Start with your property and its jurisdiction
A Fort Lauderdale mailing address is a starting point. Confirm which municipality has jurisdiction over the parcel before using a permit checklist. Identify whether the work is along a tidal canal, river, Intracoastal shoreline, or oceanfront location; those settings can lead to different design and permitting questions.
Gather any existing survey, previous permits, inspection reports, approximate shoreline length, and photographs taken from a safe location. Note flooding dates, visible changes, and nearby docks or drainage outlets. This gives a prospective professional a more useful starting point than a request to price an unspecified wall.
Understand the city’s tidal barrier elevations
Fort Lauderdale’s ULDR Section 47-19.13 generally sets a minimum tidal flood barrier elevation of 5 feet NAVD 88. Applications before January 1, 2035 may be permitted at a minimum of 4 feet NAVD 88 when designed to accommodate at least 5 feet by January 1, 2050. The rule includes exceptions and project-specific conditions; ask the City and your design professional which provisions apply.
NAVD 88 is a survey elevation reference, the North American Vertical Datum of 1988. An elevation of 5 feet NAVD 88 does not mean a wall extending 5 feet above your lawn or today’s water level. A survey connects the proposed top elevation to that reference.
The code defines substantial repair or rehabilitation using either modifications along more than 50% of the property’s shoreline length or work exceeding 50% of the existing shoreline structure’s fair market replacement cost. Scope can therefore affect obligations for the entire shoreline. The definition has specific inclusions and exclusions; have the City evaluate it before dividing work into phases. This section excludes oceanfront beaches and shoreline seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line.
Prepare for more than one review
The City’s seawall permit checklist, revised January 29, 2025, identifies Building, Zoning, and Engineering reviews. Its requested documents include:
- A site plan and a signed, sealed survey showing existing and proposed elevations.
- Signed, sealed seawall and pile plans from a Florida licensed architect or engineer.
- Applicable Broward County and Florida Department of Environmental Protection approvals.
- A special inspector form for pile installation and a final survey after completion.
The checklist is a preparation tool, not a complete approval determination. Broward County’s Aquatic and Wetland Resources program separately regulates activities including seawalls, docks, dredging, and mangrove work. Ask who will identify and obtain each applicable city, county, state, or federal authorization. DEP offers a process to request verification of an exemption; describing work as a repair does not establish that it qualifies.
Discuss drainage, access, and adjoining walls
If an existing drainage outfall is within the construction limits, the City checklist calls for the engineer to request drainage as-built plans and show its relationship to proposed piles. Point out visible outlets before a layout is chosen. Ask how drainage will function during construction and after the proposed elevation changes.
Walk through equipment access, material storage, boat access, utilities, landscaping, and connections to neighboring structures. Ask the designer to explain how the proposed work meets adjoining elevations. For an association, identify the person authorized to coordinate access and decisions, then collect available common-area plans and the association’s review requirements.
Make the contractor conversation specific
Ask what assessment supports a repair or replacement recommendation, who prepares the design, which approvals are included, and what restoration is excluded. Verify the relevant license and business association through Florida DBPR, and request insurance documentation and a written scope from the provider. A referral alone does not establish those qualifications.
Our Florida seawall cost guide offers a worksheet for comparing proposals. When ready, share your project details to request a contractor connection. A site-specific evaluation is still needed to determine the appropriate work.
Sources and review date
Reviewed October 4, 2026. These sources explain the starting requirements; the reviewing agencies determine how they apply to a particular property.
- Fort Lauderdale ULDR Section 47-19.13: tidal flood barriers — current codified requirements.
- City seawall and dock permitting checklist — revised January 29, 2025.
- Broward County Environmental Permitting Division — Aquatic and Wetland Resources program.
- Florida DEP environmental resource e-permitting — exemption verification and permit pathways.
- Florida DBPR construction business information — license and business verification.