St. Johns 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 the unincorporated area — St. Johns County Building Services (Growth Management Dept.) is the AHJ for residential solar in unincorporated St. Johns County, including Ponte Vedra, Nocatee and the former Town of Hastings. City of St. Augustine and City of St. Augustine Beach are separate, self-permitting AHJs within the county boundary and are NOT under county jurisdiction for building/electrical. 90% · county department page + LDC + city department pages
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both — St. Johns County Building Services self-performs Building AND Electrical plan review, permitting and inspection for unincorporated-county residential PV; not delegated to a private provider by default (though FS 553.791 private-provider review is available as an applicant option, evidenced by the 'PPI/PPR/Notice to B.O./Plan Review affidavit' line on the county's own PV checklist). 85% · county checklist / routing form
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes, a permit is required for residential rooftop PV. 90% · county department page
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Practically combined for PV, though the general building-permit application states electrical is normally a separate permit. The county's PV checklist itself has a checkbox 'Electrical Permit Application Included: Yes / No', meaning the standard PV submittal folds the electrical permit application into the same PV package rather than requiring the applicant to file it as a wholly separate, unrelated transaction. 70% · county PV checklist + county building permit application
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No — a homeowners' association cannot prohibit solar collectors and cannot be a prerequisite to permit issuance. An HOA/ACC may only regulate the specific roof location within limits (south-facing, or within 45° east/west of due south) provided that does not impair system performance. 85% · state statute
• Is there a historic-district review? No, not for an ordinary residential parcel in the unincorporated county — St. Johns County's Cultural Resources Preservation program (LDC Article III, Part 3.01.00) only imposes Certificate-of-Appropriateness review on properties specifically designated 'St. Johns County Landmarks' or 'Significant Cultural Resources' by the Cultural Resource Review Board, not as a blanket historic-district overlay across the county. (Note: the City of St. Augustine, a separate self-permitting AHJ, DOES have a county-wide-famous Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB) affecting buildings over 50 years old within city limits — but that is the city's process, not the county's, and out of scope for the unincorporated-county AHJ this record covers.) 75% · county Land Development Code, Article III
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No county- or state-mandated 'wind certification' document equivalent to Texas's TDI process was found; wind-load compliance for PV racking/attachments is handled through the standard Florida Building Code structural review — evidenced by the county's checklist requirement for a Structural Engineering Letter on every roof-mounted PV system, which is where wind-uplift (ASCE 7-22, adopted per the county's own code page) is actually verified. 60% · county checklist + building codes/standards page
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? No, not for a standard residential rooftop PV installation — nothing in the county's PV checklist, fee schedule, or the LDC's Use Regulations (Article IV, searched directly for 'solar' — zero hits, with 'electrical' as a working positive control and a fabricated control returning zero) requires a Special Use Permit or Board of County Commissioners approval for rooftop residential PV. Ground-mount and larger/commercial-scale systems were not separately confirmed and may be treated differently under other zoning-district rules. 55% · county Land Development Code, Article IV (control-tested absence)
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No hard legal size cap found in the LDC for residential rooftop generation. FPL's own net-metering tier boundary (Tier 1 = <=10 kW AC) is a billing/interconnection-process tier, not a zoning or building-code size limit — systems above 10 kW AC are still permittable, they simply move to FPL's Tier 2 process (with a $400 utility application fee) rather than being prohibited. 55% · utility interconnection agreement + county LDC (absence)

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 licensed electrical/solar contractor (state-certified, registered with the county), or the property owner as an owner-builder under the county's Owner-Builder Affidavit. 70% · county owner-builder affidavit form
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes — any contractor (state-certified or county-licensed) must register with St. Johns County Contractor Licensing before pulling permits. 75% · county contractor licensing page
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes — homeowner self-install/self-permit (owner-builder) is available via the county's Owner-Builder Affidavit, subject to FS 489.103(7) exemptions. 65% · county owner-builder affidavit form

