WallDockDeck
Fort Lauderdale · Broward County

Do I need a permit to repair a seawall in Fort Lauderdale?

Yes, plus county licensecity permit + county license

Yes. Fort Lauderdale requires a permit from its Development Services Department before work on mooring structures, a term its code defines to include seawalls. A substantial repair (more than half the shoreline, or over half the wall's fair market replacement cost) must meet the city's tidal flood barrier height, which is also capped at the FEMA base flood elevation or 6 ft NAVD88. Broward County also requires its own Environmental Resource License, often a general license for a repair in the same place.

Source: Fort Lauderdale Code Sec. 8-91; ULDR Sec. 47-19.13 (Supp. 58); Permitting Services page; Broward County Code Ch. 27 Art. XI Secs. 27-333, 27-336 (Supp. 72); s. 403.813(1)(e), F.S. (2026); 33 CFR 322.3(a) · Verified 2026-10

The detail

CityA permit from the Development Services Department is required before construction of mooring structures, defined to include a seawall; on navigable waters every regulating authority must also approve, and the applicant certifies ownership of the abutting land or produces the owner's written consent - Code Sec. 8-91(a)(2), (b). The city's Permitting Services FAQ lists seawalls among permits filed with a copy of a current survey and a completed Zoning Affidavit, and a permit renewed before it expires costs 50% of the original fee (100% after expiry). Substantial repair = work along more than 50% of the property's shoreline or over 50% of the wall's fair market replacement cost; docks, finger piers and piles are not counted - ULDR Sec. 47-19.13.C.12. Such walls need 5.0 ft NAVD88 (4.0 ft for applications before 1 Jan 2035 if designed to reach 5.0 ft by 2050), must run along the entire shoreline, and may not top the FEMA base flood elevation or 6 ft NAVD88, whichever is lower - Sec. 47-19.13.D.1, D.7, D.12. The city engineer may grant a waiver of up to 3 years where the home's habitable floor is below 4.0 ft NAVD88 - Sec. 47-19.13.D.1 (Ord. C-23-05)
Broward CountyConstruction in regulated aquatic resources needs a county Environmental Resource License (ERL) - Broward County Code Sec. 27-333(a)(1). Repairing an existing functional seawall no more than 1 ft waterward of its authorized location, or a new wall within 1 ft of the old wet face with the old wall left in place, qualifies for a general license (Sec. 27-336(a)(1)b.), as do refacing, crack filling, seepage holes and other minor repairs (n.) and raising the cap in the same footprint (o.); the code says a general license is issued within 10 days of a complete application - Sec. 27-336(a)(1)
StateRestoring a seawall at its previous location, upland of it, or within 18 inches waterward is exempt from a state environmental resource permit; the exemption does not replace permission to use state-owned submerged land or county and city requirements, and does not cover chapter 161 coastal permits - s. 403.813(1), (1)(e), F.S.
FederalA U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Department of the Army) authorization is required for structures or work in or affecting navigable waters, unless exempt or covered by a nationwide or regional general permit - 33 CFR 322.3(a) (Rivers and Harbors Act s. 10)

Your city's height sheet

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The county rule behind this

What applies across Broward County, and where each city departs from it.

Broward CountySeawall requirements county-wide

The same question, nearby

The rule changes at the city line, not the county line.

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Twelve signs a seawall is failing

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