City of Perry

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 Perry is the AHJ for residential solar building and electrical permitting inside the city limits. There is NO separate 'Building Department' on the City's website or staff directory; the function sits in the COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT (Code Sec. 2-265(3): department functions include 'Building permits, inspection and building code implementation') and is fronted day-to-day by PLANNING & ZONING, whose page states it 'handles the development and enforcement of state and local building codes and zoning ordinances within the City of Perry' and 'oversees land use changes and building permit applications'. Single named contact: Dianne Cruce, Planning/Zoning & Code Compliance Clerk, 850-584-7161 ext 4, City Hall, 224 S. Jefferson St, Perry FL 32347. The City Manager (John Hart II) is responsible for Community Development. Confirmed independently on the money side: the FY2025-26 adopted budget carries expenditure department 001-524-000 PROTECTIVE INSPECTIONS and revenue accounts 001-322-110 BUILDING PERMITS and 001-322-551 (surcharge), plus 001-524-491 RADON SURCHARGE -- only a local enforcement agency collects and remits the FS 553.721 / FS 404.056 surcharges. Taylor County runs its own separate Building & Planning Department (Terry McKeever, Building Director; John Perkins, inspections; LeeAnn Shreve, permitting; 201 E. Green St, Perry) for the UNINCORPORATED county; nothing on either site says the County permits inside the city limits. 92% · city code Sec. 2-265 + department pages + FY2025-26 adopted budget
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both, plus zoning and floodplain, all in one department. Code Sec. 2-265 gives Community Development: (1) zoning administration and liaison to the zoning board and board of adjustment; (2) comprehensive planning and growth management; (3) building permits, inspection and building code implementation. Appendix A, Ch. 8 sets city building permit fees including a single 'All trades $80.00' line that covers the electrical/plumbing/mechanical trade permits, so electrical is NOT delegated away. NOT held by the City: (a) fire code enforcement is under the Fire Chief (Code Sec. 26-55) but the City adopts no fire code of its own -- Sec. 26-84 simply states the Florida Fire Prevention Code adopted under FS 633.202 'is in effect'; (b) the plan review / inspection labour itself is bought in under budget line 001-524-342 CONTRACT SERV BLD PERMITS (see Q53). Contractor competency is held by the CITY, not the county: Code Sec. 10-80 makes it unlawful to do business as a building trades contractor in the city without a City licence, and Sec. 10-81 requires a city certificate of competency which 'shall precede receipt of building permits'. 88% · city code Ch. 2 Art. VIII + Ch. 10 Art. IV + Appendix A Ch. 8
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. Code Sec. 8-41 adopts the Florida Building Code by floating reference ('as the same may be amended from time to time'), so FBC 105.1 governs and a permit is required for PV. The City's own codified fee schedule (Appendix A, Ch. 8) prices building permits and 'All trades' permits, which only makes sense against a permit requirement, and Code Sec. 10-81 says a certificate of competency 'shall precede receipt of building permits'. There is NO solar-specific permit type published anywhere and NO permit exemption list in the city code. 88% · city code Sec. 8-41 (adopting ordinance)
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Either/combined in practice, and the fee schedule says so: Appendix A, Ch. 8 has ONE line, 'All trades $80.00', for the trade permits, sitting beside the square-foot building permit lines. There is no separate priced electrical permit and no solar line. So a residential PV job is priced as a trade permit at $80.00 unless the City treats it as a 'Remodel' at $0.20/sq ft. No published process document distinguishes the two. 62% · city code Appendix A, Ch. 8 (Ord. 811, 22 Nov 2005)
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No -- not for a single-family house. Perry does operate an architectural design review gate, but it is confined to the Downtown Central Business District and it EXCLUDES single-family residences. Code Sec. 30-21(a) requires Planning & Zoning Board approval of an architectural design review application 'prior to the issuance of a building permit in the downtown central business district' for new non-single-family construction, additions/alterations to non-single-family buildings, exterior renovation of non-single-family buildings, and new single-family construction on a site whose last building was non-single-family. Sec. 30-21(b) then exempts: '(1) Single-family residences, except as in subsection (a)(4)'; '(2) Routine exterior repair or maintenance of structures used for nonresidential purposes'; and '(5) Modifications to the exterior of any existing structure that is solely for the purpose of providing safe means of egress or access'. A rooftop PV retrofit on an existing house in Perry therefore trips no architectural gate anywhere in the city. HOAs: the LDR mentions homeowners associations only twice, in the Planned Residential Development article, where covenants 'must be approved by the City Attorney before final approval of the plan' -- there is no city-wide HOA approval requirement. 90% · city code Ch. 30 Art. II (Ord. 898, 10 Jan 2012)
