Concrete Permit Rules for Hernando and Pasco Counties

Concrete permits in Hernando start with the office, because the rules change at every line

Two neighbors can pour the same 20 by 24 pad and get different answers, because a county line, a city limit or a flood-zone boundary runs between them. Hernando County and Pasco County each keep their own list of work that needs no permit, and each city inside them keeps another.

Getting a concrete permit in Hernando or Pasco, or from a city inside either one, starts with the same question, and the order matters. First, find out who issues permits for your parcel. Second, hold that office's exemption list up against the size and type of slab. Third, look at the flood zone: the county's whole exemption list and the state $7,500 rule both switch off in a Special Flood Hazard Area. The rest of this guide follows that order. Want someone to walk the lot with you? Ask for a free written estimate and we'll name the office on the quote.

Concrete permit for Hernando, Pasco, Brooksville and Port Richey compared

The dollar amounts are building-department fees only. The county adds surcharges on top of its two fees, and any office can attach other agency fees. Our own price for the pour is a separate free written estimate.

How to tell which office owns your parcel

The Property Appraiser record gives it away. A levy code of CWBE means the parcel is inside the City of Brooksville and the city building division issues the permit. A levy code of CWES means county jurisdiction, and you deal with the Hernando County Building Division. Weeki Wachee used to be its own city, but the Legislature abolished it effective June 9, 2020, so there is no separate Weeki Wachee permit desk. That land goes through Hernando County.

A mailing address won't settle it. ZIP code 34668 covers nearly all of the City of Port Richey, yet it also appears on land in the Bayonet Point and Jasmine Estates census areas, which sit under Pasco County. Sugarmill Woods is in Citrus County, even though its southern edge runs along the Hernando line. Near a city boundary in Pasco, put the same question to the city desk and the county desk and compare what they say.

Looking up a concrete permit in Hernando, Pasco or Citrus County? Each office starts from the parcel, so settle the parcel first. Each of our town pages names the office for that place. Start from our service areas and open your town, such as Spring Hill or Hudson.

Hernando County: the 500 sq ft patio exemption and what it excludes

The county's residential exemption list says non-structural concrete slabs under 500 sq ft need no permit, but the exemption is for patio-style slabs only. A slab poured to carry a future wall, a roof or any structural load needs a permit. The list does not apply to commercial properties or to anything in a Special Flood Hazard Area, and exempt work still has to meet the Florida Building Code, zoning and floodplain rules.

Size is the easy test. A 12 by 16 patio is 192 sq ft, which fits under the line. A 22 by 24 slab is 528 sq ft, which does not, and at our $7 to $12 per sq ft slab range it prices out at $3,696 to $6,336 before permit fees, with a free written estimate after we see the site.

Driveways are a different permit type. The fee schedule effective March 3, 2026 lists $140 for a driveway slab from the house to the right-of-way and $180 for a slab. Our slab page and patio page explain how we size each job. Wondering what a concrete permit in Hernando County costs? The county and the cities each post their own fees, and the table above puts them side by side.

Pasco County: flatwork per parcel, the $45 base fee and the connection permit

Pasco County's exemption sheet, revised June 30, 2026, lists non-structural concrete flatwork under 500 square feet per parcel, not to be built on, as needing no permit. Watch the words per parcel: two 400 sq ft pours on one lot count as 800. A slab meant for a future structure needs a permit and plans sealed by a design professional. Permits are applied for through the county's Accela portal. The flatwork line itself says nothing about flood zones; the July sheet ties its flood exclusion to the $7,500 rule, while an earlier Pasco sheet left flood-zone parcels out of the whole list. On a flood-zone lot, ask the county before you count on it.

The fee resolution effective July 1, 2026 charges a $45 base fee on every permit, category and trade, and inspection costs are not based on valuation.

The street side has its own paper. Pasco's Driveway Connection Permit says no construction may happen in a public right-of-way without written county approval. It sets driveway width at 12 ft minimum and 24 ft maximum with 3-ft flared ends, asks for notice at least one day before work starts, wants the driveway flagged for culvert inspection, and voids the permit if work is not finished within 180 days. Our Shady Hills driveway page walks through the steps for one Pasco neighborhood.

Brooksville, Port Richey and New Port Richey: three cities, three desks

Brooksville. Inside city limits the Building Division handles every permit and inspection. Filing is online through the CivicGov portal, the city quotes about 10 working days for first review, and staff-assisted filing at City Hall costs a $54 flat fee plus scanning charges. See our Brooksville page.

Port Richey. The city's permitting FAQ lists a paved driveway, sidewalk or patio as work that needs a permit and exempts only concrete slabs under 50 sq ft that are not built on or attached to the house. That FAQ dates from January 2025, before the state's July 2026 law took effect, so ask Development Services how it handles exemption requests now. About four in five sampled points in the city fall in flood zone AE or VE. Work in city right-of-way needs written approval from the city engineer.

