City of Bushnell

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? Split, and the split moved recently. The City of Bushnell is NOT the building/electrical permit and inspection AHJ inside its own limits: its own page states 'As of April 1, 2025, Sumter County serves as the primary point of contact for building permits and inspections within the City of Bushnell.' The City remains the AHJ for (a) land development / zoning (City Planner Shari Holt, Land Development Regulations), and (b) electric interconnection and net metering, because the City owns and operates its own municipal electric utility. Floodplain administration was handed to the Sumter County Floodplain Administrator by Ord. 2026-16 (4 May 2026). 93% · department page + adopted budget
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Delegated. Building and electrical permitting AND inspection are performed by Sumter County Building Services (Building Official Jeanette Keller, Villages Sumter County Service Center, 7375 Powell Road Suite 115, Wildwood FL 34785, 352-689-4400, building@sumtercountyfl.gov). The City keeps planning/zoning and land development, its electric/water/wastewater utilities, and code compliance. The City's own department list on its website contains no building department at all — the Building Permitting and Zoning page is not linked from the main navigation and is reachable only from Residents > Online Forms & Resources > 'Building Inspection Forms'. 92% · department page
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. Sumter County's fee schedule carries an explicit line 'Solar Panel System $82' (section VI Residential/Commercial Single Permit Fees, item 1.j), and residential rooftop PV does not appear on the county's 'Items Not Requiring a Permit (Residential Only)' list dated 07/01/2026. The only solar-adjacent exemption on that list is 'Solar tubes without electric', i.e. tubular daylighting devices, which is not PV. 92% · fee schedule + published exemption list
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Combined, in practice. Sumter County classifies 'Solar Panel System' as a BUILDING single permit ($82, section VI.1.j), not under section VI.2 Electric — where it puts 'Generator installation' and 'Electric upgrade' at $82 each. The county permit application requires subcontractors (including Electrical) to be listed on combination permits, so the electrical scope is carried on the one permit rather than a second one. 62% · fee schedule + permit application
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? Not a governmental requirement. Nothing in the City's Code of Ordinances conditions a permit on HOA or architectural approval, and the City's code contains zero references to FS 163.04 (the statute that bars deed restrictions from prohibiting solar). Private deed restrictions may still exist on a given parcel and are outside the published record. 62% · codified code, controlled search
• Is there a historic-district review? No historic-district review is established in the City's Code of Ordinances. There is no historic preservation chapter, no historic district, and no certificate of appropriateness. The 14 'historic' hits in the whole code are Florida Building Code, Existing Building Chapter 11 boilerplate inside the floodplain article, plus the codifier's own front matter. 62% · codified code, controlled search
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No separate windstorm certification. Bushnell is inland Sumter County and is NOT in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, which is Miami-Dade and Broward only, so Miami-Dade NOA product approval is not required. What applies is ordinary Florida Product Approval against the county's published design criterion: Sumter County Building Services states 'What is the wind speed design criteria in Sumter County? 135 MPH'. The county's forms page lists a 'Product Approval Specification Sheet' available on request. 80% · department FAQ
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? Yes, and it is the City's, not the county's. Code Sec. 27-37(a)(2) caps a customer-owned renewable generating facility on the City system at TWO MEGAWATTS, in three tiers: Tier 1 up to 10 kW, Tier 2 over 10 kW to 100 kW, Tier 3 over 100 kW to 2 MW; and the facility must be 'primarily intended to offset part or all of customer's own electric requirements'. There is also a system-wide brake: once AC rated capacity from eligible customer generators (at a 40% capacity contribution factor) exceeds 5% of the City's FMPA all-requirements project summer coincident peak demand, staff must bring enrolment back to Council, which reserves the right to adjust the schedule. Enrolment is first-offered, first-accepted. 93% · codified rate schedule Sec. 27-37

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.

