Well Drilling in Florida: Costs, Permits & County Guides

Local Help in Florida, FL

Florida regulates water wells under Part III of Chapter 373, Florida Statutes (sections 373.302 to 373.342). In s. 373.302 the Legislature found that water resources contaminated by wells that incompetent or dishonest contractors drill are a threat to the public and the environment.

The Department of Environmental Protection writes the statewide construction rules, Chapter 62-532 of the Florida Administrative Code, and s. 373.308 has it authorize the water management districts to run well permit programs. DEP says it has delegated both contractor licensing and well permitting to each of the five districts. Some districts have handed permitting on to county health departments or other local agencies, the Department of Health adds, and each district keeps its own well rules (Chapters 40A-3 through 40E-3). Once DEP gives that authorization, s. 373.308(1) leaves well permits to the district, a delegated local government or the local county health department alone; other local bodies may not add or duplicate requirements or fees, or set up a separate permit program, for locating, boring or abandoning a groundwater well or other work reasonably tied to installing and abandoning one.

Florida Service Details

What providers in this area actually see: coverage, common jobs, local pricing factors, and rules worth knowing.

Service Area Notes

This site's five Florida county pages are placed below using three agency lists: the 2024 Who We Are brochure from SWFWMD, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, whose map covers all or part of 16 counties; St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) Rule 40C-3.035, listing its delegation agreements; and DOH's Well Permitting Agencies list (Rev. 9/16/2026).
Clay County: Rule 40C-3.035 includes an SJRWMD delegation agreement with the Clay County health department, effective September 6, 2001, and the DOH list names DOH in Clay County as the permitting agency.
Hernando County: shown on SWFWMD's map, and the DOH list gives SWFWMD itself as the permitting agency.
Lake County: the SJRWMD rule lists an agreement with the Lake County health department effective September 7, 1999, and SWFWMD's map also labels Lake. The DOH list has two Lake rows: DOH in Lake County, and SWFWMD for Lake--Southwest.
Marion County: SWFWMD's well permit page names Marion, along with Manatee and Sarasota, as a county where a local agency issues well construction permits. SJRWMD's rule lists an amended agreement with the Marion County health department effective May 20, 2026, and the DOH list names DOH in Marion County.
Pasco County: inside SWFWMD's map, with SWFWMD named on the DOH list as the permitting agency.

Common Jobs in Florida

New wells under a permit from the district or its delegated office, unless a district rule exempts the well
Repairs, which s. 373.303(5) defines as physically altering or replacing any part of a well other than parts above the ground surface
Plugging abandoned or incomplete wells
Pumps, tanks and water conditioning equipment, which s. 373.323(10) lets a licensed water well contractor install
Yearly bacteria and nitrate tests of household wells

What Drives Pricing Here

Casing: Rule 62-532.500(3)(b) covers casing set into rock or other consolidated earth material, which must be continuous from the well top, reaching no shallower than the top of the uppermost consolidated unit, ending at or under the water level of the aquifer the well draws from, with every caving zone beneath that unit cased. Ask for the planned casing depth in writing.
Grouting: Rule 62-532.500(3)(i) and district rules such as 40D-3.517 and 40C-3.517 set grout materials, thicknesses and exceptions that turn on casing size, well use and formation; ask which apply.
Permit fees differ by district and delegated office; see the county pages or ask the permitting agency.
About the calculator: it prices drilling by multiplying your depth entry by low and high per-foot rates for the chosen ground type (taken from Angi, HomeGuide and HomeAdvisor cost pages), then adds a flat $200-$500 permit line and, unless switched off, a pump and pressure tank. None of the agency sources cited here gives a usual Florida well depth, so this entry states no Florida-specific total.

