City of Marianna

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. The City of Marianna is the AHJ for residential rooftop PV inside the city limits. Building plan review, permitting and inspections are performed for the City under contract by EPCI (E.P.C.I.); the contract Building Official is James (Jimmy) Grant, 850-526-8367, jameswgrant@outlook.com. Intake, development-order review and the permit record sit with the City's Municipal Development Department (2895 Jefferson Street, Marianna FL 32446, 850-482-2786; Director Kay Dennis, AICP). Jackson County is NOT the AHJ inside the city limits. 95% · department page + adopting resolution + live permit log
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both, and neither is delegated to another government. The City permits and inspects building AND electrical itself (through its contracted provider EPCI). Fire inspection is City Fire & Rescue but is commercial-only and does not reach a one- or two-family dwelling. Contractor LICENSING is the State's (FS 489) - the City has no competency-card scheme of its own (Jackson County's competency cards apply to county-jurisdiction work). Natural gas piping is separately permitted and inspected by the City's own Public Works / Natural Gas Division under Code Ch. 18 Art. VII. 90% · permit application form + department page
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. A permit is required. The City's Construction Permit Application Information states 'A permit is required when an owner, authorized agent, or contractor intends to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy/use of a building or structure' and 'All work that requires permits must be permitted prior to any work being done. There are penalties for proceeding without a permit.' A rooftop PV array is an alteration of an existing structure and also requires a separate electrical permit. There is no published no-permit exemption list and no solar-specific exemption. 92% · permitting packet (OCR'd)
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Separate. The permit application carries the notice 'A separate permit must be secured for various other trades, including but not limited to; electrical work, plumbing, signs, roofing, pools/spas, furnaces, boilers, heaters, tanks, air conditioning, gas, etc.' and the online form repeats it. The fee schedule prices Electrical as its own line. In the City's live permit log, electrical permits are pulled and approved as standalone records (e.g. 2761 Jefferson Street, 3327 Grey Oak Way and 2954 Penn Avenue Bldg B, all applied 8/21/26 and approved 8/24/26). 95% · permit application form (OCR'd) + fee resolution + live permit log
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? Not by the City. No City instrument requires HOA or architectural approval before a permit - there is no architectural review board, no design review board and no certificate of appropriateness anywhere in the codified corpus. Private deed restrictions are a civil matter the City does not enforce, and FS 163.04(2) limits what a deed restriction may do to solar collectors in any event. The one City-side gate that can bite is the HISTA historic overlay (see Q25). 80% · codified land development code (searched)
• Is there a historic-district review? Yes, conditionally, and the gate is real but narrow and badly signposted. There is NO historic preservation chapter, NO historic preservation board and NO certificate of appropriateness. The gate is the HISTA - Historic Special Treatment Area - overlay in LDC Sec. 4-1.4(13): 'Development and/or redevelopment in the historic special treatment area shall be evaluated as to potential impacts on historic resources. Structures identified as being of historic significance will be subject to review by the Planning and Zoning Board and conditional development requirements PRIOR TO PERMITS BEING ISSUED FOR DEMOLITION OR SUBSTANTIAL ALTERATION.' Three limbs: (a) DESIGNATION IS NOT REQUIRED AND NOT VOLUNTARY - it is imported automatically from external lists. The LDC defines 'Historic resources' as 'All areas, districts or sites containing properties listed on the FLORIDA MASTER SITE FILE, the National Register of Historic Places, or designated by the City', while Sec. 4-1.4(13) instead says 'The Jackson County survey of historically significant sites shall be used to identify properties' - two different identification mechanisms in the same code. No owner consent and no nomination procedure appear anywhere. (b) ALTERATION IS IN THE TRIGGER LIST but only as 'SUBSTANTIAL alteration', and that term is used exactly once in the entire code and is NOT DEFINED. (c) The Planning and Zoning Board IS empowered to gate the permit - permits shall not issue until its review - and the substantive standard is 'The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings, codified in 36 CFR 67'. There is NO dollar-value ladder. The HISTA boundary is published only as a hairline on an ArcGIS-exported Overlay District Map PDF with ZERO text layer and no address list. 88% · codified land development code + comprehensive plan + overlay map