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? Per the county's current Photovoltaic Energy Check List: a Completed Clearance Sheet with Approved Site Plan (ground-mounted systems only); Completed Building Permit Application (FBC 105.3); (2) copies of PV Worksheet; (2) copies of Photovoltaic System Specifications; (2) copies of One-Line Diagram including AC/DC grounding electrode requirements; (2) copies of Structural Engineering Letter (roof-mounted systems only); Contractor Verification (license/workers comp/liability per FS 489, $50 fee); recorded Notice of Commencement (FS 713.135) before first inspection; and, if used, Private Provider Services documentation (FS 553.791). 90% · county checklist (current, pdftotext-extracted)
• How many copies, and in what format? Two (2) copies of most technical submittal items (PV Worksheet, System Specifications, One-Line Diagram, Structural Engineering Letter) per the PV checklist; separately, the county's general online-permitting portal (WATSWebX) accepts electronic PDF submittals for electrical/mechanical/plumbing trade permits via a Private Account. 70% · county checklist + building permits page
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes for ground-mounted systems only — the checklist requires a 'Completed Clearance Sheet with Approved Site Plan' specifically flagged '(Ground Mounted Systems Only)'. Roof-mounted systems are not shown requiring a separate site plan on the PV checklist. 80% · county checklist
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Yes — '(2) Copies of One Line Diagram including AC/DC Grounding Electrode Req.' is a required checklist item for every PV submittal (not flagged ground-mount-only or roof-mount-only). 90% · county checklist
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Not itemized as a distinct requirement on the county's checklist; string/conductor sizing is presumably folded into the required '(2) Copies of Photovoltaic System Specifications' rather than called out as its own calculation package. 55% · county checklist
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Yes, for all roof-mounted systems — the checklist requires '(2) Copies of Structural Engineering Letter (Roof Mounted Systems Only)' with no stated valuation, wattage or weight threshold; i.e., every roof-mount PV permit needs one regardless of system size. 80% · county 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? WATSWebX (webapp.sjcfl.us/watswebx) — the county's own online permitting/status/inspection-scheduling system. 90% · county portal page
• Can the whole application be completed online? Partially — 'Online Permitting is available for mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractors' via a Private Account on WATSWebX, but the building/structural side of a PV application (Clearance Sheet, PV checklist routing, structural letter) is processed by Building Department staff and is not described as a fully self-service online application. 75% · county department page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? Approximately $112 minimum for a straightforward residential rooftop PV building permit: Permit Issuance ($11, minimum permit fee $35) + Photovoltaic Permit ($24) + Inspection Fee ($53) = $112, plus Plan Review Fee at $37/hour if hourly plan review is triggered. (A separate Thermal Permit fee of $24 applies only to solar water/pool heating, not PV.) 80% · current fee schedule (amended 21 Jul 2026)
• How is the fee calculated? Flat — the Solar Permit Fees section lists fixed dollar amounts per line item (Permit Issuance, Photovoltaic Permit, Inspection Fee), not a valuation-, per-kW- or per-panel-based formula. 80% · current fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes — 'Plan Review Fee: $37.00 per hour' is listed as its own line, separate from Permit Issuance and the Photovoltaic Permit fee. 85% · 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? No county-published solar-specific turnaround figure found on the county's own Building Department, Building Permits or Development Review pages (checked all three). The governing floor is state law: FS 553.792 (as amended by HB 803 / Ch. 2026-63, effective 1 Jul 2026) requires a local-government plans reviewer to approve/deny within 5 business days for an existing single-family dwelling's electrical permit valued under $15,000, and within 30 business days otherwise — most residential PV exceeds $15,000 in permit valuation, so the 30-business-day statutory track usually governs absent a county-specific faster commitment. 65% · enrolled state bill text (Ch. 2026-63, eff. 1 Jul 2026)
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? One year after permit issuance, or the effective date of the next Florida Building Code edition, whichever is later (this is a new statutory floor, not previously in place) — plus, independently, the county's own Building Permit Application states permits become 'null and void' if work has not commenced, or is suspended/abandoned, for 6 months. 85% · enrolled state bill text (FS 125.56(4)(d)) + county building permit application
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Florida Power & Light (FPL) is the predominant utility across most of St. Johns County, including St. Augustine and most of the unincorporated county. JEA (Jacksonville's municipal utility) serves the northern edge of the county (Nocatee/Palm Valley area), and reporting also mentions Jacksonville Beach's Beaches Energy Services touching parts of Ponte Vedra — so the correct utility must be confirmed per address rather than assumed county-wide. 55% · FPL net metering guidelines + secondary corroboration (utility boundary not independently mapped)
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? Parallel, with real dependencies at both ends — FPL's own guidance says the customer must 'complete an application, interconnect agreement, obtain a building permit' (interconnection paperwork alongside/before the permit), and then after construction, 'provide a copy of the approved permit or a screen print from the local authority's website indicating the permit has been approved' with electrical/mechanical inspection sign-off, before FPL will proceed to final approval/PTO. 80% · utility DG/net-metering guidelines page

