Glenn County

A city address is usually permitted by the city, not the county — but not always, and some authorities keep building and hand electrical to someone else. Getting this wrong costs the whole submittal, because every requirement below belongs to whoever actually holds jurisdiction. Check the overlays in the same pass: an HOA, a historic district, a windstorm certification or a system-size cap can reshape the design, and all of them are cheaper to find now than after the array is laid out.

• Is this authority the AHJ for residential solar at this address? Yes — but only for UNINCORPORATED Glenn County. The two incorporated cities, Willows and Orland, are each a separate AHJ with their own in-house Building Division/Department. 95% · codified ordinance + two independent city department pages
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both — the county's own Planning & Community Development Services department, specifically its Building Inspector division (fee-schedule section header: 'Building & Inspection Services'), issues and inspects both building and electrical permits in-house for unincorporated-area residential solar. Fire-code enforcement is adopted by the county but its administration is defined per-parcel to whichever city or fire protection district serves that address (GCC 15.72.140), not to a single county fire office. 85% · department page + fee schedule + codified ordinance
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. 92% · fee schedule
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Likely combined into a single building permit — the fee schedule lists 'Solar Residential - Roof Mounted' and 'Solar Residential - Ground Mounted' as their own distinct General-Construction-style line items (flat dollar figures, not scaled to the generic 'Electrical Permit Base fee' lines listed separately in the same schedule's 'Electrical Fees' subsection), consistent with a single combined solar permit type rather than a stand-alone electrical permit process for the same job. 62% · fee schedule (inference)
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No county-required HOA/architectural-committee approval found for solar specifically in any Glenn County document reviewed (expected, since HOAs are private covenants, not a county-administered process). California's Solar Rights Act (Civil Code §714/§4600) preempts an HOA's ability to disapprove or unreasonably restrict a compliant solar installation, regardless of CC&R language, statewide. 55% · codified ordinance + fee schedule (absence) + general CA law
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No — California does not use a Texas-DOI/TDI-style separate wind-certification program. Wind loads are addressed through the adopted 2025 CBC/CRC's structural provisions (ASCE 7-based design), not a standalone wind-certificate process. No Glenn-specific wind-certification requirement was found in the reviewed materials. 55% · codified ordinance (absence, general CA practice)
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? Yes, conditionally. Under GCC Ch. 15.86 'Power Generation Facilities' (current, live-verified — identical text found on both the pre-2025 code host and the county's current live codifier): in Residential zoning districts (RE, AT, RE-NW, R-1, R-M, MHP, PDR), a residential-scale 'Direct Use' system (roof- or ground-mounted, serving the property's own load, up to 1/2 acre) is Permitted (P) by right; an 'Accessory Use' system larger than that (up to 15% of lot size or 5 acres, whichever is less) requires an Administrative Permit (ADM); and any 'Secondary Use' or 'Primary Use' (utility-scale, generating for offsite use) in a Residential district is Not Permitted (NP) at all. A Conditional Use Permit before the Planning Commission/Board is required only for Secondary/Primary Use facilities in the zoning districts where they ARE allowed (Agriculture, Williamson Act, Industrial) — never for ordinary residential rooftop/ground-mount PV. 90% · codified ordinance (zoning)
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No kW cap — Glenn's zoning ordinance caps residential PV by AREA, not generation capacity: a 'Direct Use' system (on-site load, roof- or ground-mounted) is capped at 1/2 acre of coverage to remain a by-right Permitted use; above that, an 'Accessory Use' system up to 15% of the lot (max 5 acres) requires an Administrative Permit. Separately, when a ground-mounted array 'will be located near a residence on an adjacent Lot,' GCC 15.86.030(G) requires either a 60-foot setback for solar panels (150 ft for enclosed buildings, 200 ft for wind turbines) OR visual screening with native, drought-resistant vegetation. 92% · codified ordinance (zoning)

Several authorities require the electrical permit to be pulled by a licensed electrician, or require the contractor to be registered with them BEFORE applying. Registration is not same-day. This is second on the list rather than fourth because it is the step most likely to stop the job before the drawings matter.

• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? No county-wide contractor business-license or registration fee was found anywhere in the current (2025) Master Fee Schedule — a full-text read of all 56 pages found zero 'business license' hits and only one unrelated 'contractor' hit ('Farm labor contractor $25.00/year'), against a working positive control ('electrical', 7 hits) confirming the extraction was not simply failing. 58% · fee schedule (absence)
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes — the county's own 'Permit Forms and Applications' page for the Building Inspector lists 'Owner Builder Affidavits' as a standing form category, confirming owner-builder self-permitting is an accepted pathway; not stated as a solar-specific carve-out. 72% · department page

Almost everywhere wants a site plan, a one-line or three-line electrical diagram, equipment cut sheets with listings, and a structural attachment detail. Build it against the published checklist rather than the last jurisdiction you worked in — the checklist is what the reviewer marks against.

• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes, a site/plot plan is required — the county's 'Permit Requirements and Guidelines' page lists a dedicated 'Plot Plan Example' document among its standard permit-requirement handouts, and the general permit-application process requires a plot plan for any building permit. The plot plan's specific required content items (dimensions, north arrow, setbacks, etc.) could not be confirmed because the PDF itself is unreachable. 60% · department page (title only)

Most authorities now take the whole application through a portal, and several states cap or constrain what a residential solar permit may cost. Check whether plan check is billed separately before you quote the job.

• Which permit portal does this authority use? eTRAKiT (CentralSquare Technologies), hosted at etrakit.countyofglenn.net — confirmed live today. 92% · portal landing page
• Can the whole application be completed online? No — the eTRAKiT portal's own current homepage states plainly: 'Permit Applications and Inspection Requests Coming Soon!' The portal today only supports read-only search/view of existing Permits, Projects, Properties and Inspections (plus a map view) — not submission of a new application. 90% · portal landing page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? $197.85 flat for Solar Residential - Roof Mounted; $171.33 flat for Solar Residential - Ground Mounted (both 'plus additional state mandated fees, if applicable'). Non-residential solar is priced differently — on construction valuation via Table 3-A of the 1997 Uniform Administrative Code (CPI-modified) plus a 6% technology cost recovery fee — confirming the residential figures are a distinct, flat category. 90% · fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Flat, for residential (both roof- and ground-mounted) — not valuation-, per-kW-, or per-panel-based. This contrasts with 'Solar Non-Residential', which IS valuation-based (construction-valuation × Table 3-A of the 1997 UAC, CPI-modified, plus 6% technology fee) in the same schedule. 88% · fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Ambiguous in the current fee schedule. A general clause in the same 'Building & Inspection Services' section states 'Plan Review = 65% of building permit fee plus a 6% technology cost recovery fee' as an apparent building-wide default, but the schedule never states whether this 65% add-on applies on top of the flat $197.85/$171.33 residential-solar figures or whether those flat figures are an all-in over-the-counter price that already includes plan review (as Calaveras' and other CA counties' equivalent OTC solar lines explicitly state). No sentence resolves this for solar specifically. 55% · fee schedule (ambiguous)

Interconnection is a separate process from the permit and usually the longer pole. Where the utility does not depend on the permit being issued, running both at once is the single biggest saving available on a residential job.

• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? Not stated in any Glenn County document found. The Master Fee Schedule's 'Renew Expired Permit' line (50% of the original permit fee plus a 6% technology fee) confirms permits DO expire, but no document gives the specific day count. Since the county adopts the 2025 CBC in full by reference (Ch. 15.72.010) without a stated local modification to the permit-expiration section, the CBC's own standard §105.5 provision (180 days) would be expected to apply by default. 55% · fee schedule + codified ordinance (inference)
• Which utility handles interconnection here? PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) — not from PowerToChoose. The county's own Office of Emergency Services page treats PG&E as the area electric utility, directing residents to 'Sign up for power outage notifications from PG&E' and to PG&E's own interactive Power Outage Map / PSPS map, and the county's OES page independently links PG&E's PSPS weather map at another URL. No split-utility or POU/co-op territory was found for Glenn (unlike Lassen); Glenn appears to be single-utility PG&E territory. 82% · county department page
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? After permit — PG&E's Electric Rule 21 requires, before it will process a NEM Interconnection Request (Permission to Operate) for the standard case, 'evidence of Applicant's final electric inspection clearance from the Governmental Authority having jurisdiction over the Generating Facility' (§D.13.b). The county's final building/electrical inspection must clear before PG&E's PTO step proceeds. This is a statewide PG&E tariff provision, not Glenn-specific, but applies to Glenn as PG&E territory. 82% · utility tariff

The NEC edition a jurisdiction enforces is often a cycle behind the newest one published, and local amendments sit on top of it. Rapid shutdown, conductor sizing and labelling all change between editions, so the edition in force is the first thing to establish, not the last.