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No separate windstorm certification is required by the City, and there is NO local wind-speed minimum. 'wind speed', 'wind-borne', 'windborne', 'exposure category' and 'product approval' all return zero hits across the full codified corpus; the only 'mph' figures in the Code are multi-use path design speeds. Wind design therefore falls to the Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) and ASCE 7 at the site value. NOTE A CORRECTION TO THE COMMON PANHANDLE ASSUMPTION: Marianna is INLAND Jackson County, roughly 55 miles from the Gulf, not a coastal panhandle city; whether the site sits in the ASCE 7 Wind-Borne Debris Region depends on the contour and NO City document states it either way. It is certainly not HVHZ (Miami-Dade and Broward only). The City does require, for roofing work, an 'Affidavit of Code Compliance for Roofing and/or Reroofing' naming the roof covering manufacturer and the applicable Florida Product Approval Number. 82% · codified code (searched) + roofing affidavit (OCR'd)
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? Yes, potentially - a Development Order, not a Special Use Permit. LDC Sec. 2-5 makes 'Any remodeling, renovation, expansion or other similar activity involving alterations or additions to an existing residential or nonresidential structure' a MINOR development, decided by the Director of Municipal Development or designee, who may at discretion refer it to the Planning and Zoning Board. 'Major development' is 'any development activity which is not a minor development' and goes to the City Commission after Planning and Zoning Board review. A GROUND-MOUNTED array is a different matter: it meets the LDC's definition of an accessory structure ('a subordinate or ancillary structure DETACHED from the principal structure'), and LDC Sec. 4-2 requires that 'Accessory structures shall be subject to development review and shall require a site development plan with full supporting documentation as required in article II', that they 'shall be allowed only in side or rear yards', and that they 'shall not be located in required buffer or landscape areas'. In the HISTA overlay, P&Z review is additionally required before any permit for demolition or substantial alteration. 82% · codified land development code + live permit log
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No City cap exists. The utility caps by tier: FPU Tier 1 is 10 kW or less, Tier 2 is over 10 kW up to 100 kW, Tier 3 is over 100 kW up to 2 MW. In addition the Tier 1 agreement requires a 'Gross Power Rating that does not exceed 90% of the Customer's utility distribution service rating', where gross power rating for inverter-based systems = installed DC nameplate x 0.85. There is NO aggregate or system-wide cap in FPU's tariff - 'aggregate', 'cap on' and 'megawatt' return zero hits in the 247,000-character tariff text. 92% · FPSC-filed tariff + codified code (searched)

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? A Florida state-licensed or state-registered electrical contractor, or the homeowner acting as owner-builder under the FS 489.103(7) / FS 489.503(6) exemptions. The City requires the contractor's state licence number on the application plus a copy of the State License, a Certificate of Workman's Comp and a Certificate of Liability Insurance naming 'City of Marianna, PO Box 936, Marianna, FL 32447' as certificate holder. For an owner doing their own electrical work the City requires an executed 'Owners Electrical Disclosure Statement' (the FS 489.503(6) text, reproduced in the City's packet). 92% · published checklist (OCR'd) + disclosure forms
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? No separate standing registration, but effectively a per-application registration. There is no City contractor-registration ordinance and no City competency card - a search of the whole codified corpus returns no 'contractor registration', no 'certificate of competency' in force (Code Ch. 18 Art. VII Div. 3, the old gas competency division, was repealed by Ord. No. 1032 in 2015) and no 'business tax receipt' requirement tied to permitting. But the Building Permit Checklist requires a copy of the State License, Workman's Comp certificate and a Liability Insurance certificate naming the City as certificate holder with every permit packet. 85% · codified ordinance (searched) + checklist
