Do you need a solar permit in Florida?
By Mario Bailey Last checked
- Always required
- 27
- of 28 jurisdictions
- Conditional
- 0
- depends on size or scope
- Not required
- 0
- exempt outright
Solar Permit rules nationwide, beyond Florida.
Requirements and size thresholds for solar permits vary by locality. The table below compares what each Florida county or city requires. Always confirm with the local office before starting.
Comparing states? See solar permit rules across every locality we cover.
What to know about solar permits in Florida
Solar permits in Virginia usually cover the rooftop PV system and its electrical interconnection. Costs depend on system size and your locality, and many homeowners weigh financing options such as solar loans against paying up front. Some Virginia localities use SolarAPP+ for faster automated approvals. Always use a licensed electrical or solar contractor, since the work must pass inspection.
The application steps and inspection sequence for solar permits come from the model code rather than from Florida 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 Florida jurisdictions is below: who requires a permit, what they charge, and which office you file with.
Swipe sideways to see thresholds and confidence.
What a solar permit costs in Florida
21 Florida 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.
No solar-specific flat fee is published; solar permits fall under the $150.00 minimum base permit fee plus the dollar-value-of-construction fee, per the Building Fee Schedule effective 11/01/2025. A Notice of Commencement is required for the installation when the direct contract price exceeds $2,500.
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Brevard's Residential Solar Photovoltaic Permit Application fee table lists a Building Code Review fee of $75.00 for the first $1,000 of job value plus $3.25 per $1,000 thereafter, plus a $25.00 Application Processing Fee and state surcharges of 1.5% (BCA) and 1% (FBC); no Land Development, Natural Resources, or Zoning Review line items are listed. No effective date is shown.
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At application: flat fee $90, plus a building fee of 0.004 x ICC valuation (if valuation is $50,000 or more) and a 0.025 x building-fee surcharge.
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Fee Schedule (Resolution 2025-231, effective January 1, 2026), Solar Permit Review Fees: "1) Pool and domestic water heater permits, $50.00 application fee plus a per-inspection charge. 2) Photovoltaic permits, application fee of $100.00 each trade plus a per-inspection charge."
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Photovoltaic System (Res): $180.00; Solar: $180.00, per Resolution No. 2026-037 (effective March 3, 2026).
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Residential Photovoltaic trade permit fee is $250 flat, inspection-only with no plan review, per Building Permit Fee Schedule effective October 5, 2024
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City Fees schedule (Municipal Code Section 320.409): Plumbing Permit Fees lists a Solar water heater line item at $21.00; Mechanical Permit Fees lists a Solar collector system line item at $22.00.
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Fee schedule effective 2026-04-15: $50 application fee and $35 technology fee per application plus an operational support fee; solar plan review $25 initial, regulatory review $25, ground or roof mounted PV inspections $50 per required inspection, other solar types $75 covering up to 2 inspections
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Fee Schedule, "Solar Installation Permits" flat-fee category: "Solar Photovoltaic Systems $180.00," "Solar Water Heating Systems $180.00."
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Manatee County Development Services Building Fee Schedule, effective 04/01/2023 (R-23-043, R-23-045, R-23-046): Solar Permit $127.
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Solar-Photovoltaic Elec/Potable or Non-Potable (Res or Com): $140.00, per Resolution 25-R-295 (effective Oct. 1, 2025).
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Roof mounted solar photovoltaic systems are $365.63 per system, or $250 per system using the county's prescribed standardized mounting detail, per the county electrical fee sheet (rev 10/25)
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No dedicated solar line; PV installation bills under the Electrical Permit Additions and Alterations schedule at a $38 minimum for the first $1,000 of valuation plus $5 per additional $1,000, per the FY2025-26 Fee Directory
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Appendix A states 'The following permit fees will apply to residential and commercial solar permits' immediately before its Valuation Table: up to $5,000.00 in valuation costs $85.00; $5,000.00 and over costs $150.00 plus $3.25 per thousand dollars (or fraction) over $5,000.00, capped at a $300,000.00 maximum permit fee. Separately, a re-roof combined with solar panel removal/replacement or solar shingles is billed at a flat $150.00 permit fee under the re-roofing fee lines. Effective October 1, 2025, per Resolution #25-036R.
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Charged by value of construction with a $75 minimum for a solar photovoltaic system, per the PZB Building Division fee schedule
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Base permit fee $45; electrical trade fees such as $10 per system component or feature per posted fee Resolution 18-17
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Flat fee by system type: photovoltaic systems $250 each, solar domestic water heating $335, solar pool or spa heating $250, each including building, plan review and electrical, per Combination Permits IV-I of the FY26 BDRS schedule
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Solar voltaic (residential and commercial) is charged per the building permit fee table in Construction Fees Resolution 17-025; residential table starts at $85.00 for work valued up to $12,000.
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Resolution No. 2025-29 lists 'Solar Systems' as its own Building Permits line item at $67.00 (single-family detached) / $66.50 (all other construction), and a separate 'Solar System' line item under Electrical Permits, New Construction, at $150.00 (single-family detached) / $250.00 (all other construction). The Electrical Permit Application form also lists 'Solar' as one of its job-type checkboxes.
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Solar panels are listed as an example under the fee schedule's 'Building Permit Fees for Structures Other than Buildings' category ($30.00 base permit fee plus $6.00 per $1,000 value of construction), per Resolution 2024-R-139 (adopted Dec. 12, 2023).
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Solar Permit Fees (F.S. 553.80): Permit Issuance $11.00 with a minimum permit fee of $35.00; Thermal Permit $24.00; Photovoltaic Permit $24.00; Plan Review Fee $37.00 per hour, per St. Johns County's Schedule of Fees and Services, Exhibit A (amended 07/21/2026).
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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 Florida
- Do I need a solar permit in Florida?
- In most of Florida, yes. Permits are issued locally, so the answer comes from your Florida city or county rather than a single statewide rule. Of the 27 Florida jurisdictions we have verified for solar work, 27 require a permit outright, 0 depend on the size or scope of the job, and 0 require none.
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 contractor license active in this locality, and under which business name?