• Which NEC edition is in force? 2023 NEC, as adopted via the 2025 California Electrical Code (Title 24, Part 3). Glenn County's own current adoption ordinance (GCC 15.72.090, 'California Electrical Code Adopted') reads: 'The 2025 California Code of Regulations Title 24, Part 3 also known as the California Electrical Code ... are hereby adopted ... and shall apply to the unincorporated areas of the county.' Adopted by Ord. 1337 on 11/18/2025 (there is no separate '2025 NEC' — the 2025 CEC cycle is based on the 2023 NEC statewide). 96% · codified ordinance
• Which building code edition is in force? 2025 California Building Code (Title 24, Part 2) plus the 2025 California Residential Code (Title 24, Part 2.5), both adopted by the same Ord. 1337 (11/18/2025), together with the 2025 CMC, CPC, Energy Code, Green Building Code, WUI Code, Referenced Standards Code, Administrative Code, and Public Pools Code — a full, current, matched 2025 code cycle. 96% · codified ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? 2025 California Fire Code (Title 24, Part 9), adopted in the same chapter/ordinance (GCC 15.72.080, Ord. 1337, 11/18/2025) as the rest of the 2025 code cycle, alongside the 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (Title 24, Part 7, GCC 15.72.137). 96% · codified ordinance
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? No stated local climatic/geographic/topographical technical amendments were found in the county's current adoption chapter (GCC 15.72) — unlike several Sierra-foothill CA counties (e.g. Calaveras, Lassen) which carry codified snow-load or wind findings, Glenn's chapter is a straight adoption-by-reference of each state code with no numeric local modification. The chapter does retain two pre-Title-24 uncodified standards not superseded by the CBC (the 1997 Uniform Housing Code and the 1997 Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings) and provides only a general, case-by-case variance process (§15.72.150, Board-level 'Modifications' on written application) rather than codified technical amendments. 85% · codified ordinance
• What is the installation judged against? The installation is judged against the 2025 CEC/CBC/CRC/CFC/Energy Code/Green Code/WUI Code as adopted by Ord. 1337 (11/18/2025), plus Glenn's own zoning-level Power Generation Facilities standards (GCC Ch. 15.86) governing use classification, area limits, siting and setback — there is no separate Glenn-specific technical electrical standard beyond the adopted CEC itself. 85% · codified ordinance

Ridge setbacks and roof access pathways are fire-service requirements and they constrain the array layout. They are the most common cause of a redesign after the fire department comments on a plan set.

Nothing recorded for Glenn County on this step yet — 1 question checked and found unpublished. The guidance above is general.

Which rapid-shutdown rule applies follows directly from the NEC edition in force, and the initiation device has to be at a location the fire service can reach and identify. This is inspected, and it is labelled.

• Is rapid shutdown required, and to which NEC edition? Required — the adopted 2025 CEC (Title 24 Part 3, based on the 2023 NEC), which Glenn County adopts in full by reference with no found local deletion, carries forward Article 690.12 (rapid shutdown) as a matter of the adopted code. The county's own dedicated solar handout ('07_Solar Requirements Residential.pdf', listed by name and file size on the Permit Requirements page) could NOT be retrieved to check whether the county's own practical guidance cites §690.12 by number the way several other CA counties' solar handouts do or do not (a pattern this survey has repeatedly found worth checking) — that half of the question is recorded separately as not_found rather than guessed. 75% · codified ordinance + adoption-inference

The NEC sets a baseline for permanent markings at the service equipment and the disconnecting means. On top of that, an authority may specify its own wording, and the utility may specify more again. Where any of them writes its own text, a generic off-the-shelf label set will not pass — this is the detail most often fixed on a return visit.

• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes — PG&E's Electric Rule 21 (§H.1.d, 'Visible Disconnect Required') independently requires that the customer-side visible manual disconnect include 'markings or signage that clearly indicates open and closed positions,' be identified on the submitted single-line diagram, and — if not physically adjacent to the Point of Common Coupling — carry 'permanent signage ... at a Distribution Provider approved location providing a clear description of the location of the device.' This is a statewide PG&E requirement layered on top of whatever the county's own (unreachable) solar checklist covers. 78% · utility tariff
• Where must the labels be placed? At minimum, at the visible AC/PV disconnect and the point of interconnection, per PG&E Rule 21's disconnect-marking requirement (see q42). Glenn County's own labeling specifics (junction box, combiner, service panel, etc., as found in other counties' solar checklists) could not be confirmed because the county's dedicated solar handout is unreachable. 60% · utility tariff (partial)

Where the AC disconnect must sit relative to the meter is usually the utility's rule, not the building department's. Battery storage frequently carries its own permit, its own inspection and its own fire conditions.