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes, within the Florida statutory limits. The City's packet states 'Can an owner perform the work without a Contractor's license? Yes, within the bounds of Florida statutes. Permits are required. Upon permit application by an Owner who plans to do the work himself/herself, the Building Official will advise the applicant whether or not the permit can be issued.' The City furnishes both an owner-builder Disclosure Statement and a separate owner-electrician Disclosure Statement, and the live permit log shows owner-applicants in fact (e.g. Travis Ephriam (Owner), 2806 Orange Street, building+plumbing permit; Jamie Alday (Owner), 2618 Mashburn Road, mechanical permit). 93% · permitting packet (OCR'd) + live permit log

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? There is no solar-specific submittal checklist. The general package is: (1) completed Uniform Construction/Building Permit Application naming trade, jobsite address, tax parcel ID, owner, contractor + state licence no., description of work and valuation; (2) copy of State License; (3) Certificate of Workman's Comp; (4) Certificate of Liability Insurance with the City of Marianna as certificate holder; (5) plans/site plan where the Building Official requires them; (6) a recorded Notice of Commencement if the work exceeds $2,500 (non-HVAC), filed at the Jackson County Clerk of Courts; (7) owner-builder and/or owner-electrician Disclosure Statement if the owner is the applicant; and (8) a Development Order from the City Planning Department where one is required. There is NO published solar checklist, no structural-attachment sheet, no one-line requirement and no equipment cut-sheet requirement. 88% · published checklist + application packet (OCR'd)
• How many copies, and in what format? Three (3) sets of plans plus a site plan, for the categories that require plans - 'New building or structure, building or structure addition, accessory structures and pools/spas require submission of three (3) sets of plans, site plan, and plan review before permit(s) can be issued.' For a rooftop retrofit the same sheet says 'Renovation and/or remodel may not require plans. Applicant is encouraged to consult with Building Official to determine if plans are required', and 'If none are submitted, the Building Official will contact you if drawn plans are required.' So paper, three sets, but only when the Building Official calls for them. The online form additionally accepts digital attachments. 85% · permitting packet (OCR'd)
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes - but via the Development Order, not the building permit. The Land Development Code makes 'Any remodeling, renovation, expansion or other similar activity involving alterations or additions to an existing residential or nonresidential structure' a MINOR DEVELOPMENT requiring development review (LDC Sec. 2-5). The minor-development site plan must show: property boundaries and configuration; location of the proposed development and of existing structures; existing land use and zoning of all adjacent properties; driveways/parking; adjacent street names and driveway connections; alleys and easements; environmental features including conservation zones, FLOOD ZONES, wetlands, streams, creeks, PROTECTED TREES and vegetated buffers; and proof of ownership by deed plus a letter of authorisation if the applicant is not the owner. Minor development orders are decided by the Director of Municipal Development. The building-permit side separately requires a 'site plan' for new structures, additions, accessory structures and pools/spas. 83% · codified land development code + live permit log
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Not published. No City instrument requires a one-line or three-line diagram. Neither the Building Permit Checklist, the Construction Permit Application Information sheet, the online application form nor the codified Code and Land Development Code mentions a single-line, one-line or three-line diagram. What the plans requirement says is only 'submit your drawn plans, if any' and, for the categories that need them, 'three (3) sets of plans, site plan'. 78% · permitting packet + codified code (searched)
