Before you sign
Questions to ask a pool builder before you sign
Ask every pool builder twelve things before you sign: the license, the insurance, who pulls the permit, the inspection schedule, what the price leaves out, how changes are priced, when payments are due, the timeline, who the subcontractors are, and who fixes problems later. Get each answer in the contract.
Last updated
Rules vary
Rules vary by city, county and HOA. This guide explains how the process usually runs and shows examples from named places, on the date each page shows. It is not legal advice. Call your local building department before you plan or sign.
Use this list at every meeting, and compare the answers side by side. Where a rule or a fact is claimed, the source is under the question.
Is the quote itemized?
Yes. Ask for one line per item: excavation, shell, plumbing, electrical, deck, fence, permits and startup.
Why it matters
A single total hides what you are buying. Ask for lines you can compare between builders: excavation, shell, plumbing, electrical and bonding, deck, fence, permits and inspections, and startup. The price lines published guides list are on the cost page.
Listen for
A builder who is glad to show the lines, and who shows which ones are allowances rather than fixed prices.
What is not in the price?
Ask for a list, in writing, of everything the price leaves out.
Why it matters
Fences, safety features, deck, electrical work, engineering and permits are lines that can be left out or priced as an allowance. Florida and California both require safety features to pass the final inspection, so ask whether the barrier and the alarms are in the number.
Listen for
A list in writing, not a verbal answer.
What is your license number, and may I check it?
Ask for a license number you can look up the same day.
Why it matters
In some states a state board licenses pool builders and publishes a lookup that shows status and complaints. Cobb County, Georgia, requires pool builders to hold a Georgia general contractor license or a recognized pool builder certification.
Listen for
A number you can look up today, in a class that covers pools. See how to check a license.
Can I see your insurance certificates?
Yes. Ask for certificates from the insurer that name your property.
Why it matters
Some permit offices ask about workers' compensation: Los Angeles County lists proof of it among its plan review items, and Wake County asks for a certificate or an exemption affidavit. California's contractor board, in a booklet printed in 2009, warns that an owner builder who does not hire licensed contractors becomes an employer for workers' tax and workers' compensation. Separately, your own homeowners policy may cover pools poorly, so tell your agent before you build.
Listen for
Certificates from the insurer, with your property named, not a verbal assurance.
Who pulls the permits, and who pays for them?
Ask who pulls each permit and who pays for it, and get the answer in the contract.
Why it matters
California's contractor board, in a booklet printed in 2009, says the contractor will usually obtain the permits, and that the arrangement should be written into the contract or you could be held legally responsible. Some places also ask the owner to sign parts of the application.
Listen for
"We pull every permit and it is in the contract," plus which ones you must sign.
What is the inspection schedule, and who schedules each one?
Ask for your city's inspection list and the name of the person who requests each one.
Why it matters
Work cannot go past an inspection point until it passes, as Grand Prairie, Texas, puts it, so a missed or failed inspection moves your dates. Lists differ by city: Tampa lists ten inspection types and Columbia, South Carolina, six. Ask for your city's list.
Listen for
A named person who requests each inspection, and what happens to the schedule if one fails.
Which parts do you subcontract, and are those people licensed and permitted?
Ask for a list of the trades they subcontract, and that each is licensed where your state requires it.
Why it matters
Electrical, plumbing and gas can need their own permits: Raleigh and Orlando list separate electrical permits, and Raleigh a plumbing permit. Texas's licensing department says, in a 2019 notice about residential appliance installers, that new or upgraded line circuits need a licensed electrical contractor with a designated master electrician.
Listen for
A list of trades, who does each, and that each one is licensed where the state requires it.
What is the timeline, in dates, and what could move it?
Ask for dates in writing, and for what could move them.
Why it matters
Published guides put the first dig to the first swim at about 3 to 6 months for a typical concrete pool. Permit and design time come before that. HOA review, permits, weather and ground conditions such as rock or groundwater can stretch it.