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 (8th Edition). 95% · county department page
• Which building code edition is in force? 2023 Florida Building Code, 8th Edition. 95% · county department page
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes, at least one local timing amendment exists: the county's Building Codes and Standards page states 'Projects that will be permitted after December 31, 2023 will utilize the wind design load from ASCE 7-2022' — a locally-stated implementation detail layered onto the state-adopted FBC 8th Edition. 60% · county department page
• What is the installation judged against? The 2023 Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (referencing FBC 105.3 for the permit-application requirement) and the 2020 NEC, 8th Edition, per the county's own code-adoption page and the PV checklist's citation of 'FBC Section 105.3.' 90% · county department page + PV 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 St. Johns 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 is required under NEC 690.12, which is part of the 2020 NEC (8th Edition) the county enforces. 80% · inferred from adopted NEC edition

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

• Which placards does this authority require at the service equipment? The county's own checklist does not itemize specific placards; the applicable placards come from the utility (FPL) and the adopted 2020 NEC: an FPL-required sign at the meter noting the manual AC-disconnect location (Tier 2/3 systems), a permanent weatherproof/UV-resistant engraved placard for general DG labeling, and — if a battery is installed — a placard stating 'Battery storage utilized in this facility' permanently affixed to the meter enclosure. 75% · utility Electric Service Standards manual
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? Yes, but only from the utility, not the county — FPL specifies exact wording for the battery placard: "Battery storage utilized in this facility." The county's own PV checklist and fee schedule do not specify placard wording of their own. 70% · utility Electric Service Standards manual
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? FPL requires labels to be a 'permanent and weatherproof/UV resistant placard with engraved letters' — material and durability are specified, but no specific letter height or color is given, either by FPL or by the county. 65% · utility Electric Service Standards manual
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? Not addressed by any St. Johns County document found; a site plan / facility map placard at service equipment (paralleling NEC 705.10) would be a function of the adopted 2020 NEC rather than a county-specific requirement, and no county bulletin interprets or restates that NEC section. 50% · county checklist (silent on this point)
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes — FPL's Electric Service Standards (Section XIII, Distributed Generation) impose labeling, disconnect-switch placement, and battery-placard requirements that go well beyond anything the county itself publishes for PV. 85% · utility Electric Service Standards manual
• Where must the labels be placed? Per FPL: the manual AC-disconnect location sign goes at/adjacent to the FPL meter socket; the battery-storage placard is 'permanently affixed to the meter enclosure.' No additional county-specified label locations were found. 75% · utility Electric Service Standards 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? For FPL Tier 2/3 systems (>10 kW AC): the manual AC disconnect must be mounted separate from, but within 10 feet of, and readily accessible to, the FPL meter socket. For Tier 1 (<=10 kW AC, the great majority of residential PV), FPL's ESS manual does not require this separate FPL-side disconnect switch at all. 85% · utility Electric Service Standards manual
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Not via a county-published 'approved products list' — equipment must simply be UL-listed per the adopted NEC, and FPL separately requires inverters be 'certified UL 1741 SA and IEEE 1547 grid interactive' for interconnection (denial follows if not UL-certified). 65% · utility Electric Service Standards manual
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Yes, batteries are permitted, under FPL's stated conditions: battery storage behind the meter must be NRTL-certified to UL 1741 (or DC-coupled behind a UL 1741-listed device if not itself certified), and must carry the 'Battery storage utilized in this facility' placard. Batteries paired with renewable generation may not export power to the grid; standalone backup-only batteries need no FPL interconnection agreement but the customer is responsible for preventing back-feed to the grid. 80% · utility Electric Service Standards manual
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? No separate ESS-specific permit type was found — St. Johns County's fee schedule and PV checklist have no distinct battery/ESS line item; a battery appears to be permitted as part of the same electrical/building permit package as the PV system itself. 50% · current fee schedule (no ESS line found)
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Yes — a ground-mounted system is treated similarly to a structure: it requires an 'Approved Site Plan' per the PV checklist (a requirement not imposed on roof-mount), and the county's Land Development Code (Article V, Sec. 5.11.05.C, at least for the PUD/subdivision district that section governs) explicitly groups 'solar panels' with other mechanical-equipment installations subject to accessory-structure-style setbacks (may project into required rear yard but not within 5 feet of any lot line, and may not project into front/side yards). 70% · county LDC Article V + PV checklist
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? No county-published prescriptive mounting/attachment-spacing table found; the county instead requires a case-by-case Structural Engineering Letter for every roof-mounted PV system (per the PV checklist), which is where attachment spacing and wind-uplift resistance are actually specified and reviewed. 50% · county 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? Phone (IVR, touch-tone) or Online (requires a Private Account on the county's WATSWebX portal). 90% · county department page
• How much notice is required? Effectively same-day if booked early: the county's own guidance is 'Inspections scheduled before 7:00 a.m. will be performed on the same day' — meaning no multi-day advance notice is required, only that the request be in before 7 a.m. on the desired day. 85% · county department page
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? Same-day is offered (if scheduled before 7:00 a.m.); the county's page does not mention AM/PM time-window options. 75% · county 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 county performs its own final building/electrical inspections for solar in the unincorporated area using its own state-licensed inspectors; not delegated. 90% · county department page
• If delegated, to whom? N/A — not delegated; the county performs its own inspections (see Q52). 90% · county department page