• Is there a historic-district review? No true historic-district review exists. Perry's Chapter 30 is titled HISTORIC PRESERVATION but contains only Article II, Downtown Central Business District architectural design review -- there is no historic district, no historic landmark designation, no certificate of appropriateness and no historic preservation board. Sec. 30-22(a) says so in terms: the criteria are 'not intended to dictate specific building styles, or to mandate historical preservation, restoration or replication'. Administration is vested in the Planning & Zoning Board (Sec. 30-20(a)), which may engage a consulting architect and charge the applicant for it (Sec. 30-20(b),(c)). Single-family residences are exempt (Sec. 30-21(b)(1)). 90% · city code Ch. 30 Art. II
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No local windstorm certification and NO local wind-speed minimum. Perry sits in the Big Bend, which is in the ASCE 7 Wind-Borne Debris Region, NOT the HVHZ (HVHZ is Miami-Dade and Broward only). Searched for a local wind provision in both instruments that could carry one and found none: the codified code returns no 'mph', 'wind speed', 'wind load', 'wind-borne' or 'windborne' hits (its only 'miles per hour' is a bicycle-speed provision), and the 329-page Land Development Regulations return ZERO hits on all six of those terms. Perry's ONLY local amendment to the Florida Building Code (Sec. 8-42) is flood-elevation, not wind. So Florida Product Approval under the statewide FBC is the whole of it. 85% · city code Sec. 8-42 + Land Development Regulations (both searched)
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? Not for residential rooftop PV. Perry's LDR carries the usual special exception / variance machinery administered by the Planning & Zoning Board and Board of Adjustment, and LDR Sec. 1.7.1 lets the City charge fees for 'zoning permits, sign permits, special exceptions applications, subdivision plat approval, zoning amendments, variances and other administrative relief'. But the LDR names no solar use, no accessory energy use and no generation use at all -- 'solar' and 'photovoltaic' each return ZERO hits in 329 pages -- so there is no listed use to trigger a special exception. Council approval is required only for an ordinance, e.g. rezoning. 70% · City of Perry Land Development Regulations (2023 ed.), Secs. 1.7, definitions
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No local cap. The City imposes none: 'solar' and 'photovoltaic' return zero hits in the LDR and the codified code's single 'solar' hit is the thermal trap (Sec. 10-80 plumbing-contractor scope: a master plumber may install 'solar water heating systems'), which is a trade-scope definition and not a PV provision. The operative cap is the utility's. Duke Energy Florida: three tiers, Tier 1 <=10 kW, Tier 2 >10 to <=100 kW, Tier 3 >100 kW to 2 MW, with total generating capacity separately capped at 90% of the customer's existing service rating, and the system may not be sized to consistently produce more than the customer consumes. Tri-County Electric Cooperative's published rate sheet (2018) carries no DG rate class and no size table. 78% · Land Development Regulations + city code (searched) + Duke Energy Florida tier agreements

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 contractor licensed BY THE CITY. Code Sec. 10-80(a): 'It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership or corporation to do business within the city as a building trades contractor unless licensed as a contractor under this article'. Sec. 10-81: state-exempt persons 'shall be required to obtain a certificate of competency through the building department. Receipt of a certificate of competency shall precede receipt of building permits'. The code's electrical contractor classification covers work 'for electrical wiring for lights, heat or power and all appurtenances thereto'. Licensure requires proof of an active state licence, liability and workers' compensation insurance, financial stability, experience and three client references. 90% · city code Secs. 10-80, 10-81
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes -- and this is a real, codified gate, not a courtesy registration. Perry licenses building trades contractors itself (Code Sec. 10-80) rather than relying on a county competency card. Sec. 10-81 makes the certificate of competency a precondition of the permit in terms: it 'shall precede receipt of building permits'. Sec. 10-80(e) adds a trap for out-of-town installers: 'Application for or receipt of three or more building/construction permits within any 12-month period shall be considered prima facie evidence of maintaining a permanent business location in the city' -- i.e. a solar company doing a third job in Perry inside a year is presumed to be locally established. Licences run to 30 September with renewal to 31 January. Taylor County separately operates a Licensing Board (LB Application on the county building page); that is a second, distinct licensing body for the unincorporated county. 90% · city code Secs. 10-80, 10-81