• Who is allowed to pull the electrical permit? Either. Sumter County: 'Contractors who wish to obtain building permits in Sumter County may do so if they hold a State of Florida Certificate of Competency, are registered with the State through Sumter County, or hold a Sumter County Certificate of Competency.' The county's Construction Industry Licensing Board recognises 'Solar contractor' as a Building-category classification (Code Sec. 6-25(a)(7), definition taken from FS ch. 489 Pt. I), alongside Electrical Contractor. The property owner may also pull it as an owner-builder. 88% · department page + county code Sec. 6-25
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes. Registration is with SUMTER COUNTY, not the City. 'State licensed contractors may register online at https://www.citizenserve.com/Portal/?installationid=445'. The City's own Code Sec. 8-2 still requires proof of competency to the city building department plus a one-time municipal registration fee, but that section predates the 1 April 2025 move and the City no longer runs a building department, so the operative registration is the county's. 85% · department page
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes. Sumter County FAQ: 'Owners may act as a contractor on their own property.' The county's Building Permit Application has an explicit 'Is this permit for a Contractor OR Owner/Builder?' tick-box and carries the condition 'Owners must personally appear for Owner/Builder permits prior to the permit being issued.' An Owner Builder Disclosure Statement is available on request. 88% · permit application form

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.

• What documents make up a complete submittal? No solar-specific submittal package is published. The nearest published requirement is the county's Electrical submittal list: existing building permit number if applicable; a copy of the recorded deed if there is no existing building permit number; an electric plan; and 'specific applications may require additional documentation'. Add the Building Permit Application itself, subcontractor licence numbers on a combination permit, and a recorded Notice of Commencement, which must be recorded and posted on the job site before the first inspection. 60% · department submittal page
• How many copies, and in what format? Electronic, through the county's Citizenserve portal, which is the stated preference; in-person submittal at 7375 Powell Road, Wildwood is the alternative. No copy count or sheet size is published for residential work. 55% · portal page + department page
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No threshold is published by either the City or Sumter County for a structural PE stamp on residential rooftop PV. The county's three published checklists (Commercial, Mobile Homes, Residential New Construction) and its Electrical submittal list do not mention sealed plans, and the county's design wind speed of 135 mph is published as a design criterion rather than as a trigger for a seal. 45% · department FAQ + submittal pages
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No local threshold is published. The governing threshold is statewide: FS 471.003(2)(h) exempts electrical work from the engineer-seal requirement below $125,000 and 600 amps, so a normal residential PV retrofit in Bushnell falls under the exemption. Neither the City code (its electrical article was repealed by Ord. 2012-06) nor Sumter County Ch. 6 sets a local figure. 55% · Florida Statutes

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? Citizenserve, installation id 445 — https://www.citizenserve.com/Portal/?installationid=445 — for applications submitted after 23 September 2024. Beware the stale links: live county pages still name two superseded systems, an eTRAKiT link (etrakit.sumtercountyfl.gov) on the Building Services FAQ and 'Cityworks online permitting portal' in the 2025 storm-recovery guide. Check the href, not the label: the 'here' link on the Building Services FAQ resolves to citizenserve.com/sumtercounty, not to the eTRAKiT anchor that precedes it. 92% · portal page
• Can the whole application be completed online? Yes. Sumter County takes the whole application online through Citizenserve — apply, upload, pay (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover), schedule inspections and view results — 'Service Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week'. In-person and cash/check/money order remain available at 7375 Powell Road. Contractors must register on the same portal first. 82% · portal page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? About $110 all-in for a straightforward rooftop retrofit: $82 'Solar Panel System' (Sumter County fee schedule VI.1.j) + $24 'Processing Fee for All Permits' (I.1.a) + $2 FS ch. 553 surcharge (1% of permit fee, $2 minimum) + $2 FS ch. 468 surcharge (1.5% of permit fee, $2 minimum) = $110.00. Both surcharges hit their $2 floors at this permit size. A concurrent service upgrade adds $82 ('Electric upgrade'). Re-inspections are $82 each. The CITY charges no building permit fee at all any more; its own codified Sec. 8-1 fee schedule (last amended Ord. 2011-13, 2011) has no solar line and is superseded in practice. 88% · fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Flat. $82 flat for the Solar Panel System line, irrespective of kW, panel count or valuation. The add-ons are a flat $24 processing fee plus two percentage-of-permit-fee state surcharges that both bottom out at their $2 minimums at this permit size. 90% · fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? No, not for a residential single permit. The county's only plan-review line is 'Plan Review (Commercial & Private Provider) — minimum fee up to 30 minutes $59, each additional 30 minutes $59/half hour'. Residential single permits such as Solar Panel System carry no separate plan-check line. NOTE A LIVE STATUTORY PROBLEM: that line's own label bills plan review where a PRIVATE PROVIDER is used, and FS 553.791(2)(b) says 'The local jurisdiction may not charge fees for plans review or building inspections if the fee owner or the fee owner's contractor hires a private provider to perform such services.' The county's Private Provider Requirements page item 7 qualifies it — '$59/half hour (county performing review)' — so the two county documents do not read the same way on their face. 70% · fee schedule + private provider policy