A rough-in or mid-roof inspection, where one is required, has to happen before the work it covers is closed up. Missing a stage means opening something back up, and it is the most expensive kind of correction.

• Which inspections are required, and in what order? For a typical roof-mount PV retrofit: Rough Electrical (code 203) then Electrical Final (code 204) — folded into the general 'Complete Rough' (100) and 'Final' (123) umbrella inspections if other trades are on the same permit. Ground-mount systems would additionally trigger the standard structural sequence (Foundation/Footing 101, etc.) as applicable to the mount's foundation design. 75% · county inspection-codes reference (no PV-specific line; inferred from standard electrical sequence)
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? Yes, in the general sense that a Rough Electrical (203) inspection precedes Electrical Final (204) for any electrical permit, PV included; there is no PV-specific 'mid-roof' inspection code on the county's list. 65% · county inspection-codes reference

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 dedicated PV inspection checklist is published — the county's 'Inspection Descriptions' and 'Inspection Codes' PDFs (both current, Jan 2026) cover general trade inspections with no solar/PV-specific line item. 80% · county inspection-codes/descriptions PDFs (control-tested absence)
• What must be on site at inspection? The Permit Card and (if the project exceeded the Notice-of-Commencement threshold) the recorded Notice of Commencement must be posted on site; the reviewed Construction Documents must be available on site and kept in good condition; and the permit holder must provide safe, unobstructed access to the work being inspected. 90% · county department page
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Not explicitly published, but standard practice under NEC-compliance inspection would have the inspector verify equipment labeling/listing (e.g., disconnect labels, rapid-shutdown labels, UL-listed equipment) as part of the Electrical Final. No county document states this outright for PV. 50% · county inspection-descriptions reference (silent on labels specifically)

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? A passed Final inspection sign-off (Electrical Final / Building Final, inspection codes 204/125) — the county separately states 'It is unlawful to occupy any building before a Certificate of Occupancy/Completion has been issued,' but for a PV retrofit on an already-occupied existing home, the operative pass document is the approved final inspection itself rather than a new CO. 65% · county department page
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? The installer/customer notifies FPL for PTO, by submitting the approved permit (or a screen print from the county's permit-status site showing the permit approved with electrical/mechanical inspection sign-off) to FPL after construction is complete. 80% · utility DG/net-metering guidelines page
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $53.00, by analogy to every other trade's explicit 'Re-inspection Fee' line ($53 for Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical) — though the Solar Permit Fees section itself lists only a single 'Inspection Fee: $53.00' without a separately labeled 'Re-inspection Fee' line the way the other trade sections do. 55% · current fee schedule (ambiguous line item)
• How are corrections issued and cleared? An inspector who disapproves an inspection provides a correction list; the permit holder must make the required corrections and have the correction list on site before requesting re-inspection (to avoid a service fee), and can contact the assigned inspector directly with questions about what corrections are required. 80% · county department page