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Not published by the City. The city code contains no owner-builder provision and no self-permit exemption; FS 489.103(7) (the state owner-builder exemption) applies statewide and Sec. 10-81's route for state-exempt persons requires a city certificate of competency instead. I searched the whole codified code (Ch. 8 Buildings, Ch. 10 Businesses incl. contractor licensing, Appendix A fees, Appendix B forms) and the 329-page Land Development Regulations; neither uses the words 'owner-builder' or 'homeowner'. 45% · city code Ch. 10 Art. IV (searched, no owner-builder clause)

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? Not published. The City of Perry publishes NO submittal checklist, NO building permit application and NO permit page. Proved by exhaustive enumeration, not by a failed search: I swept the site's media store by id (/media/1 .. /media/1300, HEAD, filename read from Content-Disposition) and recovered 227 published documents by real filename. Not one contains 'permit', 'build' (except bid invitations for city-owned buildings), 'fee', 'inspect', 'solar', 'photovolt', 'flood', '553', 'utiliz', 'impact', 'franchis' or 'schedule' (except garbage collection schedules). The site's own Forms library (/forms) holds exactly 8 documents, all of them employment applications, Dream Grant papers and the Regulatory License Application. Appendix B of the code confirms why: the building permit form, the electrical inspection request and the reinspection request exist but are 'on file in the office of the city clerk'. For a comparable published package, Taylor County's forms library (a separate authority) has a NEW RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PERMIT PACKAGE, an Electrical Permit Application rev. April 2025, a Roof Permit and a Private Provider Application. 90% · city Forms library + city code Appendix B + media-id sweep of 227 published documents
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Not published by the City for building permits. The only site-plan requirement Perry publishes is in the Land Development Regulations: LDR Sec. 14.11 'site and development plan' review, which the historic/architectural article (Code Sec. 30-21) cross-references and which applies to non-single-family development. For single-family residential work the LDR imposes no site plan. Taylor County, by contrast, publishes a 'Sample Site Plan Template' for its own permits. 55% · City of Perry Land Development Regulations (2023 edition), Sec. 14.11
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Not set locally. Perry's code adopts the Florida Building Code by floating reference (Sec. 8-41) with only ONE set of local technical amendments (Sec. 8-42), and those are entirely flood-elevation amendments to FBC-R R322 -- no structural, no wind, no attachment and no PE-stamp threshold. So the threshold is the state one (FS 471.003 / FBC 107), not a local one. Note the LDR contains no wind or structural provision either: 'wind speed', 'miles per hour', 'mph', 'wind load', 'wind-borne' and 'windborne' all return ZERO hits across its 329 pages, and the same terms return zero in the codified code. 75% · city code Secs. 8-41, 8-42 (local FBC amendments, Ord. 958, 14 Jun 2016)
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Not set locally -- same reasoning as Q13. Perry adopts no electrical amendments at all and its only FBC amendments are flood-elevation. The statewide FS 471.003(2)(h) exemption ($125,000 / 600A) therefore governs. Perry's code prints no dollar trigger of any kind for engineering stamps. 70% · city code Sec. 8-42 (searched; no electrical or PE-stamp amendment)

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? None. The City of Perry has NO permitting portal. Its website (Drupal / Municode Web 'starter8' profile, behind Cloudflare) has a 17-item main menu -- Meetings, City Council, Administration, Utilities & Business Licenses, Finance, Public Works, Public Safety, Planning & Zoning, City Attorney, Fire, Police, About Perry, City Parks, Community Development, Incentives, Job Opportunities, Calendar -- and no Permits, Building or Portal entry. The only online transaction offered is utility bill pay (/finance-department/page/bill-pay), which is water/sewer/gas/garbage billing. The media-id sweep found no portal link, no iWorQ, no Citizenserve, no EnerGov, no MyGov. Taylor County likewise publishes only downloadable PDF forms with no portal. 88% · rendered site navigation + media-id sweep
