Florida HB 683 and the DEP synthetic turf rule, explained

Florida HB 683 created F.S. 125.572, and DEP Rule 62-308.100 put it into force on May 19, 2026. On single-family lots of one acre or less, cities and counties can no longer ban synthetic turf that is permeable, free of added PFAS and heavy metals, 10 feet from waterbodies, out of swales and tree drip lines, and not irrigated by an in-ground system. Infill must be natural or coated sand.

Reviewed by Luis Austin, owner · Last reviewed September 21, 2026

Is artificial turf legal in Florida? What did HB 683 change?

Yes. Synthetic turf was never illegal statewide, but some Florida cities banned it, limited it to backyards or counted it as pavement. HB 683, signed in 2025, created section 125.572 of the Florida Statutes. It told the Department of Environmental Protection to write minimum installation standards for single-family residential lots of one acre or less, and it barred local governments from prohibiting turf that meets those standards or regulating it in a way that conflicts with them.

The catch was timing. The preemption only switched on once DEP adopted its rule. For most of a year, local ordinances stayed in force while the department held a workshop in August 2025 and published a proposed rule in January 2026.

When did the DEP synthetic turf rule take effect?

Rule 62-308.100, Florida Administrative Code, titled Synthetic Turf, took effect on May 19, 2026. Its chapter is named "Minimum Standards for the Installation of Synthetic Turf on Specified Properties," and it lists F.S. 125.572 as both its authority and the law it implements. From that date, a Florida city or county can't enforce a ban on compliant synthetic turf on a covered lot.

Timeline of Florida's synthetic turf law
Date	What happened
July 1, 2023	F.S. 720.3045 takes effect: HOAs can't restrict items not visible from the frontage or an adjacent parcel, naming artificial turf
July 1, 2025	HB 683 takes effect, creating F.S. 125.572 and directing DEP to set standards
August 5, 2025	DEP rule development workshop in Tallahassee
January 20, 2026	DEP publishes its Notice of Proposed Rule for Chapter 62-308
May 19, 2026	Rule 62-308.100 becomes effective; local prohibitions on compliant turf end for covered lots

What does Rule 62-308.100 require?

The rule is short, about a page, and organized under nine headings: scope, material type, color, permeability, stormwater management, potable water conservation, water quality, proximity to trees, and other factors affecting neighboring properties. It creates no new state permit. Here is each requirement in plain terms, next to what it means on a job.

Florida's minimum standards for synthetic turf on single-family lots (Rule 62-308.100, F.A.C.)
What the rule says	What it means for the job
Turf, backing and infill must contain no heavy metals and no intentionally added PFAS, and must be disposable at a Florida-permitted landfill	Get the manufacturer's written statement and keep it with the quote
Infill may only be clean silica sand, rock, shell or other natural material; coated silica sand is allowed if the coating is non-toxic. Rubber or other synthetic infill only within the footprint of playground equipment	No crumb rubber or plastic pellets on a lawn, dog run or putting green. Silica, zeolite and coated sands are fine
Infill must not wash off the property	Edges detailed so a storm doesn't carry sand into the street or the neighbor's yard
Subgrade of natural material such as crushed rock or crushed concrete, washed before installation so fines don't bind; soil beneath not compacted to the point it hurts percolation	A washed, free-draining base instead of dusty road base that sets into a crust
Green synthetic turf shall be allowed	A local code can't require an odd color or reject green
Permeable turf on permeable backing over a pervious subgrade graded for positive drainage; a local government may set a standard of at most 10 inches per hour for all layers	Perforated or fully permeable backing, and a base that drains as fast as the turf
No pooling, and no increase in runoff volume, direction or rate onto adjacent properties; not within a swale, ditch, stormwater pond or a pond's littoral zone	Turf stops at the top of the side-yard swale and stays off retention-pond banks
In-ground irrigation can't be used to irrigate synthetic turf; a local government may require heads removed and pipes capped	Sprinkler heads under the turf are capped; rinsing is by hose
Where no local buffer exists, at least 10 feet from a natural or man-made waterbody, measured from the ordinary or mean high water line, unless a physical barrier such as a seawall or bulkhead stands between	Lake, canal and pond lots get a planted buffer strip; a seawalled canal lot doesn't need one
Not inside tree drip lines, on the property or on adjacent properties, unless a certified arborist certifies it won't harm the tree	Under a live oak, plan on mulch or groundcover inside the canopy, or get the arborist's letter first. The neighbor's oak counts too
Installed to the manufacturer's specifications and anchored at all edges and seams to withstand wind or flooding	Glued and taped seams, a nailed or restrained perimeter, nothing loose-laid
Must leave access to the septic tank for routine pump-out; must sit landward of any dune system	On septic lots in rural St. Cloud or Polk County, the tank lid stays reachable under a removable panel or outside the turf

