Do you need a solar permit in New York?
By Mario Bailey Last checked
- Always required
- 4
- of 5 jurisdictions
- Conditional
- 1
- depends on size or scope
- Not required
- 0
- exempt outright
Solar Permit rules nationwide, beyond New York.
Requirements and size thresholds for solar permits vary by locality. The table below compares what each New York 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 New York 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 New York 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | Yes | Any size | Confirmed on official page |
| New York City | Conditional | solar landscape lights are the only solar work DOB exempts from permit | Confirmed on official page |
| Rochester | Yes | Any size | Confirmed on official page |
| Town of Brookhaven | Yes | Any size | Confirmed on official page |
| Town of Hempstead | Yes | Any size | Confirmed on official page |
| No localities match your filter. | |||
What a solar permit costs in New York
4 New York 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.
Two permits, two fees. Residential building permit fee schedule flat fee line "Alternative energy systems" $75.00 on top of the $25.00 application fee, EFFECTIVE 7/1/2025. The electrical permit adds a $50.00 application fee plus the flat permit and inspection fee of $50.00 for a one-family dwelling or $75.00 for both units of a two-family dwelling, plus a $100.00 plan review fee if plans are required. Commercial solar is charged a $50.00 application fee, a plan review fee of $50.00 or $0.0025 per square foot times the occupancy multiplier whichever is greater, a permit and inspection fee of $50.00 or $0.0275 per square foot times the multiplier whichever is greater, and $3.00 per solar panel.
last checked
Solar Panels is work type SL, an alteration priced on construction cost and requiring a PW3 statement of cost per DOB's "Fee Structure & List of Applications Requiring a PW3" (Rev. 04/25). For a one-, two- or three-family dwelling that means Table 28-112.2 item 11: minimum filing fee $170.00 for Alteration Type 1 or $130.00 for Alteration Type 2 or Type 3, being the "Minimum filing fee for the first $5,000, or fraction thereof, of the cost of alteration; plus $2.60 for each $1,000, or fraction thereof, of cost of alterations in excess of $5,000." The mandatory companion electrical permit is billed separately under 1 RCNY 101-03.
last checked
The Solar JULY 2026 packet states "Unified Fee $100" by check or money order payable to the City Treasurer, with other payment methods available in person. Larger systems that fall outside the Unified Solar Permit process are charged under Building Permit Fees based on the actual cost of work.
last checked
The flat solar fee is gone. Local Law No. 20-2024 (adopted 3-12-2024, effective 4-2-2024) amended Town Code 86-11EE to read: "The fee for an application to install a residential solar photovoltaic system or power wall shall be determined by the estimated cost of construction and no longer subject to a fee cap." Solar applications are therefore charged the ordinary building permit fee under 86-11C(1): $200 residential for an estimated cost up to $1,000, then $200 plus $18 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof. The $300 solar panel and $200 power wall caps set by Local Law No. 93-2022 no longer apply, and the older $100 cap from Local Law No. 90-2016 is two amendments out of date.
last checked
Jurisdictions not listed publish no dollar figure we could quote. Absence does not mean a permit is free.
Common questions about solar permits in New York
- Do I need a solar permit in New York?
- In most of New York, yes. Permits are issued locally, so the answer comes from your New York city or county rather than a single statewide rule. Of the 5 New York jurisdictions we have verified for solar work, 4 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 New York?
- 1 of the 5 New York jurisdictions we cover sets a threshold rather than a flat rule, so the same job can be exempt in one New York county and permitted in the next. The table above lists each New York 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?
New York's owner-builder rule (Inside New York City: NYC Admin. Code 28-104.1, 28-105.1, 28-105.4, 28-105.5.1, 28-401.3 (definition of "general contractor"). Outside New York City: N.Y. Exec. Law 381(2); 19 NYCRR 1203.3(a)(1).) sets what you may do on your own home without hiring anyone. Read the statute.