• Can the whole application be completed online? No. With no portal and no downloadable application (see Q8, Q20), the application cannot be started online at all. The city code's Appendix B states that the building permit form, the electrical inspection request and the reinspection request are 'on file in the office of the city clerk' -- i.e. counter intake at 224 S. Jefferson Street. 85% · city code Appendix B + city website
• What does a residential solar permit cost? No solar line exists. The City's only published permit fee schedule is codified at Appendix A, Ch. 8 (adopted by Ord. 811, 22 Nov 2005): Single-family residence (heated) $0.24/sq ft; (unheated) $0.18/sq ft; Mobile home single-wide $300 / double-wide $400; Modular homes $300; Recertification (mobile and modular) $40; ALL TRADES $80.00; Remodel $0.20/sq ft; Move/raise house $200; Pool $100; Re-roof $100; Demolition $100; Re-inspection $25.00. A residential PV permit has no line of its own and most plausibly lands on ALL TRADES $80.00. State surcharges are collected on top (the budget carries 001-322-551 surcharge revenue and 001-524-491 RADON SURCHARGE). There is NO newer fee schedule anywhere on the city website -- the 227-document media sweep found no fee document at all. 70% · city code Appendix A, Ch. 8 (Ord. 811, 22 Nov 2005)
• How is the fee calculated? Mixed, by work type: VALUATION-free. Perry prices by SQUARE FOOT for new construction and remodels ($0.24 / $0.18 / $0.20 per sq ft) and FLAT for everything else (trades $80, pool $100, re-roof $100, demolition $100, mobile homes $300/$400). There is no per-kW, no per-panel and no valuation-percentage method anywhere in the schedule. If PV is treated as a trade permit it is a FLAT $80.00. 72% · city code Appendix A, Ch. 8
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? No. The codified fee schedule contains no plan-check, plan-review or plans-examination fee line of any kind. The only add-on fees in it are Re-inspection $25.00 and, for the downtown architectural review, a consulting-architect fee the Planning & Zoning Board 'may impose... to cover its expenses' (Code Sec. 30-20(b),(c)) -- which does not reach single-family residential (Sec. 30-21(b)(1)). 72% · city code Appendix A, Ch. 8 + Sec. 30-20

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

• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? Not published locally. Perry adopts the FBC by floating reference with no Chapter 1 administrative amendments, so FBC 105.4.1 (permit void after 180 days without commencement / 180 days of abandonment) governs by default. The City publishes no permit-validity statement of its own. 50% · city code Sec. 8-41 (floating FBC adoption, no administrative amendments)
• Which utility handles interconnection here? NOT the City. The City of Perry does NOT own or operate an electric utility -- this is settled from first-party instruments and corrects a hypothesis carried into this survey. Evidence, four ways: (1) the City's own Utilities page states 'The City of Perry provides utility services consisting of natural gas, water, sewer and garbage'; (2) city code Chapter 50 UTILITIES has articles for Billing, Cross-Connection Control, Sewers, WATER SERVICE and GAS SERVICE and the word 'electric' appears ZERO times in the whole chapter; (3) the FY2025-26 adopted budget carries revenue account 001-313-103 ELECTRICAL FRANCHISE at $650,000 budgeted (actuals $449,929 / $629,006 / $710,362 / $623,833 / $572,420) and 103-314-101 ELECTRICITY (public service tax) at $750,000 -- a city that owns its electric system collects neither; (4) code Sec. 52-68(3) requires limbs near high-voltage conductors to be cleared 'by the electric utility company in compliance with any applicable franchise agreements', and Sec. 52-68(4) requires 'the utility company' to file a tree-trimming policy with the city tree board. WHO the franchisee is: the 2025 Taylor County Local Mitigation Strategy (approved March 2026, a multi-jurisdictional plan covering the City of Perry) states 'Tri-County Electric Cooperative and Duke Energy serve the electricity needs in Taylor County. The natural gas, water, sewer, and garbage services are provided by the City of Perry.' So TWO retail electric utilities operate in the county and the answer is ADDRESS-LEVEL. Indicator (not proof) that Duke serves the city limits: the City's own ACFR principal-taxpayer schedule ranks Duke Energy #2 with $18,424,366 of taxable assessed value, 22.20% of the entire city tax base, while Tri-County Electric does not appear in the top ten. Tri-County Electric Cooperative's Seminole Electric member page lists 'Counties Served: Jefferson, Madison, Taylor, N.W. 1/4 of Dixie' -- county granularity only, and a co-op county listing has been shown elsewhere in this survey not to settle city limits. 72% · city Utilities page + city code Ch. 50 and Sec. 52-68 + FY2025-26 adopted budget + Taylor County LMS 2025
