Inside this Blog: 

• What the regulation says
• Is Florida actually enforcing it?
• The benefits of using a pool test kit certified to NSF/ANSI/CAN 50 standards
• Our recommendations

If you operate a public pool in Florida—whether at a hotel, apartment complex, municipal facility, or water park—there’s a regulatory change you should be aware of. Florida’s Administrative Code, Chapter 64E-9 (Public Swimming Pools and Bathing Places), was updated in 2023 to require that test kits used for measuring key water quality parameters meet specific certification standards: namely, NSF/ANSI/CAN Standard 50-2020, Level 1 accuracy. 

The question is, is Florida enforcing this requirement, and what does that mean in practice? Below is a breakdown of what the rules say now, what enforcement is looking like so far, and how pool operators should prepare.

What the Regulation Says

• Under Rule 64E-9.004(10), all public pools are required to keep on-site test kits (“water quality test devices/kits”) capable of measuring free active chlorine, total chlorine (or available bromine, depending on disinfectant), total alkalinity, calcium hardness, and pH.
  
  
• Crucially, these test kits must be NSF/ANSI/CAN Standard 50-2020 Level 1 accuracy certified, or use specific laboratory analysis methods identified by the chemical product manufacturer. If the required kind of test kit is not available for review at a routine inspection, the pool will be cited for violation.
  
  
• NSF and ANSI are two separate organizations that work together to achieve a similar mission–upholding standards–with CAN 50 being their Canadian counterpart. For Pools, Spas, Hot Tubs, and Other Recreational Water Facilities, this standard “establishes criteria for performance validation, operational safety, and testing of pool and spa products. Certification to this standard is mandatory under the Model Aquatic Health Code and is a requirement for most U.S. state and local pool codes.”
  
  Water quality test devices, or pool test kits, fall under the purview of this standard. Manufacturers can choose to go through the NSF certification process to certify that their product meets these standards and complies with even the strictest aquatic health codes. There are three NSF certification levels–Level 1, 2, and 3–with Level 1 being the highest. Any products not assigned to one of these three levels are not accurate enough to be certified.
  
  
• In addition, chemicals used in pool water treatment must meet either NSF/ANSI/CAN Standard 60-2021 (for chemical health effects) or Chapter 27 of NSF/ANSI/CAN Standard 50-2020.

Is Florida Actually Enforcing It?

The short answer is: no, it appears not. Here’s what the evidence suggests:

The effective revision date for the rule that contains this requirement is June 11, 2023, when the updated 64E-9.004 (and related sections) came into effect. This is the version that includes the certification requirement. And the Florida DOH “Public Swimming Pools” page still currently shows shows that “ANSI Certified Lab’s Product Listing websites for NSF/ANSI Standard 50 Swimming Pool Products” are among the resources it references, typically a signal to pool operators they need to use products listed under these certified laboratories.

However, there are also active discussions around this requirement still ongoing.

Previously, there had been some confusion within the Florida pool community as most pool test kits on the market do not test to Level 1 accuracy for all water parameters. Most recently, the Florida Health Department held a workshop in April 2025 to discuss–among other updates–“proposed modifications to operational requirements, including updates to test kit accuracy…”.

At this time, it appears that these proposed updates are still in Draft as nothing Final has been published by the Department of Health.

Our recommendation would be to reach out to your local Florida Health Department contact or representative. A copy of the agenda for the April workshop and the preliminary draft of the proposed updates to this requirement can be acquired by contacting Bob Vincent or Gladys Liehr by email at hse.zzzzfeedback@flhealth.gov.

It’s better to be in contact with and even ahead of enforcement than to put your pool facility in a position to be uncompliant. 

However, even beyond compliance, using a NSF/ANSI/CAN 50 certified test kit offers several practical and safety benefits. They are the best way to ensure you’re using kits that consistently give you accurate readings–ensuring your pool water stays constantly clear, clean, and safe, and helping you reduce the amount of chemicals you’re using, also lowering your operational costs. 

The Benefits of Using a Pool Test Kit Certified to NSF/ANSI/CAN 50

1. Accuracy and Reliability: Certified kits must meet Level 1 accuracy standards, which means the readings for chlorine, pH, alkalinity, and calcium hardness are within tighter tolerances. This reduces the risk of false readings that could make a pool appear safe when it isn’t—or unsafe when it is.
   
   
2. Public Health Protection: Properly balanced pool water prevents the growth of harmful bacteria, parasites, and algae. Inaccurate testing, on the other hand, can leave swimmers exposed to pathogens that cause ear infections, skin rashes, or gastrointestinal illnesses. Certified kits help operators accurately maintain consistent, safe water quality.
   
   
3. Operational Efficiency: More accurate test results mean fewer unnecessary chemical adjustments. Over-treating with chlorine or other chemicals wastes money and can damage pool surfaces and equipment. A reliable kit helps operators dose precisely and avoid expensive corrective actions.
   
   
4. Liability Protection: In the event of an incident or inspection failure, operators using uncertified kits may be exposed to liability for negligence. A certified kit provides legal defensibility: you are following the highest available standards and the explicit state requirement.
   
   
5. Standardization Across Facilities: Certified kits also allow for consistency across multiple locations. A hotel chain, for example, can be confident that water test results at properties across Florida (or beyond) are comparable and held to the same nationally recognized standard.

In short, using an NSF/ANSI/CAN 50 certified kit isn’t just about meeting the letter of the law—it’s about improving safety, reducing costs, and protecting both swimmers and operators.

Our Recommendations for Florida Pool Owners

We recommend all public and commercial pool operations use pool test kits certified to NSF/ANSI/CAN 50 when possible, for precisely the reasons mentioned above. As a Florida pool owner, manager, or operator, you take on a lot of risk when your water isn’t properly balanced. Using the most accurate tools available helps reduce that risk, ensure the health and safety of your swimmers, improves operational efficiency, and reduces your risk. 

The LaMotte WaterLink Spin Touch is our top pool test kit, out of all the ones on the market. It virtually eliminates almost every risk for human error by combining a high-quality, automated photometer with pre-measured cartridges for each testing reagent. It also runs all water tests in 60 seconds, making it a tremendous time saver with a high level of accuracy. 

Currently, the LaMotte WaterLink Spin Touch is certified to NSF/ANSI/CAN 50 Level 1 accuracy for Free Chlorine, Total Chlorine, Combined Chlorine, pH, and Cyanuric Acid.

When you pair the LaMotte WaterLink Spin Touch with the PoolShark H2O app, you can perform pool water tests in 60 seconds, then quickly and seamlessly preserve results and any related chemical adjustments–freeing up your pool operators and other staff members for the other important parts of their job, all while making it easy for managers to check logs and receive crucial alerts from anywhere, at anytime. 

If you’re testing pool water multiple times a day–especially for multiple pools–the time savings from this alone can make a significant impact on your operations, and your pool operator’s day.