Martin 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, for unincorporated Martin County 88% · authority's own page
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both — a single combined Building Permit covers the electrical (and any structural) scope; no separate 'electrical department' 72% · department checklist
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes 95% · authority's own page
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Combined — one Building Permit Application carries the electrical scope 68% · department checklist
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No — not required as a county permitting precondition 68% · state statute
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No separate 'windstorm certification' step for residential PV; standard wind-load design-pressure review and the FL Product Approval (61G20-3 F.A.C.) system are folded into the ordinary structural plan review 62% · department checklist

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 Florida-certified/registered electrical or solar contractor (FS 489.105(3)(o), 489.505), or the homeowner as owner-builder for their own single-family residence (FS 489.503(6)) 70% · department checklist + state statute
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes 78% · department page
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes 85% · department page

Almost everywhere wants a site plan, a one-line or three-line electrical diagram, equipment cut sheets with listings, and a structural attachment detail. Build it against the published checklist rather than the last jurisdiction you worked in — the checklist is what the reviewer marks against.

• What documents make up a complete submittal? No dedicated PV submittal checklist is published. By analogy to the Electrical and Generator checklists: Building Permit Application, Owner/Builder Disclosure Statement (if applicable), Electrical Schematic Diagram, Electrical Load Calculations, and — for roof-mounted arrays — either engineered/sealed roof-attachment drawings or the county's own 'Solar Panel Roof Attachment Inspection Affidavit' in lieu; ground-mount or other accessory-structure PV would additionally need a survey/site plan per the Miscellaneous Residential Structure Checklist. 60% · department checklist (inferred)
• How many copies, and in what format? Digital only — submitted through Accela Citizen Access (ACA) plus the ePermitHub 'Digital Plan Room'; no physical-copy count is published 62% · department page
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? For ground-mount/accessory-structure PV, yes — a signed & sealed survey/site plan showing NAVD elevations, drainage, flood zone, setbacks to all sides, and easements/buffers. No PV-specific statement found for roof-mount-only systems. 58% · department checklist
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Yes — an 'Electrical Schematic Diagram' showing existing and proposed electric, conduit, wire, panels, etc. is required 80% · department checklist
• Are string and conductor calculations required? An Electrical Load Calculations form is required; it is a general service-load form (not PV-string-specific) 65% · department form
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No numeric $ or size threshold is published. Martin's own 'Solar Panel Roof Attachment Inspection Affidavit' lets a licensed inspector, PE, or architect certify the roof attachment in lieu of a project-specific structural PE stamp; where plans exceed manufacturer product-approval data, a sealed structural evaluation is implied by the general 'Complete Set of Sealed Plans' requirement (Ch. 471/481 F.S.). 55% · department form (inferred)
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No numeric threshold published; 'Engineered Drawings...certified with a raised seal by a Florida licensed Engineer' is listed as a standing item (not threshold-gated) on the Electrical Checklist 58% · department checklist

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? Accela Citizen Access (ACA) Portal, paired with the ePermitHub 'Digital Plan Room' for electronic plan review 90% · department page
• Can the whole application be completed online? Yes 80% · department page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? Valuation-tiered: $75 building fee + $25 plan review under $25,000; $100 + $100 from $25,001–$50,000; $250 + $200 from $50,001–$150,000; 0.20% + 0.20% (or 0.18% above $500,000) of construction cost above that — plus $75 per inspection. If a Private Provider is used for plan review/inspection, residential plan-review and inspection fees are reduced 100%. 85% · published fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Valuation (tiered on cost of construction, with the private-provider route zeroing residential plan-review/inspection fees) 88% · published fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes — a separate 'Plan Review' fee line exists at every cost tier, distinct from the 'Building Fee' 90% · published 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 Martin-specific number published; the binding statutory cap is FS 553.792: 5 business days for an existing single-family dwelling's electrical work under $15,000, otherwise 30 business days (structures <7,500 sq ft), with a 10-business-day cap on review of resubmitted revisions. 72% · state statute
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? At least 1 year (365 days) for a county-issued single-family-dwelling permit (state-law floor); Martin's own process separately treats an un-issued APPLICATION as abandoned after 180 days (FBC 105.3.2), with 90-day extensions available, and offers a Permit Extension/Renewal Request form (3–5 business day processing) for an issued permit that has stalled. 75% · department form + state statute
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Florida Power & Light (FPL) 72% · utility's own page + absence in county utility scope
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? After permit / parallel — FPL will not grant Permission to Operate until the customer provides proof that the local building official has inspected and certified the installation 80% · utility interconnection agreement

The NEC edition a jurisdiction enforces is often a cycle behind the newest one published, and local amendments sit on top of it. Rapid shutdown, conductor sizing and labelling all change between editions, so the edition in force is the first thing to establish, not the last.