• Where must the AC disconnect be, relative to the meter? Not fully specified for Glenn. PG&E's Electric Rule 21 requires the visible manual disconnect to be near the Point of Common Coupling, reachable without obstacles, and — if not adjacent to the PCC — marked with location signage at a PG&E-approved spot, but does not give a specific 'X feet from the meter' figure in the public tariff. The more granular physical-placement spec would sit in PG&E's gated Distributed Generation interconnection handbook (as found in other CA county runs), which was not reachable this session. No Glenn-specific county rule was found either. 60% · utility tariff (partial)
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? No dedicated county battery/ESS ordinance was found — a full read of the current zoning chapter list under Division 15-5 'Special Use Standards' (which individually names 17 other specific uses, including newer additions like Cannabis, Industrial Hemp, and Emergency Shelters, proving the list is actively maintained) contains no 'Battery' or 'Energy Storage' chapter, and the current Master Fee Schedule 2025 has zero hits for 'battery,' 'energy storage,' or 'ESS' against a working positive control ('electrical', 7 hits in the same document). Batteries co-located with PV would be governed generically by whatever the adopted CFC/CEC itself requires (2025 cycle), not a Glenn-specific rule. 68% · fee schedule + zoning chapter list (absence)
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? No separate ESS permit or fee line was found — same absence basis as q45 (no ESS/battery line in the current Master Fee Schedule, no ESS-specific zoning chapter). A standalone or co-located battery installation would most likely be folded into the standard building/electrical permit fee, but no document confirms this explicitly. 65% · fee schedule (absence, inference)
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Yes — Glenn's zoning code treats a ground-mounted system as its own regulated land use, not merely an accessory attachment: GCC Ch. 15.86 gives ground-mounted PV its own area cap (up to 1/2 acre for by-right 'Direct Use'), its own setback/screening rule when near a neighboring residence (60 ft for solar panels or vegetative screening), and notes explicitly that 'ground mounted facilities are subject to the lot coverage standards of each zoning district.' 85% · codified ordinance (zoning)
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? No local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing was found — a full read of the current adoption chapter (GCC 15.72, all sections) contains no amendment to the CEC's service/busbar provisions; the chapter is a pure adoption-by-reference with no such local addition. 65% · codified ordinance (absence)

Booking is a portal, a phone call or an email depending on the authority, and the notice required is rarely zero. Book before the work is finished rather than after — the lead time, not the work, is usually what sets the date.

• How is an inspection booked? Phone — the county's own building-inspector page gives a dedicated 24-Hour Building Inspection Request Line, (530) 934-8447, 'for ALL inspection requests.' The county's current online portal (eTRAKiT) explicitly does NOT yet support online inspection requests — its own homepage states 'Permit Applications and Inspection Requests Coming Soon!' — so phone is the only currently available booking method. 85% · department page + live portal corroboration

Some authorities inspect their own solar work; some delegate it, and a few do not inspect the PV equipment itself at all. Who is coming determines what they will look at.

• Does this AHJ perform its own final solar inspection? Yes — the county's in-house Building Inspector division performs its own final inspections directly; no third-party plan-check or inspection firm is named anywhere in the documents reviewed (fee schedule, department contact info, forms listing), and the department's own contact block (address, phone, and a dedicated 24-hour inspection line) all point to in-house county staff. 78% · department page (inference from absence)
• If delegated, to whom? N/A — not delegated to another agency; see q52. 75% · department page (inference)

A rough-in or mid-roof inspection, where one is required, has to happen before the work it covers is closed up. Missing a stage means opening something back up, and it is the most expensive kind of correction.

Nothing recorded for Glenn County on this step yet — 2 questions checked and found unpublished. The guidance above is general.

The approved plan set, the permit, and the equipment listings should be on site and reachable. Inspectors routinely verify that installed equipment matches what was approved, and that the labels are the ones the plan set promised.

Nothing recorded for Glenn County on this step yet — 3 questions checked and found unpublished. The guidance above is general.

Passing gives you a final or an equivalent sign-off. That is not the same as permission to operate: PTO comes from the utility, and who tells the utility the inspection passed varies. A system left switched off for weeks is usually waiting on this handover.

• Who notifies the utility for PTO? The installer/applicant, not the AHJ — under PG&E Rule 21, the Producer (applicant/installer) submits the NEM Interconnection Request together with evidence of the AHJ's final inspection clearance; PG&E does not proactively pull this from the county. This is a utility-level answer (same PG&E-wide mechanism found in other CA county runs), not confirmed against a Glenn-specific document. 80% · utility tariff
• Is there a re-inspection fee? No line item is named specifically 're-inspection fee' for solar, but the current Master Fee Schedule's general 'Building & Inspection Services' → 'Administrative or Inspection' section gives: 'Reinspection Fee — Actual Cost plus a 6% technology cost recovery fee' — a cost-basis charge rather than a flat dollar figure, applicable building-department-wide (not solar-specific). 80% · fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? Not explicitly documented for solar. The current fee schedule includes a 'Review for Plan Revisions — Actual Cost plus a 6% technology cost recovery fee' line, implying a plan-revision/resubmittal mechanism exists, but no document lays out the actual correction-notice-to-clearance workflow. 55% · fee schedule (inference)