Paraphrased from Rule 62-308.100, F.A.C., effective May 19, 2026. The rule text controls.

Most of that is how a careful installer already builds in Central Florida. Three items change real projects here. The 10-foot setback matters on the many lake and pond lots in Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Lake Nona and Harmony. The drip-line rule changes the conversation in older neighborhoods where the reason grass won't grow is a 60-foot live oak; turf near live oaks and palms goes into that. And the infill rule ends the use of crumb rubber on home lawns, which we never liked in Florida heat anyway.

What the law doesn't do

It doesn't override your HOA. Section 125.572 restricts local governments. Association covenants are a private contract governed by Chapter 720. See the HOA page.
It doesn't cover every property. Single-family residential lots of one acre or less only. Commercial sites, apartments, condos and larger lots still answer to local code.
It doesn't erase permits. A city or county can still require a permit and review drainage, easements and rights-of-way, as long as it doesn't prohibit compliant turf or contradict the state standard. Check your jurisdiction.
It doesn't make turf "Florida-Friendly Landscaping." That's a separate program under F.S. 373.185, and UF/IFAS doesn't class synthetic turf as Florida-Friendly.

A worked example

Say you own a 0.22-acre lot in unincorporated Osceola County with a retention pond behind the fence and a swale along the left side. You want the 900 sq ft backyard done. Under the state standard the turf has to stop 10 feet short of the pond's water line and at the top of the swale, which might leave 640 sq ft of turf and a planted buffer along the back. The sprinkler zone in that area gets capped. The county can't refuse the turf itself, though it can still ask for a permit or a drainage review if its code calls for one. If you're in an HOA, the backyard is protected from restriction so long as it isn't visible from the frontage or a neighbor's parcel.

Nothing here is legal advice. It's our reading of F.S. 125.572 and the public summaries of Rule 62-308.100, checked in September 2026; the rule text controls, and a code office or attorney should confirm anything your project depends on.

Questions people ask

Does HB 683 apply to lots bigger than one acre?

No. Section 125.572 covers single-family residential properties of one acre or less. On a larger lot, your county or city's landscape and zoning code still decides what's allowed.

Can my city still require a permit for turf?

It can require a permit and review drainage, easements and rights-of-way. What it can't do on a covered lot is prohibit turf that meets the DEP standard or impose rules that conflict with it.

Can I keep one sprinkler zone to cool the turf?

Not an in-ground one. The standard says in-ground irrigation systems can't be used to irrigate synthetic turf areas. A hose rinse does the same job and drops the surface temperature 30 to 50 degrees in a minute or two.

My turf was installed before May 2026. Do I have to change it?

The summaries we've read describe installation standards and don't mention retrofits. If you replace the turf or extend it, build the new work to the standard. For anything beside a pond or inside a drip line, ask your local code office.

Who enforces the DEP turf standard?

The rule sets the standard; day-to-day enforcement runs through local code and permitting offices, which may now regulate only in ways consistent with it. DEP's Division of Water Restoration Assistance handled the rulemaking.