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? Before the utility's final sign-off, and after the local permit -- both candidate utilities sequence the AHJ first. Tri-County Electric Cooperative's published Interconnection Process is an 11-step sequence in which step 7 is construction with 'a disconnect switch, warning/safety labels, and other protective equipment as may be required by the Cooperative', step 8 is 'Inspection by County Inspector -- The installation of the system must be inspected and approved by the county', step 9 is notifying TCEC of completion, step 10 is TCEC's on-site verification of the disconnect and safety features, and step 11 is TCEC counter-signing the Interconnection Agreement. Duke Energy Florida's Tier 1 Standard Interconnection Agreement likewise makes it a customer General Responsibility to obtain LOCAL BUILDING CODE OFFICIAL certification that the installation was permitted and approved before Duke's sign-off. Note TCEC's own wording says 'the county' -- written for its rural membership; inside Perry city limits the inspecting authority is the City, not Taylor County. 85% · TCEC Interconnection Process (PDF, created 1 Aug 2017) + Duke Energy Florida Tier 1 Standard 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 adopted statewide through the Florida Building Code. Perry adopts the FBC by floating reference (Sec. 8-41: 'as the same may be amended from time to time, adopted by the state building commission pursuant to F.S. 553.73') and makes NO electrical amendment, so the state edition applies unchanged. Do not read the '2023' on the FBC 8th Edition as an NEC year. 90% · city code Sec. 8-41 (floating FBC adoption)
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), current statewide edition -- inherited automatically. Sec. 8-41 adopts 'the Florida Building Code, as the same may be amended from time to time' with no edition number, so the base never goes stale. The LOCAL AMENDMENTS do lag: Sec. 8-42's amendments are written against FBC-Residential R322.2.1 / R322.2.2 and were adopted by Ord. 958 on 14 June 2016, applying to applications submitted on or after 26 April 2016. Base current, amendments ten years old. 90% · city code Secs. 8-41, 8-42 (Ord. 958, 14 Jun 2016)
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code (8th Edition, 2023), by pure statutory reference. Perry adopts nothing of its own: Code Sec. 26-84 says only that 'The Florida Fire Prevention Code adopted pursuant to F.S. 633.202 is in effect'. There is no NFPA edition number, no local fire amendment and no adopting ordinance date in Chapter 26. The Fire Chief's inspection power (Sec. 26-55) expressly excludes 'the interiors of private dwellings'. Code Sec. 8-43 defines a downtown 'fire district' by metes and bounds for FBC 301.4 purposes -- a construction-type district, not a permitting overlay. 85% · city code Sec. 26-84
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes -- but only ONE set, and it is entirely flood. Code Sec. 8-42 'Amendments adopted' contains exactly four substantive items plus an applicability clause: (1) R322.2.1 elevation -- lowest floors in flood hazard areas not designated Coastal A to BFE + 1 FOOT or the design flood elevation, whichever is higher; Coastal A zones likewise BFE + 1 foot (305 mm); AO zones the FIRM depth number + 1 foot, or at least 3 feet if no depth number; basements below grade on all sides to BFE + 1 foot; (2) R322.2.2 enclosed areas below design flood elevation -- parking/access/storage only, at least two flood openings on different sides, 1 sq in per sq ft, bottom within 1 foot of grade, openings at least 3 inches in any direction; (3) a substantial-damage definition; (4) a fiscal impact statement; (5) applicability to all development applications submitted on or after 26 April 2016. There is NO electrical, structural, wind, mounting, fire-pathway, signage or solar amendment anywhere in the city code. 92% · city code Sec. 8-42 (Ord. 958, 14 Jun 2016)
• What is the installation judged against? NEC 2020 as incorporated in the Florida Building Code (8th Ed., 2023), unamended locally, plus the electric utility's own interconnection requirements. Perry adds nothing: no local electrical amendment exists anywhere in its code, and its Land Development Regulations contain no electrical provision. 88% · city code Secs. 8-41, 8-42

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 rule -- the statewide Florida Fire Prevention Code applies as adopted by FS 633.202, with no Perry amendment. Perry adopts no fire code text of its own (Sec. 26-84 is a bare reference) and adds no access-pathway or ridge-setback provision. The City does maintain its own Fire Department under a Fire Chief appointed by the City Manager (Secs. 26-19, 26-21, 26-54), so the AHJ for fire is the City, but it has published no PV roof-access policy, checklist or bulletin -- confirmed against the 227-document media sweep, which found no fire, solar or access document. 78% · city code Sec. 26-84 + media-id sweep

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, including the 690.12(B)(2) inside-the-array requirement, via the statewide adoption. Perry adds nothing and takes nothing away: no electrical amendment exists in its code, and it publishes no inspection checklist that would soften or vary it. 85% · city code Sec. 8-41 + NEC 2020 as adopted statewide