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? Sumter County publishes 180 days: 'It is valid until 180 days past the issue date or the last approved inspection' (Building Services FAQ) and 'Note: Permits expire 180 days after issuance' (fee schedule). THAT IS SHORTER THAN THE STATE FLOOR FOR A HOUSE. FS 553.79(1)(c), read live today: 'A building permit issued by a local government for a single-family dwelling expires 1 year after the issuance of the permit or on the effective date of the next edition of the Florida Building Code, whichever is later.' The City's own codified Sec. 8-1(c) also says one year. Extensions: the county takes them by online form while the permit is live; the City's codified schedule gives a free first 180-day extension and $30 for a second. 85% · Florida Statutes + department FAQ + fee schedule
• Which utility handles interconnection here? TWO SELLERS INSIDE ONE SMALL CITY, AND NEITHER IS INVESTOR-OWNED. (1) The CITY OF BUSHNELL ELECTRIC DIVISION is a municipal electric utility — established 1919, 1,605 customers, 12.3 MW peak, a member of the FMPA ALL-REQUIREMENTS PROJECT; it bought SECO's distribution system inside the city limits under Resolution 2017-03 and took the customers over around 7 October 2019. (2) SECO ENERGY (Sumter Electric Cooperative) still sells retail electricity inside the city limits: the FY2025-26 adopted budget carries BOTH a 'FRANCHISE TAX - ELECTRICITY' line ($83,377) and a separate 'UTILITY SERVICE TAX - ELECTRICITY' line ($100,568) alongside the city's own 'CITY UTILITIES - SERVICE TAX' line ($514,914), and the city pays 'STREET LIGHTS (SECO)' ($2,250) and 'LEGAL SERVICES (SECO)'. At the codified 10% public service tax rate, $100,568 implies roughly $1.0m a year of non-city retail electricity sales inside the city. NO INVESTOR-OWNED UTILITY IS EVIDENCED: Duke Energy returns zero hits across the entire adopted budget, and Appendix A of the code contains exactly one electrical franchise — the 1981 grant to Sumter Electric Cooperative. Consequence: PSC Rule 25-6.065 binds nobody here, because it reaches only investor-owned utilities. 88% · utility membership roster + city charter + adopted budget + codified rate schedule
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? Parallel, with a documented pre-condition. For a City of Bushnell customer, Code Sec. 27-37(a)(4) makes net metering service conditional on the customer providing the City with an executed standard interconnection agreement for customer-owned renewable generation AND an executed Tri-Party Net Metering Power Purchase Agreement between FMPA, the customer and the City. The county building permit is a separate track. For a SECO-served parcel, SECO requires the application, interconnection agreement and interconnection checklist to be completed on SECO's Solar Dashboard. 78% · codified rate schedule Sec. 27-37 + utility standard

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? NEC 2020. Sumter County Building Services lists its codes in force and ends the list 'National Electric Code 2020'. Bushnell adopts the NEC by floating reference — Code Sec. 8-16(1)(g) adopts 'The National Electrical Code, and all appendices thereto ... as presently constituted or hereinafter amended' with no year stated — so the year is not a local fact and moves with the state adoption. 92% · department FAQ + adopting ordinance
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023) — Building, Residential, Energy Conservation, Plumbing, Existing Building, Accessibility, Mechanical and Fuel Gas, all listed by Sumter County Building Services. Bushnell's Sec. 8-16 adopts the same volumes by floating reference with no edition stated, and also adopts the International Property Maintenance Code. 92% · department FAQ + adopting ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code, 8th Edition, per Sumter County Building Services. Both governments adopt it floating: Bushnell Sec. 10-1 adopts the FFPC 'as presently constituted or hereafter amended'; Sumter County Sec. 6-155 (Ord. 2024-29, 17 Sep 2024) adopts NFPA 1 and NFPA 101 Florida editions as adopted in FAC 69A-60.003/.004 plus the uniform rule chapters, 'along with all subsequent changes, revisions and/or modifications'. 88% · department FAQ + both adopting ordinances
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes, but none of them is electrical. Bushnell Sec. 8-17 amends the FBC Building administratively (new 107.6.1 barring affidavit-based permitting for flood provisions; new Section 117 flood variances) and Sec. 8-18 amends FBC Residential R322.2.1 technically to base flood elevation plus 1 foot. Sumter County Sec. 6-71 and Sec. 6-72 carry word-for-word the same two amendments (both Ord. 2013-13, 27 Aug 2013), so city and county agree. There are NO local electrical amendments at all: Bushnell's Chapter 8 Article III (electrical code) was repealed by Ord. 2012-06 and is marked Reserved, and Sumter County's Chapter 6 Article I (adoption of technical codes, including an old aluminium-wiring restriction) was repealed in 1996. 92% · adopting ordinances, both jurisdictions
• What is the installation judged against? The Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) and NEC 2020 as adopted, enforced by Sumter County Building Services; plus the two flood amendments above where the parcel is in a flood hazard area; plus the serving utility's own interconnection standard, which is the document that actually decides the hardware. There is no local electrical code and no local solar standard on either side. 85% · department FAQ + adopting ordinances

