Hillsborough County covers Tampa and its surrounding unincorporated areas. It’s one of Florida’s most active construction markets and has a well-developed online permit system.
Here’s what you need to know about Hillsborough County site plan requirements.
Hillsborough County Building Department Basics
Portal: Accela Citizen Access at hcflgov.net/building Jurisdiction: Unincorporated Hillsborough County
Note: The City of Tampa has its own building department at tampagov.net/construction-services. If your property is within Tampa city limits, use Tampa’s portal, not the county’s.
Plant City and Temple Terrace also have their own building departments.
Hillsborough County Site Plan Format
- Scale: 1″=20′ or 1″=30′ both acceptable — choose based on lot size
- File format: PDF upload through Accela Citizen Access
- Title block: Property address, parcel ID (Hillsborough County Property ID), owner name, preparer name, date, scale
Hillsborough County Required Site Plan Elements
For all residential building permits:
- Lot dimensions (from parcel data)
- All existing structures with dimensions
- Proposed structure with dimensions
- All setbacks from proposed structure to property lines, labeled in feet
- Easements shown (drainage and utility)
- North arrow and scale bar
For pool permits:
- Pool dimensions
- Pool equipment location
- Barrier fence with gates and gate hardware type noted
- Impervious surface calculation
- Flood zone designation (many Hillsborough properties are in Zone AE or X)
Hillsborough County Setback Requirements
RS-50 residential zone (single-family residential, 50-foot lot width minimum):
- Front setback: 25 feet
- Rear setback: 20 feet
- Side setbacks: 7.5 feet
- Corner lots: 20 feet side setback facing street
Pool setbacks in Hillsborough:
- Pool water’s edge to rear and side property lines: 5 feet minimum
- Pool equipment: typically must be 5 feet from property lines
Accessory structure setbacks (sheds, detached garages):
- Must be 5 feet from rear property line
- Must be 5 feet from side property lines
- Cannot be in front yard
Hillsborough County Septic System Setbacks
Many Hillsborough County properties — particularly in unincorporated areas — are on septic systems. If your property has a septic system:
- Pool water’s edge must be minimum 10 feet from septic tank
- Pool water’s edge must be minimum 15 feet from drain field
- Any construction near the drain field can damage it and void your septic permit
The Hillsborough County Health Department issues separate approval for construction near septic systems. You’ll need their sign-off as part of your pool permit package.
Hillsborough County Online Permit Submission Tips
Hillsborough’s Accela system requires:
- Account creation before you can submit
- Separate “activity” for each trade (building, electrical, plumbing) — don’t try to submit everything in one record
- PDF files under 25MB per file (combine smaller files if needed)
- All required information filled out in the online form before uploading documents
Case Study: Hillsborough Pool Permit Timeline
A Lutz homeowner wanted to add a 14′ × 28′ pool with a 400 sq ft deck. His property is in unincorporated Hillsborough, RS-75 zone.
We prepared his site plan showing:
- 75-foot lot width with accurate boundary dimensions
- Existing house, driveway, and shed
- Proposed pool centered in rear yard with 8-foot setback from rear property line (RS-75 requires the same 5-foot minimum as RS-50, so he had margin)
- Pool deck shown with impervious surface calculation (his lot was 10,000 sq ft; existing impervious was 2,400 sq ft; proposed deck added 400 sq ft — total 28% impervious, well under the county limit)
- Barrier fence around entire pool area
- Flood zone AE notation with BFE
Site plan delivered in 11 hours. Permit approved on first submission. Construction started within 10 days of ordering the site plan.
Get Your Hillsborough County Site Plan
We prepare Hillsborough County site plans through Accela, properly formatted for their submission system.
Standard residential: $79 — 12–24 hour delivery PE-stamped: $499 — 2–5 business days