• Which NEC edition is in force? 2020 NEC 92% · department form
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023) 95% · department checklist
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code, 8th Edition (2023), based on NFPA 1 and NFPA 101 with Florida amendments, effective 31 Dec 2023 76% · state fire marshal page
• What is the installation judged against? Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023), including the 2020 NEC as adopted electrical standard 90% · department checklist

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 Martin County 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 per NEC 2020 §690.12, since NEC 2020 is the electrical code Martin has adopted (via FBC 8th Ed. 2023) 75% · inferred from adopted code edition

The NEC sets a baseline for permanent markings at the service equipment and the disconnecting means. On top of that, an authority may specify its own wording, and the utility may specify more again. Where any of them writes its own text, a generic off-the-shelf label set will not pass — this is the detail most often fixed on a return visit.

• Which placards does this authority require at the service equipment? No PV-specific placard list published by Martin; NEC 2020 labeling (e.g., §690.13, 690.56, 705.12 disconnect marking) applies by default through code adoption 58% · absence + inferred from adopted code
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No — Martin does not publish its own placard wording 65% · absence, documented
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes — FPL requires a manual disconnect switch mounted adjacent to its meter socket, and if that is not practical, a 'permanent weather-proof plaque adjacent to FPL's meter socket indicating the location of the manual disconnect switch' 82% · utility interconnection agreement
• Where must the labels be placed? The FPL-required manual disconnect switch/plaque must sit adjacent to the FPL meter socket (or, if relocated, the plaque must be posted at the meter socket identifying the disconnect's actual location); no separate AHJ-specified label-placement rule was found. 75% · utility interconnection agreement

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? Mounted separate from, but immediately adjacent to, the FPL meter socket (with a location plaque at the meter if relocated elsewhere) 88% · utility interconnection agreement
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? No PV-specific approved-equipment list. Florida's product-approval system (Rule 61G20-3, F.A.C.) that Martin's own Product Approval Checklist implements covers building-envelope items (windows, doors, garage doors, roofing, skylights, shutters, panel walls) — PV modules/inverters are not one of its listed categories. 58% · department form
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Likely yes for ground-mount racking — Martin routes ground-mounted accessory equipment through its 'Miscellaneous Residential Structure Checklist,' which requires a survey/site plan with setbacks, but no document names PV ground mounts specifically. 50% · department checklist (inferred)
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? No numeric spacing table published. Martin's own affidavit requires only that 'the solar panel roof installation was completed in accordance with the current edition of the Florida Building Code and the approved construction documents' — i.e., judged against the approved (usually manufacturer-engineered) plans rather than a prescriptive county spacing rule. 55% · department form

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 (Accela Citizen Access) or Phone/Text (SMS to 202-937-0892) 88% · department page
• How much notice is required? No fixed 'X business days' notice is published; texting instructions state that if no date is specified, the inspection defaults to the following working day — implying effectively next-business-day scheduling is normal. 62% · department form
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? All-day window only — no AM/PM slot is offered 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 (with an optional Delegated route) 78% · department page
• If delegated, to whom? A Florida-licensed Private Provider (professional engineer, architect, or licensed building inspector) engaged by the owner/contractor under FS 553.791; for roof-mounted PV attachment specifically, Martin's own Solar Panel Roof Attachment Inspection Affidavit lets a 'licensed inspector, Engineer, or Architect' certify the work in lieu of a county inspection. 85% · department 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? Not published for PV specifically. By analogy to the Electrical/Generator checklists: final electrical inspection is required, plus (for roof-mount) either a county roof-attachment inspection or the Solar Panel Roof Attachment Affidavit filed in lieu of it; a rough-in stage would apply only if new service equipment is installed. 55% · department checklist (inferred)

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 82% · absence, documented with controls
• What must be on site at inspection? Not published specifically for PV. Standard FBC practice (Ch. 1, §105.7) requires the approved permit card/placard and approved plans to be available at the job site; no Martin-specific PV job-site posting list was found. 58% · inferred from adopted code
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Not stated explicitly, but implied — final electrical inspections generally confirm NEC/FBC compliance, which includes equipment listing and required labeling 55% · inferred

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? Final (inspection approval/permit closure) — a new Certificate of Occupancy is not typically issued for PV added to an existing single-family home 55% · inferred
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? Installer, on the Customer's behalf — FPL's own tariff places the notification duty on 'the Customer,' who must provide proof of the local building official's inspection/certification before FPL will energize/allow parallel operation 75% · utility interconnection agreement
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $75 (same as the standard per-inspection fee) 65% · published fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? Via the county's 'Revisions – Corrections Request Form,' checked for Condition of Approval, Correction (permit denied), or Revision (change to an issued permit); resubmittals are cleared by the plan reviewer, subject to FS 553.792's 10-business-day review cap on revisions. 78% · department form