Lee County

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

• Is this authority the AHJ for residential solar at this address? Yes — Lee County DCD Building & Permitting Services is the AHJ for residential solar in unincorporated Lee County 92% · department page
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both — Lee County issues one combined 'Solar' permit record covering both the building/structural review and the electrical review, and performs its own inspections 82% · County permit/application guide (rev. 12/19/2023)
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes — a Solar/Photovoltaic permit is required 95% · County permit/application guide
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Combined — one 'Solar' eConnect record type covers both the structural and electrical scope; there is no separate stand-alone electrical permit for the PV work itself 80% · County permit/application guide
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No — an HOA/deed restriction cannot be used to prohibit a residential solar installation. Florida Statute 163.04(1): a deed restriction, covenant, declaration or similar binding agreement 'may not prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting' solar collectors. An association may only reasonably regulate placement (e.g., confining panels to an orientation within 45° east or west of due south) where that does not impair the system's effective operation. 85% · Florida Statute 163.04
• Is there a historic-district review? Yes, conditionally — 'Historical Architectural Review' is a conditional required document: 'If the project is within a Historic District or is a Designated Historic Property, follow the regulations for Designated Historic Districts on the Lee County website.' 82% · County permit/application guide
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? Yes — Wind Load Calculations Documentation is a required document for every PV system: signed/sealed documentation from a Florida-registered design professional verifying the system meets calculated wind load, including the wind uplift zone and pressure for the roof zone in question. Ground-mounted systems must comply with ASCE 7 §1609.1; roof-mounted systems with ASCE 7 §1510.7.1. 88% · County permit/application guide
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? No Specific Use Permit or Board/Council approval requirement was found for a residential rooftop or accessory ground-mount PV system 55% · County permit/application guide + LDC Ch. 6 Div. 3 table of contents
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No county-level generation-size cap was found. The eConnect application asks for the system's kW and Amps for record-keeping, not against a stated ceiling. The practical ceilings that exist are set by the interconnecting utility's net-metering tiers, not the County: FPL Tier 1 ≤10 kW / Tier 2 >10–100 kW / Tier 3 >100 kW–2,000 kW; LCEC Tier 1 0–10 kW / Tier 2 10–100 kW / Tier 3 100 kW–1 MW. 60% · County permit/application guide + utility tier pages

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

• Who is allowed to pull the electrical permit? Either — a contractor with a State-issued license registered with Lee County (or a Lee County certificate of competency) may pull the permit, or an owner-builder may self-permit 75% · County permit/application guide
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes — a licensed contractor must be registered with Lee County (State license registered with the County, or a County-issued certificate of competency) before pulling the permit 88% · County permit/application guide
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes — owner-builder self-permit is available via the paper application route only 85% · County permit/application guide