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.

• What ridge setback and access pathways are required? No local ridge-setback or access-pathway rule exists on either side. Neither Bushnell's Chapter 10 (four sections: adoption, school fire drills, permit fee, fireworks) nor Sumter County's Chapter 6 Article VI adds anything to the Florida Fire Prevention Code on solar. What governs is therefore the FFPC as adopted floating by both. Residential one- and two-family PV also falls OUTSIDE the county's fire review scope entirely: Sec. 6-156(b) reserves fire plan review and fire inspection to 'all commercial and multifamily residential new construction, change of occupancy ... remodels, renovations and expansions'. 60% · fire chapters, both jurisdictions

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? Yes — NEC 2020 Article 690.12 rapid shutdown, by virtue of the NEC 2020 being the edition Sumter County states it enforces and Bushnell adopting the NEC floating. No local amendment softens or extends it, and no local document restates it. 88% · department FAQ + adopting ordinance

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.

• Which placards does this authority require at the service equipment? It depends entirely on which of the two sellers serves the parcel, and the two answers are different. SECO-SERVED PARCELS: two placards, both specified in SECO's own current standard — Detail 'A' on the front cover of the utility AC disconnect switch, identifying the on-site power generation source; and Detail 'B' on the front cover of the meter enclosure, indicating DUAL POWER SOURCE. CITY-SERVED PARCELS: the City of Bushnell specifies no placard anywhere — its codified net metering schedules (Sec. 27-37, Sec. 27-38) contain no signage clause at all, and its 'standard interconnection agreement for customer-owned renewable generation' is referenced but not published. In both cases the NEC 2020 Article 690/705 labels apply through the building code. 80% · utility standard + codified rate schedules
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No. Neither the City of Bushnell nor Sumter County specifies placard wording of its own. The wording that applies comes from the NEC and, on SECO parcels, from SECO. 85% · codified codes, controlled search
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? The AHJ specifies nothing. SECO does, in full, and it is the most prescriptive placard specification found in Florida: the placard shall be permanent and durable NON-FERROUS METAL OR POLY-PLASTIC PLATES, UV RESISTANT, EPOXY GLUED OR RIVETED to the front cover of the disconnect switch, with ENGRAVED OR STAMPED lettering a MINIMUM OF 1/4 INCH HIGH, WHITE LETTERS ON A RED BACKGROUND. 'The use of peel-and-stick labels, paint, or marking pens to label the plates is not acceptable.' The same note is repeated on all four pages of the standard, including the energy storage and retrofit drawings. 92% · utility standard
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? No local requirement. Neither government requires a site plan or facility-map placard, and neither restates NEC 705.10. On a SECO parcel, SECO does not require a facility map either — its two placards are the disconnect identifier and the dual-power-source label. NEC 2020 705.10 applies on its own terms through the adopted code. 70% · utility standard + codified codes
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes, where SECO is the seller — and this is the single most job-relevant fact in the record. SECO requires TWO placards that the AHJ does not: (1) Detail 'A', 'ON-SITE GENERATION UTILITY DISCONNECT SWITCH', on the front cover of the utility AC disconnect switch; and (2) Detail 'B', 'DUAL POWER SOURCE', on the front cover of the meter enclosure. The identical requirement is repeated for a system with energy storage (Detail 'D') and for a new array retrofitted to an existing one (Detail 'E'). Where the CITY is the seller, no utility placard is published. 90% · utility standard
• Where must the labels be placed? SECO parcels: on the FRONT COVER of the utility AC disconnect switch (Detail A) and on the FRONT COVER of the meter enclosure (Detail B). The disconnect itself must be adjacent to the meter enclosure, so both labels end up in one place at the service. Attachment method is prescribed — epoxy glued or riveted — not adhesive. City-served parcels: no published placement requirement beyond the NEC's own locations. 92% · utility standard

