City of Orlando

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 Orlando's own Permitting Services Division (Economic Development Department) is the AHJ for residential solar within city limits; it is not delegated to Orange County. 92% · authority's own page
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both — the City issues Electrical permits (photovoltaic), Building permits (solar shingles, solar attic fan, and any new structure), and Plumbing permits (solar thermal) itself; nothing is delegated to the county. Historic-district design review is also done in-house by the City's own Historic Preservation Board. 90% · ordinance/department page
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes — a permit is required for residential rooftop PV (issued as an Electrical Permit). 95% · department checklist
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Separate — photovoltaic-only installations are a standalone Electrical Permit; a Building Permit is only pulled in addition for solar shingles or a solar attic fan (roof-integrated/structural work), and Plumbing is added for solar thermal or hybrid systems. For new/existing RESIDENTIAL projects the checklist states 'only the applicable trade application is required' (i.e., no separate Building Permit for a bolt-on PV array). 90% · department checklist
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No — the City does not require proof of HOA/architectural approval as a permit submittal item for residential PV. Florida's Solar Rights Act (FS 163.04) bars any deed restriction/HOA covenant from prohibiting solar collectors outright; an HOA may only impose reasonable, uniform siting/aesthetic conditions (e.g., orientation within 45° of due south) that don't impair performance. 75% · statute
• Is there a historic-district review? Yes — solar installations within a historic district or on a designated historic landmark property require a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) BEFORE the building/electrical permit. The Historic Preservation Board handles this as a staff-level 'Minor Review' (up to ~10 days once all items are submitted), and the express design standard is that the installation 'must not be visible to the street.' 95% · authority's own review-process document
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? Yes — Florida product approval with a minimum wind-speed rating (and installation/attachment details, signed and sealed) is required for the mounting system on every solar submittal type, standard statewide High-Velocity-Hurricane-Zone-adjacent wind engineering practice (Orlando is inland, not HVHZ, but still requires a wind-rated product approval). 88% · department checklist
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? Not for a typical residential rooftop PV job — only the staff-level Historic Preservation Board 'Minor Review' (COA) applies in historic districts, not a full Board/Council hearing. A Council-level 'Certificate of Appearance Approval' from the Architectural Review Board is required, but only for COMMERCIAL solar within a Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) — not applicable to residential. 82% · department checklist
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No absolute City-side kW cap found; the practical ceiling comes from OUC's interconnection rule that a system's Gross Power Rating (GPR) may not exceed 90% of the customer's existing electric service size (transformer/service rating) without the customer paying for a service upgrade — this functions as the de facto size cap for a given home's panel/service. 75% · utility DG manual

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 City-registered Solar contractor (may obtain all solar permit types) or a City-registered Electrical contractor (may obtain the Photovoltaic Electrical Permit specifically). 90% · department checklist
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes — any State-certified contractor must register with the City of Orlando Permitting Services Division before the City will issue them a permit. 92% · department page
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Ambiguous/likely limited — Florida Statute 489.103(7) lets an owner act as their own contractor on their own homestead generally, but Orlando's Solar Plan Review Checklist names only 'Solar contractor,' 'Electrical contractor,' and 'Plumbing contractor' as who 'may obtain' each solar permit type; it does not list an owner-builder path for the Photovoltaic Electrical Permit the way the general Building/Electrical permit forms do (which do carry an owner-notarized-signature line for other trades). 50% · statute + department checklist (inference)

