plan The living shoreline guide covers softer options for calm bay and bayou lots.

Gulf-front lots and the 1997 Coastal Construction Control Line

On the Gulf beaches, DEP's Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) adds a state permit for anything seaward of it. Bay County's line took effect February 7, 1997. It runs in three pieces: the Walton line to St. Andrews Pass, the pass to Tyndall on Shell Island, and Tyndall's east edge on Crooked Island to the Gulf County line. Rule 62B-26.024 Bay and bayou shorelines are not on the line.

The county plan requires strict compliance with the state coastal rule seaward of the line, and Coastal Zone Protection Act standards within 1,500 feet of it. Comprehensive Plan Policy 7.4.3 Seawall repair seaward of the line is not exempt from DEP review. Section 161.053(11)(a) DEP notes numerous concrete and wood bulkheads and retaining walls along the privately developed western beach, critically eroded from Phillips Inlet to St. Andrews Inlet. Critically eroded beaches report

See Gulf-front armoring for the state's eligibility test, and the Gulf-front Panama City Beach guide for the strip's sand history.

Flood maps, CRS discounts and elevation certificates

Unincorporated Bay County and all seven cities moved to a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) dated October 24, 2024. FEMA community status Twenty-two panels still carry June 2, 2009 dates, so confirm which panel covers your lot. NFHL panels Under the new maps, the share of unincorporated Bay County in the special flood hazard area rose from 45% to 54%. 2025 LMS

The county's flood layer also holds 81 Limit of Moderate Wave Action line features, which mark the inland edge of the Coastal A zone. NFHL features Discounts on federal flood policies depend on each community's Community Rating System (CRS) class. Bay County CRS Panama City Beach CRS Panama City CRS Other cities Mexico Beach and Springfield

Before paying a surveyor, check whether an elevation certificate already exists. Bay County posts certificates on file from 2007 on, with older ones in its archive. Elevation certificates County Planning and Zoning, (850) 248-8250, answers questions on past flooding, floor elevations and coastal barrier status. Flood hazard page

Storm history behind Bay County's shoreline rules

Bay County walls have been tested by storms landing on both sides of the bay. Read each storm's numbers for your part of the county, not one headline figure.

DEP's count of 1,460 feet of damaged armoring in Michael covers Gulf-front walls only, leaving bay, bayou and canal seawalls out of the tally. DEP armoring summary FEMA's Isaias declaration, DR-4955 of October 27, 2026, includes household aid and Public Assistance in Bay County. The last day to apply to FEMA is December 26, 2026. OpenFEMA DR-4955 FEMA's home repair list does not include seawalls. FEMA IAPPG

• SBA disaster loans for physical damage are open in Bay County until December 28, 2026. SBA Isaias fact sheet
• The storm guide covers what to do after the next one.

Bay County area guides

Each area guide leads with the facts that apply only there. Pick the one closest to your shoreline.