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? Required: (1) Site/Plot Plan showing solar component locations and point of interconnection; (2) Electrical Diagram (array configuration, wiring methods, overcurrent protection, inverter, disconnects, required signage, AC connection to building); (3) Manufacturer specification sheets for all components; (4) Wind Load Calculations, signed/sealed by a FL-registered design professional (ground mount to ASCE 7 §1609.1, roof mount to ASCE 7 §1510.7.1); (5) Weight Limit Documentation (<5 lbs/sq ft distributed, <45 lbs per attachment point); (6) Construction drawings showing system placement on the roof plan. Conditional, if applicable: No-Rise Certificate (regulatory floodway), Owner-Builder Disclosure Statement, Proof of Ownership, Solar Roof Truss Affidavit (pool heaters), Historical Architectural Review (historic district/property), Notice of Commencement (value > $5,000). 92% · County permit/application guide
• How many copies, and in what format? Paper (owner-builder only): three collated sets of plans plus the Owner-Builder Disclosure Statement, submitted in person. Electronic (eConnect, mandatory for contractors): documents attached individually to the record in the Attachments window — the guide does not instruct applicants to merge everything into a single PDF the way some other Florida counties do. 70% · County permit/application guide
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes. Site/plot plan must show the location of solar system components and the location of other mechanical equipment on the structure, particularly the point of interconnection with electrical or water service and the location of the electrical or water service equipment. 88% · County permit/application guide
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Yes — an Electrical Diagram is a required document, showing PV array configuration, wiring methods, overcurrent protection, inverter, disconnects, required signage and the AC connection to the building 88% · County permit/application guide
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Not named as a separate document — string and conductor sizing calculations are not listed as their own required item; they would have to be shown within the required 'Electrical Diagram' (which must show wiring methods and overcurrent protection) for the reviewer to size conductors against the NEC 55% · County permit/application guide
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Yes, for every PV permit — Wind Load Calculations Documentation must be 'signed and sealed documentation from a Florida state registered design professional verifying that the proposed system will meet the calculated wind load,' including the wind uplift zone and pressure for the specific roof zone. Ground-mounted systems must comply with ASCE 7 §1609.1; rooftop-mounted systems with ASCE 7 §1510.7.1. 88% · County permit/application guide
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Not stated as required for a typical residential system — the guide's required-document list calls for a Florida-licensed design professional's seal on the wind-load/structural documentation, but names no separate electrical-engineer seal requirement for the Electrical Diagram 55% · County permit/application 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? eConnect (built on the Accela Citizen Access / Accela Automation platform) at https://accelaaca.leegov.com/aca/ 85% · portal landing page + County guide
• Can the whole application be completed online? Yes for contractors — CONTRACTORS ARE REQUIRED TO USE ECONNECT for the full application, attachments, tracking, payment and inspection scheduling. Owner-builders may instead use a paper application submitted in person (and must appear in person to sign for the issued permit regardless of submission method). 85% · County permit/application guide
• What does a residential solar permit cost? Under the fee schedule effective 15 Apr 2026: Application Fee $50 + Technology Fee $35 (both per application) + Operational Support Fee (a percentage of total review & inspection fees, fluctuates quarterly) + Solar Plan Review $25 (initial; $25 per resubmission) + Solar Regulatory Review $25 (initial; $25 per resubmission) + Inspections at $50 per required inspection for roof- or ground-mounted PV (typically two — 207 Solar Final and 305 Electrical Final — so ~$100), or $75 covering up to 2 inspections for 'All Other Types' (pool/water heaters). A straightforward roof-mount PV job therefore runs roughly $50+$35+$25+$25+$100 = $235 plus the OSF percentage and any Admin/Radon state surcharge. 90% · current fee schedule (adopted 17 Mar 2026, eff. 15 Apr 2026)
• How is the fee calculated? Flat (itemized flat fees per service — application, technology, plan review, regulatory review, per inspection — plus a percentage-based Operational Support Fee layered on top of the total) 78% · current fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes — Plan Review ($25/$25) and Regulatory Review ($25/$25) are both charged as separate line items from the per-inspection fees 88% · current 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? Lee County publishes no solar-specific turnaround target of its own (checked the Solar-Photovoltaic Guide, the Residential Building Guide, leegov.com/permits and leegov.com/dcd/fees — none states a business-day figure for solar plan review). The binding ceiling is now statutory: FS 553.792, as amended by HB 803 (Ch. 2026-63, eff. 1 Jul 2026), requires a local government to approve/deny within 5 business days only for an existing single-family dwelling's electrical (etc.) permit valued under $15,000 — a threshold most rooftop PV systems exceed — otherwise within 30 business days for permits (including electrical) on a structure under 7,500 sq ft, which covers essentially every single-family home. So a typical Lee County residential PV permit is bound by the 30-business-day statutory ceiling, not the 5-day one, unless the installed system's value is under $15,000. 68% · enrolled act, Ch. 2026-63, §[amending 553.792]
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? Two mechanisms both apply. (1) Administrative expiration: 'Issued permits must pass at least one inspection within 180 days from issuance or the permit will expire' (County's own guide). (2) Statutory floor: FS 125.56(4)(d), as amended by HB 803 (eff. 1 Jul 2026), provides that 'a building permit issued by a county for a single-family dwelling expires 1 year after the issuance of the permit or on the effective date of the next edition of the Florida Building Code, whichever is later' — a floor under overall permit life, layered on top of (not replacing) the 180-day no-inspection-activity rule. 78% · County permit/application guide + enrolled act Ch. 2026-63 (FS 125.56(4)(d))
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Split by location within unincorporated Lee County — both Florida Power & Light (FPL) and Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC) serve unincorporated Lee County territory, and which one applies depends on the specific address (LCEC's own materials describe a broad multi-county territory that includes North Fort Myers, Pine Island, Captiva/Sanibel-adjacent areas and parts of Lehigh Acres; FPL serves the remaining unincorporated areas). I could not obtain a single authoritative parcel-level boundary map from either utility in this run. 55% · utility service-territory page
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? After permit / parallel — the County's own permit process does not depend on the utility, but the utility will not grant Permission to Operate (or install the required bi-directional meter) until it receives evidence the County has approved/inspected the work. FPL: 'Operation of the renewable generation system, except for testing and inspection, prior to the installation of a new bi-directional meter is strictly prohibited,' and FPL's guidelines instruct the customer to provide FPL a copy of the approved permit or an inspection confirmation once construction is complete. 70% · utility net-metering guidelines