Permits & Local Rules

Contractor license: s. 373.323(1) requires a water management district license of anyone who wishes to engage in business as a water well contractor, the only water well contractor license required for well construction, repair or abandonment in any part of the state; it is valid in every district (subsection (5)), and its number must be shown prominently on all drilling equipment the contractor owns, leases or runs (subsection (9)).
Qualifying: among Rule 62-531.300's application terms are age 18 or older, knowledge of DEP and district well rules, two or more years of well construction, repair or abandonment experience proved as subsection (7) requires, and 12 approved coursework hours earned within the period the rule sets. No license issues until the applicant passes the statewide exam, where 70 percent or more passes (Rule 62-531.350), with three attempts allowed within 12 months of becoming eligible.
Lawful well work: s. 373.336(1)(b) limits building, repairing and abandoning wells, and operating drilling equipment for those jobs, to three groups: employees of a licensed water well contractor, people working under such a contractor's supervision, and people exempt under s. 373.326. Paragraph (1)(g) makes it unlawful to advertise water well drilling or construction services if the business entity is not owned by a licensed water well contractor or does not employ a full-time water well contractor.
Permits: once a district runs a permit system, Rule 62-532.400 calls for a permit before construction, repair or abandonment of any water well begins. The application goes on Form 62-532.900(1), with any fee, submitted by the owner or by the contractor acting for the owner; receiving the permit is permission to start, and it must be on site for inspection while the work goes on. District rules list exemptions (SWFWMD Rule 40D-3.051, SJRWMD Rule 40C-3.051), so ask the permitting office before assuming one applies.
How long a permit lasts: Rule 62-532.400(6) says one year, extended on written request or replaced by a new permit. The districts covering this site's counties set 90 days in their own rules. SWFWMD (40D-3.321) extends in 90-day steps, up to one year from issuance, on a timely written request (filed before expiration) if the permittee demonstrates no substantial change since issuance and no adverse effect on the water resource. SJRWMD (40C-3.301(8)) allows one extension of up to 90 days on a written request received before expiration, on the same showing, while renewals of public water supply well permits can run to one year from issuance, 90 days at a time. Under both rules, work may not begin or continue after a permit expires (in SJRWMD, unless the District had the written extension request before the expiry date). Confirm the term with the issuing office.
Building the well: Rule 62-532.500 allows only potable water for the work, drilling fluid included ((3)(g)), bans dynamite and other high-grade explosives ((3)(h)), and has an unused well capped watertight with a threaded, welded or bolted cover or valve ((4)(a)4).
Septic distance: wells are sited by Table I of Chapter 62-532 (Rule 62-532.400(7)) plus district rules. Rule 62-6.005(1) (effective 6/8/2026) keeps onsite sewage systems established after that date at least 75 feet from a private potable well, or a multi-family water well, with other distances for public and non-potable wells. Subsections (7) and (8) carve out other options and distances for some lots platted and recorded, or approved, during 1972 through 1982, and for schedule 40 PVC effluent lines, so ask the county health department how the rule fits a lot.
Completion report: Rule 62-532.410 requires a written State of Florida Well Completion Report (Form 62-532.900(2)) filed with the permitting authority within 30 days after the construction, repair or abandonment is finished. District rules add duties: SWFWMD (40D-3.411) and SJRWMD (40C-3.411) each require a report within 30 days after the permit expires when no work was done or the well was not completed, and SJRWMD wants completion reports for all wells, permitted or not.
Plugging: an abandoned well, per s. 373.303(1), is one whose use has been permanently discontinued, or one a department representative finds in such disrepair that using it to obtain groundwater or dispose of water or liquid wastes is impracticable. The statewide standard (Rule 62-532.500(5)) fills an abandoned well from bottom to top with neat cement grout or bentonite under a cap of at least one foot of neat cement grout, unless the Department or permitting authority approves an equally protective method in writing. The districts go further: SWFWMD Rule 40D-3.531 requires a permit before any well, incomplete ones included, is abandoned, and SJRWMD Rule 40C-3.531 makes the property owner responsible for having abandoned wells plugged by a licensed water well contractor.

Geology & Water Table Notes

Aquifer: USGS describes the Floridan aquifer system as a thick sequence of Tertiary carbonate rocks under about 100,000 square miles of the Southeast, all of Florida included. Most of its freshwater is in the Upper Floridan aquifer, used for water supply, though in south Florida the Upper Floridan is brackish.
Sinkholes: the Florida Geological Survey says that, with carbonate rock under the entire state, a sinkhole could in theory form anywhere, but risk is considerably higher in some regions, generally where limestone lies close to the surface or where deeper limestone combines with a conducive water table, stratigraphy and aquifer setting. It adds that private residential wells typically do not affect the water table enough to cause one.

Neighborhoods & Suburbs Served

Clay County · Hernando County · Lake County · Marion County · Pasco County

$Three side-by-side cross-sections of drilled wells. In sand and gravel, the casing runs to the bottom and a well screen lets water in while holding back sand. In sedimentary rock such as limestone, sandstone and shale, the casing runs through the soil into the rock, with an open hole below. In granite or other crystalline rock, a short casing is seated in hard rock and water enters the open hole through fractures.$

Local geology sets how a well is built: wells in sand and gravel are cased to the bottom with a screen, while wells in rock are cased into bedrock and draw water from fractures.

Emergency Response Expectations

If floodwater reached the well, the water looks or tastes different, or you are unsure how flooding affected water quality in your area, DOH's flooded-well brochure says to boil water used for drinking, beverages, cooking, brushing teeth, washing dishes and washing cut or injured skin (a rolling boil of at least one minute, then cooled), or use bottled water, and to ask the county health department about bacteriological testing; if bacteria are found, the well and water system need disinfecting.

Florida FAQs

Who issues well permits in Florida?

The water management district for the area, or the county health department or local government it has delegated permitting to. DOH's Well Permitting Agencies list names the office county by county, and splits some counties between offices, as it does for Lake.

Can an owner skip the licensed contractor and drill their own well?

Only a narrow kind. Section 373.326(2), F.S., frees a builder of a well 2 inches or less in diameter from the license only if every condition holds: the land is the builder's own or leased; the well is intended to serve only the single-family home the builder lives in, or only farm use on the builder's own farm; none of its water will go to the public or another household; and the builder complies with every local and state well construction rule. A permit is a separate question. In SWFWMD the owner still needs a district permit, since Rule 40D-3.301(1)(a) relaxes only the license condition. SJRWMD Rule 40C-3.051(3) exempts it from that district's permit if the statute's terms are met and the water is also not meant solely for irrigating a residential lot; public water supply wells are excluded, and the well must still meet Chapter 40C-3's construction standards and be reported on a completion report. Where a county health department issues permits, ask it before starting. Separately, s. 373.326(1) lets a district grant an undue-hardship exemption, only as far as needed and without impairing the law's intent.

How often does DOH suggest testing a private well?

Bacteria and nitrate, checked at least yearly, is DOH's strong recommendation; for lead, it advises most homeowners to test every three years. Use a state-certified laboratory. The state does not require routine private well sampling. DOH notes that a few county health departments are responsible for local rules that make owners test new wells or repairs, and asks residents of Brevard, Broward, Citrus, Duval, Flagler, Highlands, Hillsborough, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Sarasota and Volusia counties to contact their county health department.

Is a well test required to sell a Florida home?

No. DOH says the state has no sampling requirement when a private home is sold, though its general recommendation is to test the well for coliform bacteria, nitrates and lead.