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 placards come from NEC 2020 (690.13(B), 690.54, 690.56(C), 705.10, 705.12(B)(3)) as adopted statewide, plus whatever the serving utility requires. Perry's codified code contains no placard, label, marking, sign-at-service or warning requirement for electrical work of any kind, and its Land Development Regulations contain none either. The media sweep of 227 published city documents found no signage or labelling document. 85% · city code (searched) + Land Development Regulations (searched) + media-id sweep
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No. Perry specifies no placard wording of its own anywhere. The only city-specified wording of any kind that touches a solar job is the re-roof condition in the fee schedule, which requires 'a notarized statement for planned disposal of old shingles' -- a disposal affidavit, not a placard. 85% · city code Appendix A Ch. 8 + full code search
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? No. No letter height, no colour, no material, no reflectivity and no durability requirement appears anywhere in Perry's code or Land Development Regulations. NEC 110.21(B) and the utility's own standards govern. 85% · city code + Land Development Regulations (both searched)
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? Nothing local. NEC 2020 705.10 (directory of all electric power sources at each service equipment location) applies through the statewide adoption; Perry imposes no site-plan placard, facility map or emergency-responder diagram of its own. Note the City also imposes no site plan at submittal for single-family work (Q10), so there is no local document from which such a placard could be derived. 80% · city code (searched) + NEC 2020 705.10 as adopted
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes, and this is where the real signage requirement lives -- but which utility's applies is address-level (see Q22). Tri-County Electric Cooperative: its published Interconnection Process, step 7, requires the member to 'install a disconnect switch, warning/safety labels, and other protective equipment as may be required by the Cooperative to protect its personnel, facilities and operations', and step 10 has a TCEC representative attend to 'review the system's disconnect and safety features' before approval. TCEC prescribes no wording, letter height or material in that document. Duke Energy Florida: its filed Tier 1 Standard Interconnection Agreement deals with the disconnect switch (discretionary at Duke's expense for Tier 1) and does not itself carry a placard wording specification. 72% · TCEC Interconnection Process (PDF) + Duke Energy Florida Tier 1 agreement
• Where must the labels be placed? Not specified by the City. Placement follows NEC 2020 (at each service equipment location / at the disconnecting means / on the PV system disconnect) and the utility's requirement that the disconnect remain readily accessible. Duke Energy Florida's tier agreements require any disconnect to be 'mounted separate from, but adjacent to, the Company's meter socket', 'readily accessible to the Company' and 'capable of being locked in the open position with a single Company utility lock' -- with no distance figure given. Perry itself says nothing about label location anywhere. 75% · Duke Energy Florida Tier 1/2/3 Standard Interconnection Agreements + city code (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? Utility-set, and it differs sharply between the two candidates. Duke Energy Florida, Tier 1 (<=10 kW): NO customer disconnect is required; Duke MAY elect to install one at ITS OWN expense, in which case it must be visible load-break type, 'mounted separate from, but adjacent to, the Company's meter socket', readily accessible to Duke and lockable open with a single Duke lock. Tier 2 (>10 to <=100 kW) and Tier 3: a manual AC load-break disconnect IS required at the CUSTOMER's expense, same location and lock language, with NO distance figure stated. Tri-County Electric Cooperative: a disconnect switch is required with NO size exemption -- its Interconnection Process step 7 directs the member to 'install a disconnect switch, warning/safety labels, and other protective equipment as may be required by the Cooperative', and step 10 has TCEC verify it on site before approval; TCEC publishes no location or distance specification. Note the baseline rule: FPSC Rule 25-6.065 binds investor-owned utilities (Duke) but NOT cooperatives, which run their own policies under FS 366.91 -- so TCEC's no-exemption stance is lawful and a PSC citation would not override it. The City of Perry specifies nothing. 80% · Duke Energy Florida Tier 1/2/3 Standard Interconnection Agreements + TCEC Interconnection Process
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Not by the City. Perry adopts no approved-products list, no local product approval and no evaluation-report requirement; statewide Florida Product Approval under the FBC applies, and equipment must be listed under the NEC as adopted. Because Taylor County is in the Wind-Borne Debris Region and NOT the HVHZ, Miami-Dade NOA is not required. 78% · city code Sec. 8-42 (searched) + FBC product approval