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No local threshold is published. The only engineering-stamp threshold the City publishes is commercial-only and is not structural-specific: 'If the value of the work exceeds $25,000.00, the plans are required to be prepared by a Florida Licensed Architect or Engineer' - and that sentence sits under item 13, 'General Requirements for OTHER THAN Single and Two Family work'. The equivalent residential item (12) carries no stamp threshold at all. For a one- or two-family dwelling the residual rule is the Florida Building Code / FS 471 and 481 exemptions, which the City does not restate. 80% · permitting packet (OCR'd)

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? There is no permit portal. The City runs a CivicPlus website with a CivicPlus 'FormCenter' online form ('Building Permit Application', form 59) and a hand-maintained HTML status page. There is no Tyler EnerGov, no iWorQ, no MyGov, no Accela and no online payment. (Jackson County - a different jurisdiction - does run an iWorQ portal at jacksoncounty.portal.iworq.net, which does NOT cover the city limits.) 92% · portal/landing page
• Can the whole application be completed online? Partly. The application itself can be completed and submitted online - the FormCenter form collects jobsite address, tax parcel ID, valuation, trade, owner and contractor details including licence number, an electronic signature from the owner AND from the licensee, a free-text description of work, and file attachments ('Other Related Information - Attached related documents here'). But PAYMENT is not online: the form's fee block reads 'Paid by________;Cash_______;Check #________', and Resolution 2019-22 directs that the applicant 'shall submit payment upon request to E.P.C.I.'. The live status log confirms a physical collection step - several entries end 'Ready for payment and pick up' or 'Picked up and paid for'. 90% · online application form
• What does a residential solar permit cost? No solar-specific fee line exists. A residential PV system is priced from valuation under Resolution No. 2019-22 (adopted 2 July 2019), the current EPCI fee schedule: the ELECTRICAL line is '$90.00 for valuation of work to be performed up to $6,000; $5.00 per thousand for $6,001 to $244,000', and the residential building line ('New Structure; remodel/repair') is '$5.00 per thousand up to $244,000.00' with a '$90.00 minimum'. Plan Review/Job Review is a rider of 30% of the permit fee (residential). So a $20,000 rooftop system permitted as electrical work costs about $100 permit + $30 plan review = ~$130, before the State DCA and DBPR surcharges that the application form collects as separate lines. The schedule footnote reads 'This fee schedule shows the maximum fees but fees could be less based on the complexity on projects', and 'All permits include any required inspections.' Payment is made to E.P.C.I., not to the City. 82% · adopted fee resolution (OCR'd)
• How is the fee calculated? Valuation, tiered, with a floor. Resolution 2019-22: 'Permit fees will be based on valuation of work to be performed and be determined, when applicable, by the most recent publishing of the International Code Council (ICC), building valuation data, estimates per square foot are for all areas under roof according to the type of construction.' Residential electrical/plumbing/HVAC: $90.00 flat up to $6,000 of value, then $5.00 per thousand to $244,000, $4.00 per thousand to $500,000, $2.00 per thousand above. NOTE the structural problem for solar: the ICC valuation table is a dollars-per-square-foot-under-roof method and a rooftop array adds no roof area, so the fallback applies - the Building Official 'may, upon determining such valuation submission to be reasonable, accept the valuation submitted (if any) by the permit applicant'. In practice the installer's contract value sets the fee. 85% · adopted fee resolution + permitting packet
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes, and it is a percentage rider rather than a line item. Residential: 'Plan Review/Job Review 30% of permit fee'. Commercial: 'Plan Review 50% of permit fee'. This supersedes the older (2018) schedule's residential plan-review rate of $0.40 per thousand with a $40 minimum. The permit application form's fee block prints 'Plan/Job Review Fee (50% of Dev. Fee)', i.e. the COMMERCIAL rate, for all trades - an internal contradiction between the form and the adopted resolution. 88% · adopted fee resolution + permit application form

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.

