Seawall permits around Panama City Beach.
Start with your parcel.

Which office issues my seawall permit?

Look up the parcel on the Property Appraiser's search, or ask at its Beach Office, 301 Richard Jackson Blvd., (850) 248-8470. Bay County Property Appraiser Then match the tax district below.

Directory: Bay County building departments list. Call before you visit, since office locations change.

EPCI is a private code-services firm that runs building permitting for several small cities. City council and development order steps stay with each city. EPCI city information

Gulf County: city or county?

Port St. Joe is Gulf County's only coastal city. Beacon Hill, St. Joe Beach, Highland View, Cape San Blas and Indian Pass are unincorporated communities. DEP St. Joseph Bay plan

Check the parcel on the Gulf County Property Appraiser's search, (850) 229-6115. Gulf County Property Appraiser The county Building Department is open Monday through Thursday and has announced a CitizenServe permit portal opening November 9. Gulf County Building Department page See the Gulf County guide.

Line up approvals in the right order

A private seawall job here can need three approvals: a state environmental permit or exemption, federal review and the local building permit. Several local offices will not issue until the state paperwork is in hand.

1. DEP Northwest District for the environmental resource permit (ERP) or exemption and any state-owned submerged land consent. The Panama City Branch Office is at 2420 Jenks Ave., Suite 4-B, (850) 872-4375. DEP Northwest District DEP generally handles single-family projects and docks. DEP and water management district split
2. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Panama City Permits Section, 415 N. Richard Jackson Blvd., Suite 411, Panama City Beach, (850) 763-0717. USACE Jacksonville District offices A state permit does not replace federal authorization. USACE guidance
3. Your local building department, with the state and federal papers attached.

DEP's Northwest District takes online requests for pre-application meetings. DEP Northwest District permitting Federal applications go through the Corps' Regulatory Request System. USACE Regulatory Request System

Which state rule fits your seawall?

Florida offers several ways to authorize seawall work. Which one applies depends on where the new face sits, what kind of water it fronts and what else the job includes.

DEP charges $100 to verify an exemption, $250 for a general permit and $420 for a small individual permit. Rule 62-4.050 A local office may not demand a DEP verification from someone relying on the exemption, but other local and submerged-land rules still apply. Florida verification limit

The 2026 nationwide permits took effect March 15, 2026. USACE 2026 nationwide permits Ask your designer which one fits your scope.

Unincorporated Bay County: what the county asks for

• A building permit for any new dock or seawall and any structural change or repair. Bay County permit requirements
• Form B36: an engineered seawall design, a site plan with the work footprint, equipment, setbacks and easements, a notarized application, and a certified Notice of Commencement over $5,000. Bay County Form B36
• Notarized applications for every permit starting November 16, 2026, and an approved inspection within each 180 days to keep a permit alive. Bay County Building Safety
• Applications through the county portal at portal.baycountyfl.gov, where permit technicians help with registration in person. Bay County permits page

Planning & Zoning reviews development against the county's land rules and issues fill and grading permits. Call (850) 248-8250. The county warns of scam emails asking for extra fees, which are paid once at application. Bay County Planning & Zoning

The site plan should show the mean or ordinary high water line, wetlands and, on the Gulf, the CCCL. Bay County LDR 1805 See the Bay County guide.

Panama City Beach: the city code points to know

• Seawalls in V zones and Coastal A zones need state or federal authorization and a design professional's sign-off that the wall will not push floodwater or bounce waves onto neighbors. Panama City Beach LDC 3.02.16G
• Permits carry a condition that DEP, Corps and water management district permits come first. Panama City Beach LDC 3.02.04H
• The land code's dock section, 5.02.06, is reserved. Building code, state and federal dock rules still apply. Panama City Beach LDC 5.02.06
• Development needs a vegetated buffer next to water bodies and wetlands, and docks may cross it on a cleared path up to 15 feet wide. Panama City Beach LDC 4.06.07

A V zone is the flood zone with storm-wave hazard. A Coastal A zone sits just inland, and Bay County's flood maps mark the edge with a Limit of Moderate Wave Action line. FEMA flood hazard layer

Ask the city whether your flood zone triggers the design analysis. The Building Department is at (850) 233-5100 ext. 2601. Bay County building departments list

Panama City: a development order, then a building permit

Panama City's Planning & Zoning Division issues development orders for docks, seawalls and marinas, in addition to the building permit. For status and fees, call (850) 691-4595. Panama City Planning & Zoning

The city's dock guide, revised January 3, 2025, sets a $100 application fee. It requires electronic filing with a signed and sealed survey, a sealed site plan and all federal, state and local authorizations. Panama City dock guide

• At most two boat slips per lot, and no dredging except to install pilings.
• On lots with 65 feet or more of shoreline, docks with walkways sit at least 25 feet from side lines.
• Walkways no wider than 5 feet. Docks reach only to 4 feet below mean low water or 25 feet, whichever is greater, and never past 20% of the waterbody width. Panama City dock standards

Building Services, 501 Harrison Ave., (850) 872-3025, is moving permits and inspections onto Cloudpermit. Panama City Building Services

Lynn Haven, Parker, Callaway and Springfield

Parker's form dates to 2021. Ask the city whether your dock or seawall still goes to City Council or can be issued by staff.