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Permitted, under the statewide Florida Building Code and Florida Fire Prevention Code only. Perry has no local ESS, battery or energy-storage provision: the words do not appear in the codified code or in the 329-page Land Development Regulations, and no ESS document exists in the 227-document media store. A flood consideration does apply: Perry sits in a FEMA flood hazard area (Chapter 28 FLOODS plus the LDR's Article 8 floodplain article), and Sec. 8-42's BFE + 1 foot elevation requirement reaches buildings and structures -- but see Q46 for the literal reach of the equipment clause. 72% · city code Ch. 28 + Ch. 8 + Land Development Regulations (all searched)
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? No separate ESS permit or inspection type exists -- there is no published permit type list at all (no portal, no application form). And a trap worth recording literally: the ONLY 'utility equipment' elevation clause in Perry's floodplain instrument reaches manufactured homes ONLY. LDR Sec. 8.13.8 reads: 'Utility equipment. Utility equipment that serves MANUFACTURED HOMES, including electric, heating, ventilation, plumbing, and air conditioning equipment and other service facilities, shall comply with...'. It is inside the manufactured-home article. PV inverters, rapid-shutdown gear, combiners and batteries at a SITE-BUILT house are not caught by that clause; for a site-built dwelling the elevation duty comes from FBC-R R322 as amended by city code Sec. 8-42, which speaks of lowest floors and enclosed areas, not equipment. This is the third Florida authority in this survey where the equipment clause reads only to manufactured homes. 88% · City of Perry Land Development Regulations (2023 ed.), Sec. 8.13.8
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Not addressed. Perry's Land Development Regulations define 'Accessory Use or Structure' generically ('a use or structure of a nature customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use or structure and... on the same premises') and 'Addition' as 'an extension or increase in floor area or height of a building or structure', but they name no solar use, no ground-mounted array and no energy equipment -- 'solar' and 'photovoltaic' return ZERO hits across 329 pages. So a ground mount would be classified by the Land Development Regulation Administrator under the generic accessory-structure definition, subject to the accessory setbacks of the zoning district, with no published solar-specific rule, height allowance or screening requirement. 70% · City of Perry Land Development Regulations (2023 ed.), Art. 2 definitions
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? No local rule. Perry has no electrical amendments at all (Sec. 8-42 is flood-only), so NEC 705.12 as adopted governs service upgrades and busbar sizing. Note the utility-side constraint instead: Duke Energy Florida caps total generating capacity at 90% of the customer's existing service rating in all three of its tier agreements, which is the practical service-size gate here if Duke serves the address. 75% · city code Sec. 8-42 (searched)
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? No. Perry specifies no mounting system, attachment spacing, standoff or fastener schedule. Its only FBC amendments are flood-elevation (Sec. 8-42) and its LDR contains nothing on roof attachment. Florida Product Approval under the statewide FBC and the manufacturer's listed installation instructions are the whole of the requirement. 80% · city code Sec. 8-42 + Land Development Regulations (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? By phone or in person -- there is no portal (Q20) and no email address published for permits. The city code's Appendix B records that an 'Electrical inspection' request form and a 'Reinspection request' form exist and are 'on file in the office of the city clerk'. The published contact route is Planning & Zoning, 850-584-7161 ext 4 (Dianne Cruce, Planning/Zoning & Code Compliance Clerk), City Hall, 224 S. Jefferson Street. 70% · city code Appendix B + Planning & Zoning 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 does its own inspections -- but it buys the inspector. The City remains the legal AHJ (Code Sec. 2-265(3): 'Building permits, inspection and building code implementation'; Sec. 8-44 penalties; Sec. 46-58(b) 'The building official will be required to make an inspection of all work performed'; Secs. 2-193 to 2-197 establish a five-member City Construction Board of Adjustments and Appeals -- one engineer or architect, one general/building contractor, one ELECTRICAL contractor, one plumbing contractor, one citizen at large, plus mechanical and roofing alternates -- expressly to hear appeals from orders of 'the building official'). The inspection labour is contracted (Q53). Reinspection is priced in the city's own fee schedule at $25.00, which only makes sense against city-run inspections. 82% · city code Secs. 2-193 to 2-197, 2-265, 46-58 + Appendix A Ch. 8