• What is the stated plan-review turnaround? No plan-review turnaround is published anywhere - but the City publishes something better: a live, dated, address-level permit tracker. The 'Development Order and Permit Status' page (last updated 09/11/2026 2:45 PM) records apply and approve dates for every open and recently closed permit. Across 33 permits logged June-September 2026 the observed apply-to-approve interval runs 0 to 21 calendar days, with a median of 0-1 day; ELECTRICAL permits specifically ran 0, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3 and 7 days (median 3). The slowest observed were a gas permit at 21 days and a building+plumbing pair at 20 days. 90% · live permit status log (City-published)
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? Not codified for building permits; the Florida Building Code default applies (FBC 105.4.1 - 180 days to commence, 180 days abandonment). The City does codify two neighbouring validity periods: a FLOODPLAIN development permit 'shall become invalid unless the work authorized by such permit is commenced within 180 days after its issuance, or if the work authorized is suspended or abandoned for a period of 180 days' (Code Sec. 30-96), and a DEVELOPMENT ORDER, minor or major, 'shall remain valid for a period of one year from the date of issuance. All construction and development activity must be completed within the allotted time period' (LDC Sec. 2-5.5). 80% · codified ordinance (flood + LDC) + FBC default
• Which utility handles interconnection here? FLORIDA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMPANY (FPU), Northwest Florida Division - an FPSC-regulated INVESTOR-OWNED utility and a subsidiary of Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE: CPK). The City of Marianna does NOT own an electric utility: it sells water, sewer, natural gas and garbage only. CAVEAT: West Florida Electric Cooperative (WFEC, HQ Graceville, district offices Graceville and Sneads) also operates in Jackson County, serving rural areas; no published source states which utility serves every parcel inside the city limits, so an annexed fringe parcel could conceivably be WFEC. 92% · FPSC-filed electric tariff + city audited financial statements + city utility pages
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? After permit and after local inspection, then parallel to PTO. FPU's Tier 1 Standard Interconnection Agreement, section 6(a), requires the customer to 'Have the Customer-owned renewable generation inspected and approved by local code officials prior to its operation in parallel with the Company system to ensure compliance with applicable local codes', and the application's Required Documentation section 6.B repeats it. The administrative clock: FPU acknowledges or identifies deficiencies within 10 business days of receiving the application; executes the Standard Interconnection Agreement within 30 calendar days of a completed application; the customer must return the executed agreement at least 30 calendar days before beginning parallel operation and within one year of FPU's execution; FPU completes any physical inspection within 30 calendar days of receiving the executed agreement; and the customer must notify FPU at least 10 days before first placing the equipment in service. 95% · FPSC-filed tariff (utility interconnection agreement)

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, effective 31 December 2023, as incorporated by the Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023). There is NO local NEC adoption and no local amendment. Code Sec. 18-76 (the Electrical Code article) adopts, verbatim and evidently by drafting error, 'the latest building code adopted by the State of Florida' rather than an electrical code - so the City has no independent electrical adoption at all and the state code governs. 'National Electrical Code' appears three times in the corpus and never with an edition year. 90% · adopting ordinance (defective) + statewide adoption
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023), by state operation. Code Sec. 18-26 adopts 'the latest building code adopted by the State of Florida of which copies are on file in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of the county as well as the Jackson County Building Official' - a rolling adoption by reference with no edition named, derived from Code 1986 Sec. 6-1 and last touched by Ord. No. 974 on 3 March 2009. The City's own online permit form is a cycle behind, stating 'On January 1, 2020, the Florida Building Code became effective' (7th Edition). 88% · adopting ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code 8th Edition (2023) applies by state law (FS 633.202). THE CITY'S CODIFIED FIRE CODE IS THIRTY-TWO YEARS STALE AND IS STILL ON THE BOOKS: Code Sec. 26-2 adopts, all at the 1994 edition, (a) 'the Fire Prevention Code, 1994 edition... as published by the state department of insurance, division of the state fire marshal', (b) 'the Standard Fire Prevention Code, 1994 edition... as published by the Southern Building Code Congress International, Inc.' - an organisation that ceased to exist in 2003 - and (c) 'the National Fire Codes, 1994 edition... published by the National Fire Protection Association', with subsection (d) 'In the event of a conflict among the adopted codes, the strictest provisions shall prevail.' Practically this does not reach residential solar: the City's FIRE INSPECTIONS page limits Marianna Fire & Rescue inspections to 'All brick-and-mortar businesses within the city of Marianna, commercial properties, and apartment buildings where 4 or more units are located in a single building'. 90% · adopting ordinance + department page
