WallDockDeck
Key West · Monroe County

Do I need a permit to repair a seawall in Key West?

Yescity building permit

Yes. Key West requires a building permit for any work valued over $1,000, and its code says shoreline bulkheads are installed under a permit from the building official. City rules allow hardening only where erosion is a critical peril and vegetation has failed, with riprap first and generally no vertical seawalls; since 1 Jan 2025 incomplete applications are refused.

Source: Key West Code Secs. 110-182, 110-190, 110-192, 118-361 (Supp. 99); Building Permit Requirements page; s. 403.813(1)(e), F.S. (2026); 33 CFR 322.3(a) · Verified 2026-10

The detail

CityA permit is required before any work or construction of any kind, permanent or temporary, valued over $1,000 including materials and labor, at the building official's discretion; incomplete applications are not accepted since 1 Jan 2025; exterior work in the Historic District also needs a Certificate of Appropriateness - City Building Permit Requirements page. Bulkheads, piers and docks along the shoreline are installed under permit from the building official, and bulkheads may not be built below mean high water unless the controlling federal or state agency permits it - Code Sec. 118-361. Hardening only where erosion is a critical peril to upland property and vegetation has failed; riprap first; generally not vertical seawalls; other agencies with jurisdiction must approve first - Sec. 110-182(c). The city requests jurisdictional determinations from the appropriate agencies before issuing building permits - Sec. 110-190(5). Minor maintenance or emergency repair to existing structures is exempt from that article's coastal resource rules - Sec. 110-192(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

The elevation your city requires, the datum it is measured in, and the section of code that says so. One page.

Available for the cities whose rule we have verified and sourced.

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The county rule behind this

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

Monroe 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

What to look for, where to look for it, and what it means when you find it. Walk your wall in twenty minutes.

A screening sheet for owners, not an engineering inspection.

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