Do you need a solar permit in Arizona?
By Mario Bailey Last checked
Of the 9 Arizona counties and cities we checked, 8 require a solar permit for every job and 1 requires a solar permit only past a size or scope limit.
- Always required
- 8
- of 9 jurisdictions
- Conditional
- 1
- depends on size or scope
- Not required
- 0
- exempt outright
Solar Permit rules nationwide, beyond Arizona.
Requirements and size thresholds for solar permits vary by locality. The table below compares what each Arizona county or city requires. Always confirm with the local office before starting.
Comparing states? See solar permit rules across every locality we cover.
The application steps and inspection sequence for solar permits come from the model code rather than from Arizona law, so they read the same wherever you build. We keep that walkthrough in one place: how a solar permit application and its inspections work, start to finish. What changes between Arizona jurisdictions is below: who requires a permit, what they charge, and which office you file with.
Swipe sideways to see thresholds and confidence.
| Locality | Permit required? | Typical threshold | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chandler | Yes | Any size | Confirmed on official page |
| Gilbert | Conditional | Solar photovoltaic systems and solar hot water heating systems are exempt from permit when installed by an Arizona licensed contractor using equipment listed and labeled by a nationally recognized third-party testing agency. | Confirmed on official page |
| Maricopa County | Yes | Any size | Confirmed on official page |
| Mesa | Yes | Any size | From an official source |
| Peoria | Yes | Any size | Confirmed on official page |
| Phoenix | Yes | Any size | From an official source |
| Pima County | Yes | Any size | Confirmed on official page |
| Scottsdale | Yes | Any size | Confirmed on official page |
| Tucson | Yes | Any size | From an official source |
| No localities match your filter. | |||
What a solar permit costs in Arizona
7 Arizona jurisdictions we cover publish a fee figure for this work. Each line is quoted from that office's own schedule and linked to its citation. The figures are not comparable to one another: some are flat minimums, some a percentage of job value, some charged per fixture, so what you pay depends on which schedule applies and on your job's valuation.
Flat $150 fee for a residential solar photovoltaic system permit and a separate flat $150 fee for a residential solar water heating system permit, both per Fee Schedule 4.6.4(k)-(l) under Res. 4703
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Roof-mounted residential solar is printed at $300 ($150 inspection plus $140 plan review itemized) and ground-mounted under 6 feet at $500 ($200 plus $190 itemized) in the June 2024 Summary of the Fee Schedule; the header totals and itemized lines disagree, so confirm the current total with Permitting Services
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Most residential rooftop solar under 10,000 sq ft installed by a licensed Arizona contractor needs no permit per the Residential Construction Homeowners Guide; an install outside that exemption is a stand-alone electrical permit, valuation based via the Residential Rate Table, $220 minimum
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Residential solar photovoltaic permits use fixed-fee options from $780 with plan review and 3 inspections down to $293 administrative fee with no plan review and 1 inspection, or Table A valuation for non-standard systems, per the PDD Fee Schedule effective 1/20/2026
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Residential photovoltaic installation is treated as minor electrical work, flat fee $27, per the Development Services Fee Schedule effective 2026-07-01
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Flat $168 residential solar permit fee per the FY26/27 Permit Fee Schedule - Miscellaneous (Res. 13661)
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"4-02.9.3 Solar Permits - Photovoltaic Electrical Systems - 1 to 30 PV panels": $122.46 (includes inverter and panel racking); 31 to 100 panels: $199.98; 101 or more: $199.98 + $1.12 for each panel over 100; supplementary equipment (service upgrades, panel relocations, EV chargers): $28.09 each. Line-item numbers and names are from the schedule, with its U+2010 hyphens and en dashes typed as plain hyphens. City of Tucson FY27 Planning and Permitting Fee Schedule, adopted by Mayor and Council May 19, 2026, effective July 1, 2026.
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Jurisdictions not listed publish no dollar figure we could quote. Absence does not mean a permit is free.
Common questions about solar permits in Arizona
- Do I need a solar permit in Arizona?
- In most of Arizona, yes. Permits are issued locally, so the answer comes from your Arizona city or county rather than a single statewide rule. Of the 9 Arizona jurisdictions we have verified for solar work, 8 require a permit outright, 1 depends on the size or scope of the job, and 0 require none.
- Is there a solar permit exemption in Arizona?
- 1 of the 9 Arizona jurisdictions we cover sets a threshold rather than a flat rule, so the same job can be exempt in one Arizona county and permitted in the next. The table above lists each Arizona jurisdiction's published threshold in its own words, with the source and the date we verified it.
Ready to move on your solar permit?
Hire it out
Before you sign, ask the contractor:
- Who pulls the permit, you or me, and is the permit fee included in the bid?
- Which inspections will this job need, and who meets the inspector on site?
- Is your Arizona Registrar of Contractors license active, and under which business name? Verify it on roc.az.gov.
Arizona's owner-builder rule (A.R.S. 32-1121(A)(5), (A)(9), (A)(14)(a); 32-1164(A)(2), (B)) sets what you may do on your own home without hiring anyone. Read the statute.