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes - one, and it is a FLOOD amendment, not an electrical or wind one. Code Sec. 30-300, titled 'Florida Building Code technical amendments; minimum building elevations in flood hazard areas', enacted by Ord. No. 1177 on 7 October 2025, sets the minimum elevation for one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses within the scope of the FBC-Residential at 'the base flood elevation plus two feet or the design flood elevation, whichever is higher', and the same for FBC-Building. There are NO local electrical, NEC, wind, roofing or solar amendments: the Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical and Building articles of Ch. 18 each adopt the state code by reference with no substantive modification despite being titled 'Adoption; modifications'. 90% · codified ordinance
• What is the installation judged against? The Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) and the NEC 2020 it incorporates, plus the City's single flood technical amendment (Code Sec. 30-300, BFE+2 ft). Nothing else - the City adopts the state codes by rolling reference and adds no electrical, structural, roofing or solar standard of its own. 88% · 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? Not locally specified. No ridge setback, no access pathway width, no smoke-ventilation clearance and no array-to-ridge dimension appears in any City instrument. The governing rule is the Florida Fire Prevention Code 8th Edition (2023) / NFPA 1 Chapter 11 solar provisions, which the City nowhere restates - and the City's own codified fire adoption is still at the 1994 editions (Code Sec. 26-2), which predate rooftop PV access provisions entirely. Marianna Fire & Rescue's published inspection remit is commercial-only, so no local fire review touches a one- or two-family PV installation. 82% · codified fire adoption + department page

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, by force of the statewide FBC 8th Edition (2023) adoption, not by any local instrument. The City says nothing about rapid shutdown: 'rapid shutdown' returns zero hits in the full codified corpus and does not appear in any City form or checklist. FPU's tariff does not impose a rapid-shutdown requirement either; its equipment requirement is UL 1741 plus IEEE 1547/1547.1 listing and a utility-interactive inverter that 'performs the function of automatically isolating the Customer-owned generation equipment from the electric grid in the event the electric grid loses power'. 85% · codified code (searched) + utility tariff + statewide NEC edition

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? None of its own. The City specifies no placards at the service equipment - it has no solar, PV or interconnection provision of any kind. The utility specifies none either: 'placard', 'label', 'warning sign', 'signage', 'decal', 'sticker' and 'lettering' all return ZERO hits across the 247,000 characters of FPU's filed electric tariff, including the whole of the Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 interconnection agreements. The applicable placards are therefore the NEC 2020 ones (690.13(B), 690.56(C), 705.10, 705.12 etc.) enforced through the FBC, with no local or utility addition. 88% · codified code (searched) + FPSC-filed tariff (searched)
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No. The City specifies no placard wording of its own. There is no solar provision in the Code or Land Development Code and no placard language in any City form, checklist or packet. 85% · codified code (searched) + permitting instruments
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? Not specified. No letter height, colour, contrast, material or durability requirement is published by the City or by FPU. The only letter-height rule anywhere in the City's published material is unrelated to solar - Marianna Fire & Rescue's commercial inspection item: 'Address numbers must be located so that they can be seen from the street and must be a minimum of 6" high on a contrasting background.' The governing specification is therefore NEC 110.21(B) / 690.13(B) as enforced through the FBC. 85% · codified code + tariff (searched) + department page
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? No. The utility adds nothing beyond the AHJ's. FPU's filed electric tariff contains no placard, label, signage or marking requirement at all for Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 renewable generation. Its only physical-marking-adjacent provision concerns the optional manual disconnect switch, which 'shall be mounted separate from, but adjacent to, the meter socket and shall be readily accessible to the Company and capable of being locked in the open position with a single Company padlock' - a location and lockability specification, not a placard. 90% · FPSC-filed tariff (searched and read)