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? Photovoltaic submittal: electrical diagram showing PV array configuration, wiring, overcurrent protection, inverter disconnect, grounding, required signs, and AC connection to the building (per the City's supplied standard electrical diagram), with the PV disconnect identified per FFPC/NFPA 1; spec sheets and installation manuals for all manufactured components (modules, inverters, combiner box, disconnect, mounting system); sealed attachment/flashing/construction details for wind zone and site conditions; for battery backup, a standby-load summary with power ratings and daily energy consumption; and electrical calculations for wire sizing (ampacity, conduit fill, ambient derating). Roof plan and Florida product approval (wind speed) are required for all solar submittal types. 95% · department checklist
• How many copies, and in what format? Digital only — no physical copies. All drawings and documents are uploaded through the City's ProjectDox-based digital plan review system; nothing is submitted on paper. 88% · department guide
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes — a roof plan is required for every solar submittal type (showing panel layout/attachment). The City's general residential site-plan/survey standard (which the solar submittal draws on for the broader project) must show property lines and lot dimensions, adjacent street locations/names, easements, a north arrow, dimensions/locations of structures and equipment, existing tree locations, distances from property lines to existing/proposed improvements, and must distinguish existing conditions from proposed work. 80% · department checklist
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Yes — an electrical (one-line/three-line style) diagram is required showing PV array configuration, wiring system, overcurrent protection, inverter disconnect, grounding, required signage, and the AC connection to the building. 95% · department checklist
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Yes — electrical calculations showing wire sizing with proper ampacity, conduit fill, and ambient derating factors are required. 95% · department checklist
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Yes, and with no stated dollar/size threshold — attachment, flashing, and construction design details for the PV mounting system and any supporting frame members must be 'sealed by the appropriate design professional' for wind zone, additional loading, and site conditions, for EVERY solar submittal type (residential or commercial, any size). 85% · department checklist
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Yes, at the utility (not city) level and with no stated size threshold in the current guide — OUC's own step-by-step solar guide lists a PE-sealed electrical one-line diagram as one of three 'Required Documents for Submission' for every solar interconnection application. The City's own building-permit checklist does not separately require an electrical PE seal beyond the structural attachment seal. 75% · utility's own guide

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? Two City systems, not one: ProjectDox-based 'Digital Permits' for plan submission and review (digitalpermits.orlando.gov / digitalpermits@orlando.gov), and myRelayView (cityoforlandofl-permits.myrelayview.com) for permit status, fee payment, and inspection scheduling. 88% · portal landing pages
• Can the whole application be completed online? Yes, for submission and management — plans are uploaded and reviewed entirely digitally (no paper accepted), and fee payment/inspection scheduling/status checks are all done online via myRelayView, text, or IVR phone. A notarized owner's signature, where required, is uploaded as a scanned document rather than requiring an in-person visit. 82% · department guide
• What does a residential solar permit cost? Valuation-based Electrical Permit Fee: $63.67 for the first $1,000 of construction cost, plus $10.60 per additional $1,000 up to and including $25,000, plus $7.96 per additional $1,000 above $25,000 — e.g. roughly $265 base fee for a $20,000 system. On top of the base fee: 1.5% Administrative Inspection Fund surcharge (min $2), 1% DCA Operational Trust Fund surcharge (min $2), and a 3% Technology Surcharge. OUC also charges its own separate interconnection application fee (see q28/q22 utility answers): $0 for systems ≤10kW AC (Tier 1, the vast majority of residential), $340 for 10–100kW. 85% · fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Valuation/tiered — the Electrical Permit fee is calculated per $1,000 of stated construction cost in stepped tiers (see q15), not a flat fee, not per-kW, and not per-panel. 88% · fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? No — no separate initial plan-check/plan-review fee line item exists in either the Electrical (ELE) or Building (BLD) sections of the residential fee schedule. The only review-stage charge is a $50 'Plan Revision Fee' applied starting at the third submittal (i.e., the second revision), not an upfront plan-check fee. 80% · fee schedule

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 single published 'X business days' figure specific to solar. Two overlapping sources: (1) the City's Digital Plans Review Quick Start Guide states staff target 2 business days to complete EACH review task/stage (application processing, pre-screen, review routing, review-complete/batch-stamp) — a multi-stage process, not a single total; (2) under the City's own FS 553.792 timeline page, an EXISTING single-family residence permit valued under $15,000 gets a 5-business-day statutory review commitment — but most residential PV jobs exceed $15,000, and the City's own guidance page does not list a named tier for existing-SFR work at or above that threshold, so those fall back to the statute's general (30-business-day) track rather than a City-published solar-specific number. 70% · department page
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Primarily Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), a municipally-owned utility — but NOT exclusively: the City's own Electrical Permit Application form has a checkbox for 'Electric Utility: Orlando Utilities Commission [ ] Duke Energy [ ]', confirming Duke Energy Florida also serves some addresses inside Orlando city limits. The correct utility must be confirmed per address, not assumed from OUC's dominance. 85% · authority's own permit application form
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? After permit — OUC's own solar guide lists a 'Passed City/County Permit Inspection or Certificate of Completion' as a required document for the interconnection application; parallel operation with the grid may not begin without OUC's separate interconnection approval, which follows permit completion. 90% · utility's own guide