Listen for
Dates for the start of the dig and the finish, and a plain account of what happens if the ground surprises everyone.
When are payments due, and are they tied to finished stages?
Ask that payments follow finished and inspected stages.
Why it matters
A payment plan tied to finished and inspected stages keeps your money behind the work. California's contractor board, in a booklet printed in 2009, says a down payment is capped by law and payments cannot get ahead of finished work. Ask your state licensing board whether it caps the down payment, and what the cap is today.
Listen for
A schedule that pays after the steel and plumbing pass, after the shell, and so on, not a large payment at the start.
How are changes after signing priced and approved?
Ask that every change is priced and approved in writing before the work starts.
Why it matters
Ground conditions are one of the things Blue Haven Pools lists as stretching a build: rock, groundwater and old utility lines. Ask what the contract says happens to the price and the dates when something like that turns up.
Listen for
A written change order that names the cost and the new dates before the work starts.
Who fixes problems after, and what does the warranty cover?
Ask for the warranty in writing, with what it covers and who you call.
Why it matters
A warranty is only as good as the paper and the company behind it. Ask what is covered (shell, equipment, finish, labor), for how long, and who you call.
Listen for
A written warranty, with a phone number and the covered items listed.
Can I see a finished pool and speak to the owner?
Yes. Ask to see a pool at least a year old and to speak with its owner.
Why it matters
A finished pool shows the workmanship that a drawing cannot, and an owner can tell you how the schedule and the cleanup went. Ask for a pool at least a year old, and ask the owner whether the final inspection passed on the first try.
Listen for
A short list of recent jobs near you, and owners who are happy to talk.
Then see what you are buying
Once you have the answers, picture the pool in your own yard. Try a pool in your yard, then use the full build guide to see what happens after you sign.
Related: inground pool cost · pool sizes
Sources and date checked
Links checked . If one has moved or no longer says this, tell us (see our editorial policy) and we will fix it.
- Florida Statutes, chapter 515, residential swimming pool safety
- California Assembly Bill 470 of 2016, enrolled text of Health and Safety Code 115922 (the text read here is from the 2016 enrolled bill; the current code section blocked automated checks)
- California Contractors State License Board, selecting a pool contractor
- Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, pool and spa contractor licenses
- Arizona Administrative Code R4-9-103, contractor license classifications (Cornell Legal Information Institute copy)
- Cobb County, Georgia (unincorporated), pool and spa inspections (amendment effective January 1, 2026; no update date printed, checked October 11, 2026)
- Los Angeles County, swimming pool and spa plan review list (dated February 11, 2026)
- Wake County, North Carolina, install a swimming pool or hot tub (no update date printed; checked October 11, 2026)
- California Contractors State License Board, before you build a swimming pool (booklet printed September 2009, check cslb.ca.gov for current rules)
- Texas Department of Insurance, does homeowners insurance cover swimming pools (last updated June 5, 2025)
- Miami Gardens, Florida, swimming pool and spa permit checklist (no date printed; checked October 11, 2026)
- Grand Prairie, Texas, residential pool and spa (city page; no update date printed, checked October 11, 2026)
- Tampa, Florida, pool and spa inspections (updated September 12, 2025)
- Columbia, South Carolina, pool requirements (PDF created March 17, 2026)
- Raleigh, North Carolina, installing a pool or spa (no update date printed; only a browser print header, so this guide uses the date we checked, October 11, 2026)
- Orlando, Florida, residential swimming pool and spa checklist (setback table current as of the 2022 code update; checklist itself undated)
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, pool related electrical devices (news post of January 8, 2019)
- Blue Haven Pools, how long a gunite pool takes (2026)
- HomeAdvisor, in-ground pool cost (2026)
Questions with no source are advice, not a claim of fact. Rules vary by city, county and state, and this is not legal advice. See how we write and check pages in our editorial policy.