Who inspects, and how often
Your county health department (under the Florida Department of Health) conducts routine inspections of permitted public and semi-public pools, typically on an annual or semi-annual cycle depending on the county and pool classification. Complaints — a resident report, an illness, a visible problem — can also trigger an unscheduled visit at any time.
What a visit actually looks like
An inspector walks the pool deck and equipment room checking water chemistry on-site, verifying safety equipment and signage, and reviewing your logged records. It's typically unannounced. Most of what determines pass or fail is decided in the first few minutes — a chlorine or pH reading out of range can end the visit right there with an immediate closure order.
The most common re-inspection triggers
- Free chlorine or pH outside the required range at the time of inspection
- Missing or incomplete water-chemistry logs (testing without documenting it doesn't count)
- Damaged or non-compliant suction outlet covers/drain grates (a VGB/anti-entrapment issue)
- Missing required signage or safety equipment (life ring, shepherd's hook)
- Gates or fencing that don't self-close and self-latch
How to actually prepare
The single best preparation is a documented service history — daily or per-visit chemistry logs, a paper trail on equipment maintenance, and a walkthrough against the same checklist an inspector uses, done before they show up rather than after they close you down. That's exactly what our free DOH-ready inspection is for.