New Port Richey. New driveways and extensions need a permit with a survey or scaled site plan, a 3-ft setback from side and rear lines, and drainage aimed at easements or the street, not at a neighbor. Any part in the public right-of-way must be 6 in. concrete, and impervious coverage on the lot cannot exceed 60 percent.

Sugarmill Woods and Citrus County

Sugarmill Woods belongs to Citrus County, so Hernando's 500 sq ft slab exemption does not apply there. A concrete permit in Hernando County and one in Citrus County start from different exemption lines, which is why the county line matters. Citrus County's Building Division applies the state's $7,500 exemption through a written request, the contract and a notarized exemption form, filed in its Accela portal. For a driveway, patio or slab layout, ask the Building Division in Lecanto what it requires before you commit to a size.

Each of the three villages, Cypress Village, Oak Village and Southern Woods, has its own owners' association with an architectural committee. The association and the county are separate approvals. Read about the neighborhood on our Sugarmill Woods page.

The $7,500 rule, read carefully

Since July 1, 2026, Florida law (F.S. 553.79) requires a local government to exempt a single-family owner or the owner's contractor from a building permit for work valued under $7,500 on the owner's property. Read the fine print first. The exemption doesn't cover a property partly or fully in a flood hazard area, or any electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical or gas work. A project cannot be split to stay under the cap. And it is not automatic: you send a written request with a copy of the contract or other papers showing the nature and value of the work.

Our typical two-car driveway, a 4 in. broom finish at about 500 to 700 sq ft, runs $4,000 to $9,800 at $8 to $14 per sq ft, so some land under $7,500 and some above. Landing under does not make a driveway exempt. When you apply for a concrete permit in Hernando County or Brooksville, the driveway is billed as its own permit type, and neither says in writing that a driveway falls under the $7,500 rule. Put the question to your office in writing, with the contract attached, and wait for the answer before you skip a permit.

Right-of-way aprons, culverts and state highways

The apron is the strip of concrete between the edge of the road and your property line. In Hernando County, all work in the county right-of-way needs prior approval from Public Works, which inspects it, and the applicant answers for the work for a year after completion. A homeowner who asks for a residential entrance in their own name gets a letter that sets inspection requirements, time limits and specifications, with no permit fee or financial bond, as long as the homeowner accepts full responsibility. A contractor-filed application uses the fee form: $75 processing, $100 for a driveway apron and $50 for a culvert, plus a sketch or plan and a signed indemnity agreement.

The county's 2026 detail calls for a paved apron from the edge of pavement to the property line on paved roads, at least 12 ft wide with 3-ft tapers each side. Pavers are not allowed in the county right-of-way unless the County Engineer approves them; we cover that in our stamped concrete and pavers comparison.

If the road is a state highway, Florida law requires an FDOT access permit before a driveway connection to the State Highway System is built or altered in a major way, and FDOT rules say a local permit does not replace it. FDOT's State Roads layer lists SR 50, US 19 (SR 55) and US 41 (SR 45) in Hernando, and SR 52, SR 54, Alternate 19 (SR 595) and SR 597 in Pasco, so a lot fronting one of those roads has a third office to deal with.

Notice of Commencement and the two dollar thresholds

Two numbers get mixed up. Under F.S. 713.02(5), an improvement with a direct contract price of $2,500 or less is exempt from the construction lien law except one section, so it needs no Notice of Commencement. Above that, the owner or the owner's agent records a Notice of Commencement with the county clerk and posts a certified copy, or a notarized statement that it was filed, on site. The $5,000 figure is different: when the direct contract is greater than $5,000, the permit applicant must file a copy of the recorded notice with the building department before the first inspection.

The Notice of Commencement is separate from any concrete permit in Hernando or Pasco, or from a city. The statutory form says the notice expires one year after recording unless it lists another date, and payments made after expiration can mean paying twice. Our driveway page answers the notice question for a typical driveway contract, which lands well over the $2,500 line.

Owner-builders, HOAs and flood zones: three things that change the answer

Owner-builder. Under F.S. 489.103(7) an owner may act as the contractor on their own residence, but must personally appear and sign the permit application, and the disclosure statement names the owner as the responsible party of record. Selling within one year of completion creates a presumption the work was done for sale. Port Richey's FAQ adds that unless the owner lives in the home, a contractor must do the work.

HOA. An association may review the location, size, type or appearance of an improvement only as far as its declaration or published guidelines allow, and must apply them equally.

Flood zone. Hernando County says FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Map is the official source for zone determinations, and its Forerunner map lets you look up your zone and base flood elevation. For a concrete permit in Hernando County, no exemption on the list applies in a Special Flood Hazard Area, so plan on a permit there even for a patio. Elsewhere, ask the office before you count on an exemption.

The short version for any concrete permit in Hernando or Pasco: office first, size second, flood zone third, then get the answer in writing.