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? 2020 NEC — adopted statewide as part of the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023 cycle), effective 31 Dec 2023; the City of Orlando enforces this edition with no separate local electrical code override identified. 82% · adopting regulation (statewide, city-enforced)
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), based on the 2021 International Building Code family, effective 31 Dec 2023 — adopted statewide and enforced by the City of Orlando. 85% · adopting regulation (statewide, city-enforced)
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code, 8th Edition (2023), based on NFPA 1 (2021) with Florida-specific amendments, effective 31 Dec 2023. The City's own Solar Plan Review Checklist directly cites 'FFPC NFPA 1' for PV disconnect identification, confirming City enforcement of this edition. 85% · adopting regulation (statewide, city-enforced) + city checklist
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Partial yes — I found a local land-use-level amendment (the Historic Preservation Board's 'solar must not be visible to the street' design standard for historic districts, and the CRA Architectural Review Board approval for commercial solar) layered on top of the statewide codes, but no distinct LOCAL TECHNICAL amendment to the NEC/FBC/FFPC electrical, structural, or fire provisions themselves was found in the sources checked (Municode's Chapter 13 Building Code and Chapter 22 Electrical Code pages returned 403 Forbidden and could not be directly verified for amendment language). 60% · inference from available department documents
• What is the installation judged against? The Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023, incl. 2020 NEC via reference) and Florida Fire Prevention Code 8th Edition (NFPA 1, 2021), plus — as a condition of grid interconnection rather than of the permit itself — OUC's own standards requiring UL 1741-listed inverters, UL 1703-listed modules/panels, and IEEE 1547-2018 compliance. 82% · ordinance + utility DG manual

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 City of Orlando 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? Yes — rapid shutdown is required under NEC Article 690.12 as adopted via the Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2020 NEC), the statewide floor the City enforces. 80% · adopting regulation

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? The City's checklist requires 'required signs' to appear on the submitted electrical diagram and requires the PV disconnecting means to be 'identified per FFPC NFPA 1' — i.e., standard NEC 690/705 disconnect and rapid-shutdown labeling — but the City does not publish its own supplemental placard beyond that code reference. 70% · department checklist
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No — checked the City's Solar Plan Review Checklist and all three of OUC's current solar-specific PDFs (combined interconnection requirements, contractor sign-up guide, and rooftop solar step-by-step guide); none specify placard WORDING of their own (they reference code sections like 'FFPC NFPA 1' rather than quoting label text). Positive control ('disconnect'/'meter' — multiple hits in each document) and negative control ('zzqqx' — zero hits) confirm the searches were working. 85% · utility DG manual + city checklist (absence confirmed with controls)
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? No — none of the checked documents (City Solar Plan Review Checklist; OUC's combined interconnection requirements, contractor guide, or rooftop solar guide) specify letter height, color, or material for placards, unlike neighboring municipal utilities (e.g., JEA's 6x6in white-on-red spec). 85% · utility DG manual + city checklist (absence confirmed with controls)
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? No — OUC does not publish placard specifications beyond the AHJ's own code references. Checked OUC's combined interconnection requirements (Appendix A), its contractor sign-up guide, its rooftop solar step-by-step guide, and its 2025 Development Services Guide (general electric-service standards) — none contain the words 'placard' or any letter-height/color/material spec; the Development Services Guide doesn't even mention 'solar' or 'photovoltaic' (confirmed with a positive control of 128 hits for 'meter' and a negative control of 0 hits for 'zzqqx' in that document). 85% · utility's own documents (absence confirmed with controls)
• Where must the labels be placed? Per code default rather than a City/utility-specific rule: labels go at each PV disconnecting means/service equipment location per NEC 690/705 and FFPC/NFPA 1. Separately, OUC dictates PLACEMENT of the physical Tier 2/3 disconnect device itself (not a label) — 'located separate from, but adjacent to, the meter base,' visible and accessible to OUC personnel and lockable with a single OUC lock; for Tier 1 (≤10kW, most residential) an external disconnect is recommended but not required. 75% · utility DG manual