• If delegated, to whom? Contracted out, to an unnamed provider -- and the budget shape is new for this survey. The FY2025-26 adopted budget, expenditure department 001-524-000 PROTECTIVE INSPECTIONS, carries BOTH: a salaried line 001-524-120 REGULAR SALARIES at $37,483.43 (FY26 budget; FY25 $36,387; actuals $28,464 / $30,024 / $30,352 / $33,481 / $32,434) with FICA $2,867, retirement $5,259, life & health $88.80 and workers comp $1,923 -- roughly one clerical post, consistent with the single named staffer Dianne Cruce; AND a contract line 001-524-342 CONTRACT SERV BLD PERMITS at $40,000 (FY26 budget; FY25 $40,000; actuals $40,087.48 / $80,502.66 / $81,168.52 / $41,755.38 / $28,505.52). Set that against revenue account 001-322-110 BUILDING PERMITS: $40,000 budget, actuals $44,427.48 / $82,422.66 / $80,968.52 / $36,023.64 / $34,180.66. The contract expenditure tracks the permit revenue essentially one-for-one, year after year -- roughly 90-100% pass-through, a materially harder shape than the 'Building Official on 50-60% of permit revenue' and 'operator on ~75%' patterns recorded elsewhere in this survey. Other department lines: 001-524-340 OTHER CONTRACTUAL SERV $4,500; 001-524-344 DEMOLITIONS $36,000; 001-524-491 RADON SURCHARGE $2,000; TRAINING & PER DIEM $0 for FY26; vehicle maintenance $500; gas/oil/tires $600. The provider is NOT named: the budget names no firm, the staff directory lists no Building Official or Inspector among its 11 entries, and no contract, RFP or agreement appears among the 227 published city documents. 80% · City of Perry FY2025-26 Adopted Budget, dept 001-524 PROTECTIVE INSPECTIONS + revenue 001-322-110

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? Not published as a sequence. What is evidenced: the city code's Appendix B records a standing 'Electrical inspection' request form (old Code 1983 Sec. 8-43) and a 'Reinspection request' form (Sec. 8-45), plus a 'Plumbing inspection request' (Sec. 21-2) -- i.e. trade inspections are requested individually, per trade. The fee schedule prices one re-inspection at $25.00. Taylor County, a separate authority, publishes a 'Pre-Inspection' fee of $50.00 in its own schedule, which Perry does not have. 55% · city code Appendix B (forms on file with the city clerk)

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. There is no published inspection checklist of any kind. Proved by the media-id sweep: 227 published city documents enumerated by real filename, none containing 'inspect', 'checklist', 'permit', 'solar' or 'fee'. The only checklist-adjacent authority in the code is Sec. 30-20(d), which lets the Planning & Zoning Board 'develop application materials, check lists and other documents' for downtown architectural review -- and nothing developed under it is published. 88% · media-id sweep of 227 published documents + city Forms library

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

• Who notifies the utility for PTO? The installer/customer notifies the utility -- the AHJ does not. Tri-County Electric Cooperative's Interconnection Process step 9: 'Notify the Cooperative in advance of energizing your small power generating installation and allow TCEC staff to verify and test protective equipment. Upon completion of installation, please notify TCEC by sending an email to engineering@tcec.com.' TCEC then schedules a site visit (step 10) and a TCEC representative counter-signs the Interconnection Agreement (step 11). Duke Energy Florida likewise puts the burden on the customer, who must supply the local building code official's certification and then execute the tier agreement; since 9 February 2026 Duke Energy Florida's application channel is PowerClerk, replacing the legacy Interconnection Portal. Nothing in Perry's code or on its website says the City notifies any utility. 82% · TCEC Interconnection Process (PDF) + Duke Energy Florida interconnection materials
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $25.00. Codified at Appendix A, Ch. 8: 'Re-inspection $25.00'. It sits in the same schedule as Re-roof $100.00, which carries the condition '(In addition to a notarized statement for planned disposal of old shingles.)'. 82% · city code Appendix A, Ch. 8 (Ord. 811, 22 Nov 2005)
• How are corrections issued and cleared? Not published as a corrections procedure. What the code does provide is the appeal route: the City Construction Board of Adjustments and Appeals (Secs. 2-193 to 2-197) hears appeals from interpretations of the adopted building, plumbing, mechanical and gas codes and from orders of the building official. The board must meet within 30 days after a notice of appeal is received; a simple majority of members serving on a specific appeal is a quorum; and varying a provision or modifying an order of the building official needs affirmative votes of the majority present but not less than a majority of the board serving in the appeal. Sec. 2-198 sets the appeal fee. Day-to-day correction notices are not documented anywhere. 62% · city code Secs. 2-193 to 2-198