Water follows almost the same regulatory pattern as sewer and septic: connect to public water where it’s available, and where it isn’t, drill a well under a real permitting process that most people underestimate the first time they look into it.

Short version: Private well construction in Florida is regulated statewide by DEP, but permits are issued locally, delegated first to one of five water management districts, then often to a county health department or environmental agency. A homeowner can technically drill their own well without a contractor’s license, but only at 2 inches in diameter or less, far too small for a real household water supply, so in practice almost every residential well goes through a licensed water well contractor. If you’re buying a home on well water with FHA or VA financing, expect a required water test for bacteria, nitrates, nitrites, and lead, plus a minimum flow rate, before the loan can close.

Public water vs. private well

Like sewer, if public water service is available to a property, connecting to it is generally the expectation rather than an optional alternative. Where it isn’t available, which describes a real share of Central Florida’s less densely developed areas, a private well is the only realistic option, and it comes with its own layered permitting process.

How well permitting actually works

Well construction is governed statewide by Florida Administrative Code Chapter 62-532, adopted by the Department of Environmental Protection. DEP delegates administration of this program to Florida’s five water management districts, which in many counties further delegate the actual permit issuance down to a local health department or environmental agency. The result is the same three-layer pattern that shows up throughout Florida’s regulatory system: one set of statewide rules, administered through a chain of state, regional, and local agencies, with the exact office you deal with varying by county.

Can you drill your own well?

Technically, yes, under a narrow homeowner exemption, similar in spirit to the owner-builder exemption for construction. Florida law lets a property owner construct a well on their own property for their own use without a contractor’s license, but only if the well is 2 inches or less in diameter. That’s a real limitation, most residential wells run 4 to 6 inches, since a 2-inch well can’t produce meaningful household water output. In practice, this means nearly every real residential well gets built by a licensed water well contractor, and any person or company doing well construction, repair, or abandonment work as a business is required to hold that license regardless of what the homeowner exemption technically allows.

When you need a separate Water Use Permit

Beyond the well construction permit itself, most wells serving a single-family home, duplex, fire well, or monitoring well are exempt from needing a separate Water Use Permit (WUP), the well construction permit is generally all that’s required. Irrigation wells, larger-capacity wells, and most non-residential uses do need a WUP from the water management district first, a construction permit won’t be issued without it. If you’re planning a well for anything beyond ordinary household use, like significant irrigation, confirm whether a WUP applies before assuming the process is as simple as a standard domestic well.

Setbacks, and why they matter more here

A well has to sit a required distance from septic systems and other contamination sources, the same setback logic covered from the septic side in sewer, septic, and drainage in Florida. Lenders enforce their own version of this too: FHA underwriting specifically checks for at least 50 feet of separation between a well and a septic tank, with more distance required from the drainfield itself, and an appraiser will flag a well that appears too close. On a property with both a well and a septic system, the layout of one constrains where the other can go, worth planning together rather than treating them as separate site decisions.

What financing actually requires before closing

If you’re buying a home with a private well using FHA or VA financing, a water quality test is required before the loan closes, at minimum coliform bacteria, nitrates, nitrites, and lead, performed by a state-certified lab. VA and FHA also generally require the well to demonstrate a minimum flow rate, commonly cited around 3 to 5 gallons per minute, since a well that technically produces safe water but can’t deliver enough of it is still a real problem. Conventional loans vary by lender, some require only a basic bacteria test, others require nothing at all, worth confirming directly with your specific lender rather than assuming. There’s no separate state law requiring a water test just to sell a home, but Florida’s seller disclosure rules do require disclosing known water quality problems, and the Department of Health recommends private well owners test annually for bacteria and nitrates regardless of any transaction, a $20 to $30 test that’s cheap insurance against a contamination problem no one would otherwise notice.

If you’re evaluating a property with an existing well

Ask when the well was drilled, its depth, and whether there’s a permit on file with the county, an undocumented well is a real red flag worth investigating before you’re under contract. Central Florida counties with significant rural and agricultural land, including parts of Polk, have real exposure to nitrate contamination from fertilizer and septic sources, worth taking seriously even outside a financed transaction that would otherwise mandate testing. If the property also has an aging septic system nearby, the two are worth evaluating together, not separately, given how closely they interact underground.

Sources:
https://floridadep.gov/water/source-drinking-water/content/water-well-construction-program
https://www.qualityfiltersandpumps.com/blog/florida-well-inspection-buying-a-home
https://kdshomebuyers.net/articles/sell-house-with-well-water-fl