• Where must the labels be placed? Not locally specified. Neither the City nor FPU states where labels must be placed. Label placement therefore follows NEC 2020 as enforced through the FBC 8th Edition. The only placement rule either body publishes concerns the optional AC disconnect switch, which FPU requires to be 'mounted separate from, but adjacent to, the meter socket'. 85% · codified code + tariff (searched)

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 REQUIRED for an inverter-based Tier 1 system - the exemption is explicit. FPU tariff, Tier 1 agreement section 9: 'Manual Disconnect Switch - Inverter-based Tier 1 Customer-owned renewable generation systems shall be EXEMPT from this requirement. However, the Company recommends that the Customer install, at the Customer's expense, a manual disconnect switch of the visible load break type to provide a separation point between the AC power output of the Customer-owned renewable generation and any Customer wiring connected to the Company's system. The manual disconnect switch shall be mounted SEPARATE FROM, BUT ADJACENT TO, THE METER SOCKET and shall be readily accessible to the Company and capable of being locked in the open position with a single Company padlock. Should a main disconnect switch not be installed, removal of the electric meter and disconnection of electric service may be used to isolate the Customer owned generation from the electric grid.' The City specifies nothing. 95% · FPSC-filed tariff
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Yes - by the utility, not by the City. FPU requires that 'Customer-owned renewable generation shall be considered certified for interconnected operation if it has been submitted by a manufacturer to a nationally recognized testing and certification laboratory, and has been tested and listed by the laboratory for continuous interactive operation with an electric distribution system', complying with IEEE 1547 (2003), IEEE 1547.1 (2005) and UL 1741 (2005). Documentation of that compliance must reach FPU before the interconnection agreement is executed. Provided the equipment complies, 'the Company shall not require further design review, testing, or additional equipment'. The City maintains no approved-equipment list of its own; the only listing-adjacent City requirement is the Florida Product Approval Number on the roofing affidavit. 92% · FPSC-filed tariff
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? No local provision whatsoever. 'battery' and 'energy storage' both return ZERO hits across the full 1.12 million-character codified corpus, and neither the City's permit application nor its checklist nor its packet mentions storage. The City's codified fire code is at the 1994 editions and therefore contains nothing on ESS. Batteries are consequently governed by the Florida Building Code / Florida Fire Prevention Code 8th Edition (2023) with no local overlay. On the utility side, FPU's tariff addresses renewable GENERATION and does not separately address customer storage. 82% · codified code (searched) + permitting instruments
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Yes - and this is the sharpest zoning distinction at this authority. The Land Development Code defines an accessory structure as 'A subordinate or ancillary structure DETACHED from the principal structure and customarily used in connection with the occupation of the principal use'. A GROUND MOUNT is detached and is therefore an accessory structure, which under LDC Sec. 4-2 means it 'shall be subject to development review and shall require a site development plan with full supporting documentation as required in article II', 'shall be allowed only in side or rear yards, unless otherwise specified', 'shall not be located in required buffer or landscape areas', and 'shall be included in all calculations of impervious surface water and stormwater runoff'. A ROOF-MOUNTED array is not detached and so escapes the accessory-structure regime entirely. Note the enumerated examples in the definition include 'satellite dishes' but not solar panels. 85% · codified land development code
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? Not published. No local rule on service upgrades, busbar sizing, the 120% rule, main breaker de-rating or supply-side taps appears anywhere in the City's codified corpus or in any of its permitting instruments. What does exist is a utility-side constraint: FPU's Tier 1 agreement requires the system's gross power rating not to exceed 90% of the customer's utility distribution service rating, which is a service-capacity test rather than a busbar rule. FPU's own Electric Service Application handles service upgrades separately ('Service Requested: New / Repair / Upgrade') and requires a written load calculation for services of 400 amps and above. 80% · codified code (searched) + utility tariff and service application