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? SECO PARCELS — the most specific mounting rule in this survey: a MANUAL LOAD-BREAK AC DISCONNECT SWITCH providing a LOCKABLE VISIBLE BREAK. A circuit breaker or moulded-case switch does not provide an acceptable visible break and is not acceptable. It shall be mounted ADJACENT TO THE UTILITY METER ENCLOSURE WITHIN A 5 FEET 0 INCHES MAXIMUM DISTANCE, WITHIN LINE OF SIGHT, and shall be ACCESSIBLE AT ALL TIMES to SECO Energy. Mounting height is dimensioned on the drawing as 48 INCHES MINIMUM to 72 INCHES MAXIMUM. There is no size or tier exemption. On a retrofit the existing manual AC disconnect must be REMOVED and a single new utility AC disconnect installed. CITY OF BUSHNELL PARCELS — no disconnect location is published; the City's codified net metering schedule is silent and its standard interconnection agreement form is not published. Do not carry SECO's 5-foot rule onto a city-served parcel without asking. 93% · utility standard
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Yes, on SECO parcels: 'The RGS shall be certified as UL 1741 and IEEE 1547 compliant', and the point of interconnection may not be at any SECO equipment — not metering enclosures, CT metering cabinets, switching cabinets, transformers or transformer secondary cabinets — it must be made within customer wiring and equipment. On City-served parcels the City's codified schedule requires an executed standard interconnection agreement but publishes no equipment list; neither the City nor Sumter County maintains an approved-equipment list of its own. 80% · utility standard
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Yes, and the utility side is specified while the AHJ side is silent. SECO's standard carries a dedicated 'ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM WITH RENEWABLE GENERATION SYSTEM UTILITY AC DISCONNECT REQUIREMENTS' drawing (page 2 of 4, Detail 'D') imposing exactly the same single lockable visible-break AC disconnect within 5 feet of the meter and the same two engraved placards. Neither Bushnell nor Sumter County has any ESS or battery provision: zero hits for 'energy storage' in either code, and the one 'battery' hit in Bushnell's code is a criminal-offence cross-reference to FS ch. 794 sexual battery. The Florida Fire Prevention Code applies as adopted. 68% · utility standard + codified codes
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? No local code rule on busbar sizing or service-entrance sizing exists — the question is answered instead by the CITY AS UTILITY OWNER. Code Sec. 27-26(a) imposes a $50 standard administrative charge for a new or modified service installation plus a customised invoice for field charges, and sub-paragraph (2) states that ALL construction costs to modify a residential service are charged back to the customer; chargeable costs include labour, equipment use, permits, materials and overhead up to 10% of the other costs combined. Sec. 27-39 sets the line-extension regime with a $1,500 maximum city contribution for permanent electric service, and expressly grants no allowance for upgrades or repair of substandard conditions. 75% · codified electric service article

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 or portal. Call the Sumter County inspection request line on (352) 569-1529, or request online through Citizenserve for applications submitted after 23 September 2024. Have the permit number, inspection type, date, job-site address, contact name and phone number ready. Inspections may be scheduled 24 hours a day by either route. 92% · department page
• How much notice is required? Next business day, with two different cut-offs depending on route: inspections called into the message line by 4:00 pm, or scheduled online by 7:00 pm, of the preceding business day are scheduled for the following business day. So the practical notice is under one business day if you book online. 92% · department page
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? No published AM/PM windows and no same-day service in normal conditions. The county's own answer is: 'We can only provide an estimated time if you contact the office on the day of the inspection at 352-689-4400.' The one exception is post-storm: the county's storm-recovery guide says service priority is given to storm-related inspections and to hazards and utilities/critical services. 85% · department FAQ