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 — the guide cites 'National Electric Code (NFPA 70) (2020)' as an applicable code for solar/PV, consistent with the 2020 NEC base cycle of the Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) currently in force statewide. Florida's 9th Edition FBC cycle (which may adopt a newer NEC) is not yet in force — public comment closed in early 2026 and the edition is not expected effective until on or about 31 Dec 2026. 85% · County permit/application guide
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023) — currently in force statewide (and in Lee County) and cited by name in both the Solar-Photovoltaic Guide and the Fire Application and Permitting Guide. The 9th Edition (2026) is expected to take effect on/about 31 Dec 2026, i.e. after this survey date but within the same calendar year. 88% · County permit/application guide
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code, 8th Edition (2023), which is based on NFPA 1 (Uniform Fire Code) and NFPA 101 (Life Safety Code) with Florida Administrative Code amendments 85% · County Fire permit/application guide
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes, generally — Lee County has a substantial history of LDC Chapter 6 amendments to FBC administrative sections (e.g., Ordinance 06-17 rewrote FBC Chapter 1 administration sections, permit fee/condition provisions, wind-borne debris map references), and §6-112 separately codifies Lee County's own Wind Borne Debris Region and Basic Wind Speed Map. However, no Lee-specific amendment addressing solar/PV specifically was found. 68% · Lee County Ordinance No. 06-17 (LDC Ch. 6 Building Code Amendments) + LDC Ch.6 Div.3 TOC
• What is the installation judged against? The Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) and the 2020 NEC, as adopted/amended by Lee County LDC Chapter 6 (Buildings and Building Regulations), plus the County's own Wind Load Calculation and Weight Limit documentation requirements collected at permit issuance and checked against the approved plans and manufacturer specifications at inspection. 78% · County permit/application guide + fee schedule

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? State-adopted standard, no Lee-specific amendment found: Florida Building Code, Residential, §R324.6 — not fewer than two pathways, on separate roof planes, from lowest roof edge to ridge, each at least 36 inches wide; ridge setback of at least 18 inches on both sides of a horizontal ridge where the PV array occupies 33% or less of the plan-view roof area, or at least 36 inches where it occupies more than 33% (relaxed to an 18-inch setback up to 66% coverage where an NFPA 13D residential sprinkler system is installed). 75% · Florida Building Code, Residential (state-adopted)

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 — required under NEC 2020 Article 690.12 (the NEC edition in force per q29). No Lee-specific rapid-shutdown amendment was found; the County's Electrical Diagram requirement lists 'Disconnects' as an item to show but adds no rapid-shutdown-specific instruction of its own. 65% · County permit/application guide (NEC edition) + NEC 2020 Art. 690.12