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? Not published. No mounting system, attachment spacing, rail standard, flashing detail or uplift-attachment schedule is specified anywhere by the City - there is no solar or structural technical bulletin. The only attachment-adjacent City requirement is for roofing work generally: the Affidavit of Code Compliance for Roofing and/or Reroofing requires installation 'in compliance with Florida Building Code Residential Chapter 9 (Roof Assemblies), Florida Building Code Existing Buildings Section 708 (Reroofing), including installation of all roof covering materials in compliance with the manufacturers installation instructions, and re-nailing the roof decking when required by code'. 80% · codified code + permitting packet (searched)

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, to the contract inspector directly. The City publishes three cell numbers on its permitting page for 'Building Plans Review, Permitting and Inspections' - Jimmy Grant 850-526-8367, Bo Creel 850-819-5191, Scooter Hodges 850-832-8021 - and the Building Official's own contact on the permit form is a mobile number and an outlook.com address. There is no booking portal, no online scheduling and no inspection request form in the FormCenter. The fee schedule's 'Failure to call for inspection - $50.00' line confirms that inspections are called for by telephone. 75% · department page + fee schedule (inference)

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 City performs its own final inspection, through its contracted provider. Inspections are carried out under the City's EPCI contract for 'Building Plans Review, Inspections and Permitting'; Resolution 2019-22 adopts fees for 'building plan reviews, inspection services and related activities within the City' and provides that 'All permits include any required inspections.' This is a contracted-staff arrangement, NOT a delegation to another government: Jackson County confirms that incorporated municipalities administer their own regulations within their boundaries. 90% · adopting resolution + department page + county jurisdiction page
• If delegated, to whom? Not delegated to another authority. Inspections are performed by EPCI (E.P.C.I.) under contract to the City - a private provider, not another government. The City of Marianna remains the AHJ and the permit-issuing authority; EPCI supplies the Building Official (James Grant) and the inspectors, and is paid directly by the applicant ('Any applicant requesting a particular service shall make formal application to the City of Marianna Municipal Development Department and shall submit payment upon request to E.P.C.I.'). 92% · adopting resolution + 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 Marianna 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 published inspection checklist. There is no inspection checklist, no solar inspection sheet and no inspection-stage list anywhere on the City's site, in the FormCenter, or among the 2,904 documents enumerated by name in the DocumentCenter. The only inspection sequence the City publishes anywhere is for swimming pools, in the Residential Pool/Spa General Information sheet: 'The following inspections, at a minimum, must be performed... Rough wall. Electrical. Final.' 85% · DocumentCenter enumeration + permitting packet

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? Not published as such. The City publishes no statement of what is issued on a passed final. What the live status log shows is a payment-and-collection endpoint rather than a document: entries close as 'Approved 8/13/2026. Ready for payment and pick up', 'Picked up and paid for 8/14/2026', or 'Approved and issued 8/20/2026'. FPU for its part requires only 'Documentation that the Customer-owned renewable generation has been inspected and approved by local code officials' - it does not name a specific City document, so whatever the City issues at final will satisfy it. 60% · live permit log (inference)
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? The installer or customer notifies the utility - not the AHJ. FPU places the duty on the customer throughout: the customer must 'Have the Customer-owned renewable generation inspected and approved by local code officials', must supply FPU with 'Documentation that the Customer-owned renewable generation has been inspected and approved by local code officials prior to its operation in parallel with the Company system', 'shall notify the Company at least 10 days prior to initially placing Customer equipment and protective apparatus in service', and must return the executed Standard Interconnection Agreement at least 30 calendar days before beginning parallel operations. Nothing in the tariff or in any City document gives the City a notification role. 92% · FPSC-filed tariff
• Is there a re-inspection fee? No re-inspection fee under the current schedule. Resolution 2019-22 (adopted 2 July 2019), which is the schedule in force, provides at item I that 'All permits include any required inspections', and contains no re-inspection line. The SUPERSEDED 2018 schedule did carry 'Re-inspection Fee - $50.00' and 'Failure to call for inspection - $50.00', and that older scan is still reachable on the City's site at DocumentCenter/View/2451 - a live trap for anyone who finds it first. What Resolution 2019-22 does keep: 'Special Inspections and Research Inspections where no permit fee is generated, hourly rate, $50.00; minimum of 1 hour', 'Double Fee required for all work started prior to permit issuance', and 'Bad Check Charge $50.00'. 85% · adopted fee resolution (OCR'd), compared with superseded schedule