Bulkhead permits around Destin.
Three layers, one order.

Who issues the local permit for your address?

Destin issues its own permits. Okaloosa County issues them for unincorporated areas, including Okaloosa Island, and for the towns of Shalimar and Cinco Bayou. Other cities use their own building staff. Okaloosa recovery permit guide

Okaloosa County and its cities

Walton County and Freeport

Our Okaloosa County and Walton County guides go deeper on each county.

Find the permit path for your waterfront

The office that issues your permit depends on which side of a city line your lot sits. Each local guide below names the permit office for that area, the local rules and the records to gather first.

• Destin: Destin Harbor & Holiday Isle, Joe's Bayou, Indian Bayou, Kelly Plantation & Regatta Bay, Crystal Beach & Gulf-front Destin
• Fort Walton Beach area: Okaloosa Island, Fort Walton Beach, Cinco Bayou, Ocean City & Wright, Shalimar & Lake Lorraine, Mary Esther
• Niceville & north bay: Niceville & Boggy Bayou, Bluewater Bay & Rocky Bayou, Valparaiso & Toms Bayou
• South Walton: Miramar Beach & Sandestin bayside, Santa Rosa Beach, Hogtown Bayou & Point Washington, Freeport & LaGrange Bayou, Choctaw Beach & Basin Bayou, 30A coastal dune lakes

County-wide rules are in the Okaloosa County guide and the South Walton guide.

Local rules that shape a bulkhead design

Every office applies the Florida Building Code. The shoreline rules on top of it differ a lot from one town to the next.

The state layer: Florida DEP Northwest District

In Okaloosa and Walton, DEP reviews single-family seawalls, docks and shore protection, not the water management district. DEP and NWFWMD operating agreement NWFWMD permitting page

The Northwest District office is at 160 W. Government Street, Suite 308, Pensacola, (850) 595-8300. Applications go through the DEP Business Portal. DEP Northwest District The district also offers pre-application meetings. DEP NW permitting

The 2026 statute says a local government may not demand further DEP verification from someone claiming the exemption. Section 403.813 A written verification can still be useful for your records and for a future buyer.

Permitted replacements on the bay face one more rule. DEP will generally require riprap facing, or a full riprap shoreline, instead of a bare vertical wall. Section 373.414(5) See repair or replace for how that changes the design.

State-owned bottom: the second state question

If the bottom in front of your wall is state-owned, called sovereign submerged land, you also need the state's permission to use it. DEP treats that as separate from the environmental permit, though the reviews are linked. DEP sovereign submerged lands

• Consent by rule: no application for exempt seawall restoration and docks, outside aquatic preserves and a few other areas. Seawall or riprap restoration keeps this even in a preserve. Rule 18-21.005(1)(b)
• Letter of consent: for new or replacement seawalls reaching up to 3 feet past mean high water, and riprap up to 10 feet out. Rule 18-21.005(1)(c)
• Lease or easement: for larger structures.

Rocky Bayou Aquatic Preserve

Rocky Bayou east of the State Road 20 bridge is the only aquatic preserve in Okaloosa County. Inside it, the state dock exemption drops to 500 square feet. Okaloosa dock application

No new seawall may go waterward of mean high water in an aquatic preserve. Restoring a wall at its old location, or within one foot in front, needs no consent application, and the statute allows up to 18 inches. Rule 18-20.004 Section 258.42

Choctawhatchee Bay, Destin Harbor and Santa Rosa Sound are not named on the state's Outstanding Florida Waters list. Rule 62-302.700

The federal layer: Army Corps Pensacola Permits Section

The Army Corps' Pensacola Permits Section covers Okaloosa and Walton counties. Its number is (850) 470-9824. USACE office locations

A state permit does not replace federal approval. Raise any change after permitting with the Corps before you build it. USACE Florida guidance Applications go through the Corps' Regulatory Request System (RRS). USACE RRS notice

The 2026 nationwide permits replaced the 2021 set on March 15, 2026. USACE announcement Two local factors can add review. Seagrass grows on the shallow edges of the middle and western bay. FWC seagrass report The open bay is also Gulf sturgeon critical habitat, though most bayous are excluded at their mouths. 50 CFR 226.214

Gulf-front walls: the Coastal Construction Control Line

The Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) marks the part of the beach that a 100-year storm can reshape. Building, digging or armoring seaward of it needs a DEP permit. Section 161.053 The CCCL program is run from DEP's Tallahassee office, (850) 245-8570. DEP CCCL program

• Repairs are not exempt. The statute's repair exemption expressly excludes seawalls. Section 161.053(11)
• New armoring is limited. Only an "eligible" structure that is "vulnerable" to a 25-year storm qualifies, or a gap of up to 250 feet between armored lots. Rule 62B-33.0051
• The rule changed on July 7, 2026. Rebuilding or replacing existing armoring no longer has to re-prove eligibility if there is no significant harm, but designs now need a 30-year design life. Rule 62B-33.0051, 2026
• Local sign-off. Destin bans Gulf armoring without a DEP permit, Walton approves nothing seaward of the line until DEP permits are in hand, and Okaloosa wants the DEP permit with the site plan. Destin LDC 11.01.01 Walton LDC 4.02.05 Okaloosa LDC 6.02.01

Step by step: the order that keeps a permit moving

1. Confirm the jurisdiction. Check the parcel's city or county on the Property Appraiser record.
2. Pull the history. Look up past permits on the city or county portal. Order a current survey with elevations in NAVD88.
3. Define the scope. Get written findings and a drawing that shows the wall line, riprap, dock and any marsh or seagrass.
4. Clear the neighborhood steps. Okaloosa Island needs the Leaseholders Association committee. Shalimar and Cinco Bayou need town approval. In Walton, ask Planning whether your project needs its review first.
5. File with DEP. Exemption, general permit or individual permit, plus state-lands consent if needed.
6. File with the Army Corps. Through RRS, to the Pensacola Permits Section.
7. Get the local building permit. Destin and Valparaiso will not issue it until state and federal approvals are in hand.
8. Record a Notice of Commencement. It must be filed before the first inspection when the contract is over $5,000.
9. Build, inspect and close out. Keep the final survey, inspection results and approved plans together.

Sources for these steps: Okaloosa permit search Okaloosa Island review Shalimar town permit Cinco Bayou approval Destin LDC 11.05 Valparaiso Code 83-21 Section 713.135

Storm repair rules after Hurricane Isaias

Most storm repairs to bulkheads still need a permit. A few local rules give owners extra time or a narrow exemption.

Okaloosa County's post-storm guide says dock and seawall repairs generally need a permit, at regular fees unless the commissioners approve a waiver. Okaloosa recovery permit guide Mary Esther says most storm repairs, including docks, need a city permit. Mary Esther update

We counted the six-month and 60-day dates from the city notice. Confirm the start date with your city. The storm guide covers photos, insurance and emergency steps.

Official permit resources