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? Lee County requires 'required signage' as an element the Electrical Diagram must show, but does not itself enumerate a placard list — it points to code compliance. Via the NEC 2020 edition in force, the placards a Lee County inspector would check for on a typical residential system include: PV disconnecting means labels (690.13/705.10 series), rapid-shutdown label (690.56(C)), DC arc-flash/shock-hazard warning at combiner/junction boxes and disconnects, and a plaque/directory at the service equipment identifying multiple power sources (705.10) where the inverter is not co-located with the main service. 62% · County permit/application guide
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No — Lee County specifies no placard wording of its own; its only instruction is that the Electrical Diagram show 'required signage,' which is a pointer to code compliance rather than County-authored text 70% · County permit/application guide
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? Not specified by Lee County. Governed instead by the NEC 2020 edition in force generically (Art. 690/705 labeling rules: labels must be permanent, reflective, weather-resistant and use specified minimum letter sizes/colors depending on the specific label type) — no Lee-specific letter-height, color or material rule was found. 50% · County permit/application guide (absence)
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? Not a Lee County-specific requirement, but required under the NEC 2020 edition in force: NEC Art. 705.10, 'Identification of Power Sources,' requires a plaque or directory at the service disconnecting means (and at the PV disconnecting means if not co-located) identifying the location of all sources of power supplying the building. 55% · County permit/application guide + NEC 2020 Art. 705.10
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes, for FPL territory, above the 10 kW Tier 1 threshold most residential rooftop systems fall under: FPL's own Net Metering Guidelines require, for Tier 2/3 systems (>10 kW), a manual, visible load-break disconnect switch mounted adjacent to the meter socket, lockable with a single FPL padlock, plus 'a sign noting the location of the disconnect switch ... installed at the meter' and a separate warning sign that both sides of the switch may be energized. Tier 1 systems (≤10 kW, i.e. most residential rooftop PV) using inverters listed to UL 1741 are explicitly exempted from that separate switch and its signage. LCEC's published net-metering page does not itself spell out an equivalent placard/label specification in the material I could access (it links to a PDF application/compliance form and an electric-service handbook I was not able to open the content of in this run). 68% · utility net-metering guidelines
• Where must the labels be placed? At each PV disconnect (per the Electrical Diagram's 'Disconnects' item, per Lee County); at the point of interconnection with electrical/water service (per the required Site Plan); and, in FPL territory for Tier 2/3 systems only, at the meter socket noting the disconnect location. 65% · County permit/application guide + FPL guidelines

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 rule, not a County rule. FPL (Tier 2/3, >10 kW): manual disconnect switch 'mounted separate from, but adjacent to, the FPL meter socket,' readily accessible to FPL and lockable with a single FPL padlock. FPL Tier 1 (≤10 kW, most residential rooftop PV) using UL-1741-listed inverters is exempt from that separate switch — the inverter's integral disconnect, sited per NEC, suffices. LCEC's equivalent specification was not retrieved in this run (its published net-metering page links to PDFs whose content I could not open). 65% · utility net-metering guidelines
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? No Lee County-specific approved-equipment list was found; the general NEC/FBC requirement that equipment be listed and labeled for its installed use (NEC 110.3) is the applicable standard 55% · County permit/application guide (absence)
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Not addressed by Lee County's Solar-Photovoltaic Guide — the eConnect 'Type of Permit' field for a Solar record offers only Photovoltaic, System Pool & Water Heater, Pool Heater, Rooftop HVAC Collector, and Water Heater; there is no Battery/ESS option. Batteries would therefore need to be reviewed under Lee County's general Electrical trade permit and/or Florida Fire Prevention Code (NFPA 1, which incorporates NFPA 855 stationary-ESS provisions by reference) rather than under the Solar-PV record type itself. 58% · County permit/application guide (absence)
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? Not established as a separate permit/inspection type by the Solar-Photovoltaic Guide; no distinct ESS permit or ESS-specific inspection code was found (the SelecTXT/IVR inspection-code list has no Battery/ESS code — the closest PV-adjacent codes are 207 Solar Final and 305 Electrical Final) 55% · County inspection-code brochure (absence)
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Yes, effectively — a ground-mounted PV system triggers a '101 Foundation/Footing' inspection (not required for roof-mount) and must comply with the general structural wind-load standard for structures (ASCE 7 §1609.1) rather than the roof-mounted-system-specific provision (ASCE 7 §1510.7.1) that applies to rooftop PV. 72% · County permit/application guide
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? Not found — no Lee County-specific local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing for PV was located 40% · County permit/application guide
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? No named mounting system or attachment-spacing standard, but a governing weight limit: Weight Limit Documentation must verify the system has a distributed weight of less than 5 pounds per square foot AND less than 45 pounds per attachment point to the roof. 82% · County permit/application guide