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? Delegated — twice over. The City of Bushnell performs no solar inspection of any kind; Sumter County Building Services does. And the applicant may delegate again under FS 553.791: Sumter County accepts a private provider for plan review AND inspections, or for inspections alone (plan review by private provider is not allowed unless the private provider is also doing the inspections). Solar is expressly single-trade work under FS 553.791(1)(r), which names 'solar energy and energy storage installations or alterations', so a single-trade private-provider inspection is available; FS 553.791(6) even allows the switch after construction has commenced. The only carve-out the county reserves is fire: 'Sumter County does not accept Private Providers for fire review or fire inspections' — which does not touch a one- or two-family PV job, since those are outside the county's fire review scope anyway. 90% · department policy + Florida Statutes
• If delegated, to whom? Sumter County Building Services, a division of the Development Services Department of the Sumter County Board of County Commissioners. Building Official: Jeanette Keller (Jeanette.Keller@sumtercountyfl.gov). Villages Sumter County Service Center, 7375 Powell Road, Suite 115, Wildwood FL 34785. Phone 352-689-4400, fax 352-689-4401, inspection line 352-569-1529, building@sumtercountyfl.gov. Hours Monday-Friday 7:30 am to 4:00 pm. Continuity-of-operations backup office is at 316 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave, Bushnell. 92% · department page

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 City of Bushnell 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.

• Is there a published inspection checklist? No. Sumter County publishes three submittal checklists — Commercial, Mobile Homes, and Residential New Construction — and no inspection checklist of any kind, for solar or otherwise. The City of Bushnell publishes nothing: its Building Permitting and Zoning page carries a Document Center whose category list is rendered EMPTY in the served HTML, so the page has zero documents on it. 78% · forms page enumeration + site crawl
• What must be on site at inspection? Three things, stated by the county: the PERMIT PLAQUE, the SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS, and the recorded NOTICE OF COMMENCEMENT. The county's Inspections page says 'Please have permit plaque, supporting documents and NOTICE OF COMMENCEMENT on the job site for the inspection', and the permit application repeats the statutory warning that a Notice of Commencement must be recorded and posted on the job site before the first inspection. A replacement inspection placard costs $10. 92% · department page + permit application

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.

• What is issued on pass? For a residential retrofit such as rooftop PV, the job is marked FINALED in Citizenserve rather than receiving a Certificate of Occupancy. The county's closeout policy separates 'Residential SFR' and 'Residential Mobile Home' (which get a Certificate of Occupancy, subject-line 'Request for CO') from 'Residential remodel, addition, miscellaneous' (subject-line 'Request for Project Closeout', 'These requirements shall be completed for the job to be marked Finaled in Citizenserve'). Allow two business days for a CO, a Certificate of Completion, or a job to be marked Finaled. 72% · department policy
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? Installer, in both regimes, and on a private-provider job the county says so in terms. County policy item 9: 'Sumter County does not perform Green Tag inspections and/or issue stickers. It is up to the Private Provider to provide stickers and to inform the responsible power company.' On the utility side, SECO's standard puts the duty on the member: 'Members considering interconnection with net metering to an RGS installed at their site must complete the application, the interconnection agreement and the interconnection checklist on SECO Energy's Solar Dashboard.' On a City-served parcel, Sec. 27-37(a)(4) makes the customer provide the City with the executed interconnection agreement and the Tri-Party PPA. Nothing anywhere puts the notification on the AHJ. 68% · department policy + utility standard + codified rate schedule
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $82. The fee schedule's line I.4.a is 'Inspection (Partial and Re-Inspection) $82', and the schedule adds 'Re-inspections will generate an inspection fee which must be paid prior to requesting final inspection.' Special inspections are $118 per hour with a one-hour minimum; pre-arranged weekend, holiday and after-hours inspections are $352 with a three-hour minimum. 90% · fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? Results are posted to the Citizenserve portal and viewed there; a failed inspection generates an $82 re-inspection fee which must be paid before a final inspection can be requested. On a private-provider job the closing route is by email: the inspection history report with results and who performed each inspection, plus a certificate of compliance, uploaded to the permit in Citizenserve and then emailed to building@sumtercountyfl.gov with 'Request for Project Closeout' and the permit number in the subject line; allow two business days. 70% · department policy + fee schedule