Well permits in Marion County: who issues them
Most Florida counties sit inside one water district. This one does not. The eastern side falls under the St. Johns River district and the western side under the Southwest Florida district, and each has its own rules for wells. What saves you is that both delegate the permitting to the same local office.
In short
- Marion County is split between the St. Johns River and Southwest Florida water management districts.
- Either way, well construction permits come from the Florida Department of Health in Marion County.
- If a rig is coming to your property, a permit comes first, and any old well has to be properly plugged.
Who actually issues a well permit here
The county health department. The St. Johns River Water Management District holds delegation agreements with sixteen local health departments for water well permitting, and Marion County's is one of them. The Southwest Florida district likewise delegates well construction permits to local agencies within their county boundaries.
So although which district's rules govern your well depends on your address, the counter you deal with is the same one either way. That is the single most useful fact on this page, and it is why the practical answer to "who do I call" is short even though the regulatory answer is not.
St. Johns River WMD, Well construction permitting · Southwest Florida WMD, Well construction permits
The rules, and what they are called
Two rule chapters come up constantly and they are about different things, which is the source of a lot of confusion in online answers.
- Chapter 62-532, F.A.C. is the statewide water well construction rule. Each water management district also has its own well construction chapter on top of it.
- Chapter 62-531, F.A.C. is water well contractor licensing. The Department of Environmental Protection holds overall authority to set construction requirements, and the five districts run the licensing programs. A contractor files with the district where they do most of their work, and the license they get is valid statewide.
Florida Department of Health, Well construction in Florida · Florida DEP, Water well contractor licensing and permitting
When you need a well construction permit
Anyone proposing to drill a new well must obtain a permit before installation begins. The districts also specifically call out wells with an outside diameter of six inches or more, gang wells whose combined casing reaches that size, geothermal wells both open and closed loop, and wells in delineated contamination or vulnerable groundwater areas.
The rule of thumb that will not get you in trouble: if a rig is coming to your property, there is a permit, and it is the contractor's job to have it before the rig arrives. Ask to see it.
St. Johns River WMD, Well construction permitting
Two things this does not cover, because they come up in the same conversation and have different answers. Replacing a failed pump is not constructing a well, so it is a different question from the one above. For that, see what actually fails on a well here, and in what order. And a bacteria test after any work on the well is a good idea whether or not a permit was involved, because opening a well is one of the four moments worth testing: what to test for and when.
When a new well replaces an old one, the old one does not stop existing. An unplugged abandoned well is an open path from the surface straight into the aquifer that your household and your neighbors drink from, and plugging it properly is part of the job rather than an optional extra. Ask what the plan for the old well is, and get it on the quote.
And the question everybody actually arrives with
Whether a water softener needs a permit is a different question with a less satisfying answer, because it is a plumbing matter rather than a well one and the county publishes the general rule without publishing the specific case. The honest version of that answer.
Who to call
The two offices, and which one you want
Anything to do with the well
Florida Department of Health in Marion County
Environmental Public Health. Well construction permits under delegation from the water management district. Also the office that can tell you which district your parcel falls in, and that holds the completion report for an existing well.
352-622-7744Florida Department of Health in Marion County, Drinking water
Anything plumbed inside the house
Marion County Building Safety
Plumbing permits for unincorporated Marion County. If your address is inside Ocala, Belleview or Dunnellon city limits, ask them who handles it, because it may be the city rather than the county.
352-438-2400 Monday to Thursday 8am to 4pm, Friday 9am to 4pmQuestions
The ones people search for
Which water management district is Marion County in?
Both. The county is split, with the St. Johns River Water Management District covering the eastern portion and the Southwest Florida Water Management District the western. Which one governs your well depends on where your parcel sits.
In practice it changes the rule set rather than the counter. Both districts delegate well construction permitting to local agencies, and in Marion County that is the county health department either way.
Who issues well permits in Marion County, Florida?
The Florida Department of Health in Marion County, under a delegation agreement with the water management district. The St. Johns district describes sixteen such agreements with local health departments, and Marion is one of them.
Their Environmental Public Health line is 352-622-7744.
Do I need a permit to drill a well on my own property?
Yes. Anyone proposing to drill a new well must obtain a permit before installation begins, and it applies to a well on your own land for your own use. Owning the property does not exempt the well.
Normally the licensed contractor pulls it as part of the job. What you should do is ask to see it before the rig starts, because it is your property that carries the consequence of an unpermitted well.
How do I check whether a well contractor is licensed?
Ask for the water well contractor license number and verify it with a water management district. Licensing is run by the five districts, a contractor applies to the district where they perform most of their work, and the license is valid statewide, so a license from a district other than yours is not a red flag on its own.
The red flag is reluctance to give you the number.
What happens to the old well when a new one is drilled?
It has to be properly abandoned and plugged. An unplugged well is a direct conduit from the surface into the aquifer, which is a contamination route for everybody drawing from it, not just for you.
Confirm that plugging the old well is on the quote and that it is being handled under the permit, rather than assuming it is included.
Does the county keep a record of my well?
The permitting office holds the paperwork from when the well was constructed, which is where the completion report with the depths on it lives. That report is worth having a copy of.
The well depth, the casing depth and the pump setting determine the cost of every future repair, and the cheapest time to obtain them is any day that is not the day your pump fails.
Before you hire anyone
Calling a well contractor? Check three things first.
- 1The license. Every Florida water well contractor is licensed. Ask for the number and look it up at the state's contractor verification clearinghouse.
- 2The diagnosis before the price. A pressure switch reading, the tank's air charge and the cable readings, before anybody quotes a new pump. The six questions to ask.
- 3The permit, if a rig is coming. A new well needs one before drilling starts, and it is the contractor's job to have it. Who issues it.
Public offices, free to call
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