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? Tier-dependent per OUC (the utility, not the City): for Tier 1 (≤10kW AC, essentially all residential rooftop PV), an external AC disconnect near the meter is RECOMMENDED but NOT required — if none is installed, OUC will simply pull the meter to isolate the system when needed. For Tier 2/3 (>10kW), a manual, visible load-break disconnect IS required and must be 'located separate from, but adjacent to, the meter base,' visible/accessible to OUC personnel and lockable with a single OUC utility lock. 90% · utility DG manual
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? No dedicated discretionary 'approved equipment list' — equipment just needs to meet standard listings: inverters UL 1741 / IEEE 1547-2018 compliant, PV modules/panels UL 1703 and IEEE 1262-1995 (or IEC 61215) compliant. OUC does separately vet non-standard 'meter collar' products through its own review process, but that is a narrow accessory item, not a general equipment approved-list. 80% · utility DG manual
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Yes, permitted — the City's Photovoltaic submittal requirements explicitly contemplate battery backup, requiring 'a summary of all standby loads, including power ratings and estimated daily energy consumption for each load to show that inverter and battery selection will meet the standby needs.' No separate battery-specific ordinance or size cap was found; governed by the adopted FBC/NEC (Art. 706) and FFPC (NFPA 1/855 by reference). 80% · department checklist
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? No standalone ESS permit type — battery/ESS documentation is folded into the same Photovoltaic Electrical Permit submittal and inspection (Electrical Rough + Final); the City's permit-type table lists no separate 'Energy Storage System' permit category. 75% · department checklist
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? Partial — no City-published busbar/service-upgrade rule was found, but OUC's interconnection standard requires the system's Gross Power Rating not exceed 90% of the customer's existing service/transformer rating, with the customer responsible for paying for any needed service upgrade to stay within that threshold; this functions as the operative 'busbar sizing' constraint for a given address. 70% · utility DG manual
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? No prescriptive spacing table published — the City requires attachment/flashing/construction design for the mounting system and supporting frame members to be sealed by a Florida-licensed design professional for the specific wind zone, loading, and site conditions on a case-by-case (performance-based) basis, rather than publishing a fixed spacing standard. 65% · department checklist

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? Portal (myRelayView — enter permit number, 'Schedule Inspection'), text message ('INSPECTION' or 'SCHEDULE' to 866.205.3881), or phone (407.246.4444 automated IVR, press 1 then 1 twice). 90% · department page
• How much notice is required? Effectively next-business-day, with a specific same-day cutoff: the page states 'the cut-off time for same day inspections is 6 a.m.' No separate multi-day advance-notice requirement is published beyond that cutoff. 75% · department page
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? Same-day is offered if requested by the 6 a.m. cutoff; the page does not mention AM/PM appointment windows. 72% · department page

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 Electrical Rough and Final inspections for photovoltaic work; not delegated to the county or a private provider by default. 88% · department checklist
• If delegated, to whom? N/A — not delegated; the City performs its own final solar inspection (see q52). (A State-law 'Private Provider' alternative-inspection route exists for any Orlando electrical permit if the applicant elects it, per FS 553.791, but that is an applicant choice, not a standing delegation.) 85% · department page / permit form

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.

• Which inspections are required, and in what order? Photovoltaic: Electrical – Rough, then Electrical – Final. (For comparison: Solar Thermal = Plumbing Final only; Hybrid = Electrical Rough+Final AND Plumbing Final; Solar Shingles = Building Final AND Electrical Rough+Final; Solar Attic Fan = Building Final only.) 92% · department checklist
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? Yes — an Electrical Rough inspection is required for photovoltaic systems, in addition to the Electrical Final. 92% · department checklist

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.

• What must be on site at inspection? An approved set of plans (and any revisions), a valid permit and permit card, a copy of the recorded Notice of Commencement (where the job exceeds $5,000), and any engineering documents for the project must be visible/accessible at the job site for inspection. 85% · department page

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? An approved Final inspection closes out the permit — the checklist states 'The permit(s) are considered completed upon receiving an approved final inspection.' No separate Certificate of Occupancy, green tag, or letter is described for a retrofit residential PV installation on an existing dwelling. 78% · department checklist
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? Installer/customer — OUC requires the contractor or customer to submit the Solar Interconnection Application themselves (through OUC's online portal), including proof of the passed City permit inspection; the City does not notify OUC on the applicant's behalf. 88% · utility DG manual
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $150 re-inspection fee. (Related: a $50 Inspection Cancellation Fee applies if an inspection is cancelled within 24 hours or less of the scheduled time.) 90% · fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? For PLAN corrections: reviewers post comments in ProjectDox; the applicant uploads corrected files under the SAME file name (system auto-appends 'V2'), clouds all revisions, attaches a narrative response on company letterhead, and completes the 'Applicant Resubmit Task'; the cycle repeats until all disciplines approve. A $50 Plan Revision Fee applies from the third submittal onward. The process for clearing FIELD/inspection corrections specifically is not separately documented on the pages checked. 70% · department checklist