St. Lucie County seawall permits.
Find the right office and rules.

The essentials before you start

• Choose the right building department ↗

  County, Fort Pierce and St. Lucie Village applications follow different routes.

• Use the county marine checklist ↗

  Check the documents and agency approvals needed for an unincorporated parcel.

• Distinguish beach from lagoon frontage ↗

  Hutchinson Island guidance changes with the side of the island and the proposed work.

Four jurisdictions, four building departments

St. Lucie County Building & Code Regulation (2300 Virginia Ave, Fort Pierce; 772-462-1553) permits unincorporated areas only. The City of Port St. Lucie, the City of Fort Pierce and the Town of St. Lucie Village each issue their own permits. The county’s plan examiner of the day is at 772-462-1577.

Unincorporated waterfront areas include River Park, Harbour Ridge, Indian River Drive outside Fort Pierce and the county portions of North and South Hutchinson Island. Check the parcel record before applying; a “Port St. Lucie” mailing address can be county land.

Permitting Contacts

The county Marine Construction Checklist

• Applies to new construction, repair, alteration or expansion of seawalls, bulkheads, revetments, riprap, docks, piers, wharfs and groins, including pile driving and dredging.
• At upload: an FDEP permit or written exemption (the checklist notes most projects under 1,000 sq ft can get an FDEP exemption online), an Army Corps permit or exemption, and a water management district permit or exemption.
• Plans showing all work, including boat lifts and lighting, digitally signed and sealed where required.
• A recorded Notice of Commencement before the first inspection; the marine checklist states it for work over $2,500.

The checklist lists FDEP’s Port St. Lucie office at 772-398-2806 and its West Palm Beach office at 561-681-6600. Applications go through the county’s EnerGov Citizen Self Service portal.

Marine Construction Checklist (Building & Code Regulation) · Permitting & Zoning

County environmental rules and coastal policy

The county’s Environmental Regulations and Land Management Division implements the environmental chapters of the Land Development Code. The Comprehensive Plan’s Coastal Management Element limits erosion control to measures that minimize interference with natural coastal processes, and ties development on Hutchinson Island to the island’s residential development and coastal area protection ordinances.

St. Lucie County has an FWC-approved Manatee Protection Plan (2002), and its manatee speed zones cover the Indian River and the North Fork.

Environmental Regulations & Permits · Comprehensive Plan - Coastal Management Element · Manatee Protection Plans - MPPs · Fla. Admin. Code R. 68C-22.008 - St. Lucie County Zones

Hutchinson Island: beach side versus lagoon side

On the Atlantic side, construction seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line needs an FDEP CCCL permit unless exempt; the CCCL is not a setback line. After a storm, repairs to seawall caps, tiebacks and revetments need local authorization under an emergency order or an emergency permit, while replacing armoring needs a full CCCL permit. Temporary armoring must come out, or a permanent application must be filed, within 60 days.

Inside Fort Pierce city limits on South Hutchinson Island, construction seaward of the CCCL also needs a city conditional use approval. Lagoon-side seawalls and docks follow the normal FDEP, Army Corps and building permit route.

Apply - Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) Permitting · Post-Storm Guidance: Coastal Construction Control Line (public handout) · 161.085 Rigid coastal armoring structures (2025 Florida Statutes) · Staff Packet - 324 South Ocean Drive (Conditional Use with New Construction and Design Review, seaward of CCCL)

Beach projects that protect the island

The Fort Pierce Shore Protection Project began in 1971 and has had 14 federal renourishments since 1980. In 2026 the Army Corps placed about 400,000 cubic yards south of the inlet under a $15.1 million contract, roughly 78% federally funded, after Fort Pierce declared a local beach-erosion emergency and the county placed more than 10,000 cubic yards of stop-gap sand for nearly half a million dollars.

Farther south, the South St. Lucie County Coastal Storm Risk Management Project covers about 3.3 miles from Normandy Beach to the Martin County line; its 2026 renourishment of roughly 400,000 cubic yards followed Hurricane Nicole’s erosion.

Fort Pierce Shore Protection Project · Fort Pierce beach renourishment project set to begin as erosion threat stabilizes · Fort Pierce beach erosion fix holding strong ahead of $15 million renourishment project this month · $15M renourishment project underway on Hutchinson Island - CBS 12 News

Fort Pierce in brief

Fort Pierce’s Building Department (300 Orange Ave, 3rd Floor; 772-467-3718) uses separate seawall and dock checklists. Seawalls need Engineering pre-approval (772-467-3773), a Marine Permit Application with a Longshore insurance acknowledgment, sealed plans, Army Corps/FDEP/SFWMD approval letters and a debris affidavit. Unpermitted work pays double fees, and all structural work and all work in a flood zone needs a permit regardless of value.

Building · Engineering · Checklist for Seawall Permits · Construction Without a Permit · Permit Exemptions: House Bill 803 - F.S 553.79

St. Lucie Village in brief

The town has its own Building Official (772-528-2777). Its code requires 75 feet of frontage for Indian River docks (50 for established homes), 25-foot side setbacks, and state and federal permits before a dock, seawall or bulkhead is approved. Docks are accessory uses only; slip rental and liveaboards are not allowed.

Building & Permit Forms · Town of St. Lucie Village Land Development Code (Codification of the 1995 Zoning Ordinance through Ordinance 2023-1) · Town of St. Lucie Village Land Development Code

Flood maps and insurance ratings

Flood maps for all of St. Lucie County took effect February 19, 2020. FEMA’s October 2026 list puts unincorporated St. Lucie County and Port St. Lucie in CRS Class 5 (25% discount in high-risk zones) and Fort Pierce in Class 6 (20%). St. Lucie Village is not listed in the CRS.

Final Flood Hazard Determinations, 84 FR 55322 (FR Doc. 2019-22457) · CRS Eligible Communities, October 1, 2026 Effective Date · OpenFEMA NFIP Community Status Book (v1)

Contractor licensing

St. Lucie County Contractor Licensing is at 772-462-1672. The county still offers a local certificate of competency, but state law bars local licenses for job scopes that don’t match a state category. For seawalls and docks, look for a state-certified marine specialty contractor and verify the license on DBPR.

Contractor Licensing Contacts · Contractor Applications and Forms · 489.117 Registration; specialty contractors (2025 Florida Statutes) · Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 61G4-15.100 - Certified Specialty Contractors