Lynn Haven's Building Department is at 817 Ohio Ave., (850) 265-2121 ext. 2135.

Mexico Beach: building review by EPCI, approvals by the city

Mexico Beach sends permit applicants to EPCI. City Hall is at 201 Paradise Path, (850) 648-5700. Mexico Beach Building Department page

• Contractors register with the Mexico Beach Building Department and hold a city Business Occupational License.
• The packet includes a development order application, a building application, a Notice of Commencement and an owner affidavit.
• Expect a site plan, a survey, an elevation certificate or benchmark letter, and an FDEP permit if the work is seaward of the CCCL. EPCI Mexico Beach checklist

For canal seawalls, docks and lifts, ask City Hall whether the work needs City Council review before the building permit, and leave time for a meeting.

The current Mexico Beach land code is amended through January 13, 2026. Mexico Beach Land Development Code Ask staff to point you to the canal and shoreline sections that apply.

Gulf County and Port St. Joe

The one exception covers the critical erosion stretch on St. Joseph Peninsula, and only if agencies permit a wall as needed for emergency property protection. Gulf County Coastal Objective 1.9

• Within 50 feet inland from the St. Joseph Bay Aquatic Preserve boundary, county rules bar upland development, except minor accessory structures on lots deeded on or before 1992. Gulf County Future Land Use Policy 1.1.10
• Inside Port St. Joe, the first 50 feet inland from the bay's mean high water line is a shoreline protection zone open only to water-dependent work. Port St. Joe LDR 4.08
• Port St. Joe treats repair of docks and seawalls after a disaster as redevelopment that needs permits. Port St. Joe Coastal Management Element
• Gulf County's Planning & Development Review Board usually meets the third Monday at 8:45 a.m. Eastern, with applications due before the 15th. Planning: (850) 227-9562. Gulf County Planning Department

Port St. Joe lists DEP or Corps approval among its permit requirements and says it reviews residential plans within 5 working days. Port St. Joe permit requirements See Port St. Joe and St. Joseph Bay.

Aquatic preserves: tighter rules near the pass and on St. Joseph Bay

Two aquatic preserves shape bay-side work. St. Andrews Aquatic Preserve takes in the inlet of St. Andrew Bay south of Panama City and east of Panama City Beach. DEP St. Andrews Aquatic Preserve St. Joseph Bay Aquatic Preserve covers 55,675 acres of the lagoon behind Cape San Blas. DEP St. Joseph Bay Aquatic Preserve

The St. Andrews preserve includes only state submerged land below mean high water; uplands and artificial canals are excluded. St. Andrews preserve management plan Part of the Apalachicola Bay preserve also lies in Gulf County. Section 258.39, F.S.

Both preserves are also Outstanding Florida Waters. Rule 62-302.700 Work that needs an individual permit there must be "clearly in the public interest," a higher bar than elsewhere. Section 373.414(1), F.S. The DEP preserve contact is (850) 670-7747.

Gulf-front lots: the CCCL adds a state permit

The Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) is the state's permit line on the Gulf beach. Work seaward of it needs a DEP coastal permit.

• Bay County's line took effect February 7, 1997. It covers the Gulf beaches, including Panama City Beach and Mexico Beach, not St. Andrew Bay. Rule 62B-26.024
• Gulf County's line was revised January 21, 2010 and follows parts of St. Joseph Bay as well as the Gulf. Rule 62B-26.016
• Repairing a seawall is not exempt from CCCL rules. Section 161.053(11)(a), F.S.

Bay County's plan requires development seaward of the line to comply strictly with Chapter 62B-33. Bay County Comprehensive Plan Policy 7.4.3 DEP's CCCL program line is (850) 245-8570. DEP CCCL program Details are in the Gulf-front armoring guide.

Lake Powell, Deer Point and other protected waters

Bay County also bars new development that adds to shoreline erosion of any property, and it limits work that damages seagrass beds. Bay County LDR 1904(2)

How long do seawall permits take?

Answer each request for more information quickly and completely. A complete first package is the surest way to keep the clock moving.

Questions to settle before a start date

• Which tax district is the parcel in, and which office issues the building permit?
• Does the job qualify for a state exemption, or does it need a general or individual permit?
• Is the shoreline in an aquatic preserve, an Outstanding Florida Water or seaward of the CCCL?
• Who files each application, and who answers each request for more information?
• Which drawing revision is the contract set, and who pays for redesign?

Not sure where to start? Tell us what your seawall needs and we will help you plan the next step through the project planner.

Official permit resources