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 (eConnect, 24/7) or Phone (Automated Inspection System / IVR, 239-533-8997); a text-message ('SelecTXT') option to 855-527-1863 is also offered 88% · County inspection-scheduling brochure + Solar-PV Guide

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 — Lee County DCD performs its own final solar inspections (207 Solar Final, 305 Electrical Final, plus 101 Foundation/Footing for ground-mount) for permits it issues, i.e. within unincorporated Lee County 85% · County permit/application guide
• If delegated, to whom? Not delegated for County-issued permits, but the applicant may elect a licensed private provider under FS 553.791 instead of a County inspector ('Private Provider Inspections' is a Yes/No field on the eConnect application). Separately, this is not the AHJ for the six self-permitting municipalities (Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, Sanibel, Fort Myers Beach), each of which inspects its own permits. 80% · County permit/application guide

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? Roof-mounted PV: 207 Solar Final, then 305 Electrical Final. Ground-mounted PV: 101 Foundation/Footing first, then 207 Solar Final and 305 Electrical Final. 90% · County permit/application guide
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? No for roof-mounted PV — only the two Final inspections (207 Solar Final, 305 Electrical Final) are listed, with no rough-in/mid-roof stage. For ground-mounted PV, the 101 Foundation/Footing inspection functions as an equivalent early-stage inspection, but that is specific to the foundation scope, not a general rough-in of the array. 72% · County permit/application guide + inspection-code brochure

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? The Permit, the Approved Plans, and the Manufacturers' Specifications are required to be onsite during the inspection 88% · County permit/application guide
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Not stated explicitly in the Solar-Photovoltaic Guide, but implied — the guide requires 'The Permit, Approved Plans and Manufacturers' Specifications' to be onsite at inspection, which an inspector would use to check installed equipment/labels against the approved submittal and the NEC 2020 marking requirements 50% · County permit/application guide (inference)

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? Certificate of Compliance (for a stand-alone solar permit on an existing structure) — issued once all required inspections have passed and all outstanding conditional documents/fees are satisfied, closing the permit 85% · County permit/application guide
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? Installer/customer — Lee County's own permit process does not notify the utility. FPL's own Net Metering Guidelines direct the customer to 'provide a copy of the approved permit or a screen print from the local authority's website' along with confirmation of a passed inspection before FPL will install the required bi-directional meter and grant Permission to Operate. 68% · utility net-metering guidelines
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $50 per inspection 85% · current fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? For application/plan-review corrections: a consolidated 'Notice of Rejection' is emailed to the applicant identifying specific points of failure; the applicant has 30 days to correct and resubmit (via eConnect, with attachments kept under the same file names for correct versioning; or in person for paper applications), with a cover letter addressing each point of failure required with the resubmittal. For inspection-stage corrections, the guide does not describe a distinct process beyond the $50 re-inspection fee applying when work fails or is not ready. 75% · County permit/application guide