Town of Cinco Bayou

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? No. The Town of Cinco Bayou is NOT the AHJ for residential solar. Okaloosa County Growth Management (Building Division) issues the building and electrical permits, does the plan review and does the inspections at every address inside the town limits, under an interlocal agreement. The Town retains a MANDATORY pre-permit step of its own: a written Town of Cinco Bayou Approval Letter must be obtained before any plan submittal or permit can be issued, and the County will not issue until it has that approval. 93% · town permit page + town LDC + county interlocal permit guide
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Delegated. Building and electrical permitting, plan review and inspection are all Okaloosa County's. What the Town keeps: (1) a Town of Cinco Bayou Approval Letter required before any building permit, sub permit OR stand-alone sub permit; (2) land-development review and the development order / letter of authorisation under its own LDC; (3) sign-off (signature) on certified foundation surveys before the County will issue a C.O.; (4) a Town inspection of drainage, sidewalks and setbacks at final on NEW construction (single-family and commercial), after which the Town issues an approval letter to Growth Management. 91% · county interlocal permit guide (May 2025)
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. A permit is required, and it is issued by Okaloosa County, not by the Town. 85% · county administrative construction code
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Separate. Okaloosa County structures the job as a master permit with trade sub-permits; the residential electrical permit is its own sub-permit with its own application form carrying a 'Master Permit #' field, and the fee schedule charges 'a base fee of $70.00 ... for all building permits and each sub-permit'. 75% · county fee schedule + county electrical permit form
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No. Neither the Town nor the County requires HOA or architectural approval before a permit. The Town's LDC s.1.10.00 says only that the Code 'does not repeal, abrogate or interfere with any existing easements, covenants or deed restrictions duly recorded in the public records of the town or Okaloosa County' - a private covenant is left as a private matter, not made a permit precondition. 70% · town land development code
• Is there a historic-district review? No. There is no historic district and no historic-preservation review in the Town of Cinco Bayou. 80% · town code of ordinances (full-text pass)
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No separate windstorm certification permit. Wind design is folded into the Florida Building Code: the County lists 'ASCE 7-22 Wind Design Criteria (Referenced in the 2023 Florida Building Code)' among its adopted codes, and County Code s.6-3 establishes local wind-borne debris and wind-speed contour lines (120 mph, 130 mph and 140 mph) across the county, with linear interpolation between contours permitted by the applicant's architect or engineer. Florida Product Approval sheets are required for regulated components. 60% · county adopted codes + wind-borne debris ordinance
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? Not for rooftop PV. The Town's LDC s.3.03.01 lets a construction permit issue without a final development order where 'alterations will not alter gross floor area or enlarge the size of any building or sign and the alterations will not result in a change of use of any structure or change/add to the impervious surface of the site' - a roof-mounted array meets all three. A GROUND mount that adds impervious surface would not, and would fall into the Town's development-plan review, going to the Town Manager for a minor development or to the Town Council / board of adjustment for a variance or special exception. 65% · town land development code
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No local cap - neither the Town nor the County caps residential generation. The binding limits are FPL's: the system must be estimated to produce less than 115 percent of the customer's annual kWh consumption; gross power rating must not exceed 90 percent of the customer's utility distribution service rating; and Tier 1 (the no-fee, no-disconnect-switch tier) is 10 kW AC or less, where AC rating = DC nameplate x 0.85. Systems exceeding 90 percent of existing service capacity 'may incur additional expense'. 80% · utility interconnection guidelines

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 state-certified electrical contractor (FS 489.505), or a contractor holding an Okaloosa County certificate of competency in the electrical field who has also purchased the county licence and carries the required insurance. A homeowner may pull it for their own single-family or duplex residence under the owner's-privilege exemption. 88% · county electrical contractor licensing ordinance
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes, with Okaloosa County - unless the contractor is state-certified. A state-certified contractor needs no county certificate of competency; anyone else must hold a county certificate of competency in the field, purchase the county licence, be in good standing with the department and carry the required insurance before they can secure permits. Nothing is registered with the Town. 85% · county licensing ordinance
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes. Florida's owner-builder exemption applies: an owner may act as their own contractor for a single-family or duplex residence for their own use and occupancy, and may install the electrical wiring. Okaloosa County requires the owner to PERSONALLY APPEAR at the building department to sign the Owner Builder Statement/Affidavit. 85% · county owner-builder affidavit

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? Two-stage. STAGE 1, Town: obtain a Town of Cinco Bayou Approval Letter from Town Hall (10 Yacht Club Drive, 850-833-3405; Deputy Clerk Linda Barringer, Town Manager Keith Williams) before any plan submittal. STAGE 2, County, through the CSS portal: completed building permit application (must comply with FS 713.135(5) and (6)), proof of the Town approval letter, proof of property ownership, construction documents to FBC 107 signed by the person responsible for the design, a plot/site plan, Florida Product Approval sheets for regulated components, Notice of Commencement where required, and the Owner Builder affidavit if self-permitting. There is NO published solar-specific submittal checklist at either the Town or the County. 60% · county plan review submittal handout + town permit page
• How many copies, and in what format? Electronic PDF upload through the County's CSS portal. Since Monday 3 November 2025 applicants 'must apply online using the Customer Service Support (CSS) portal'. The older paper practice (two sets of plans, three in North Okaloosa County so Fire gets one, one set returned and kept on the jobsite) is still what the County's 2012 Miscellaneous Construction submittal sheet describes. 70% · county permitting page + county submittal sheet
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes - a plot/site plan. The County's Plot/Site Plan Information handout requires: address/legal description; boundaries and shape of the parcel; dimensions of all property lines; location and orientation of all proposed buildings or structures; distances of all existing and proposed principal and accessory structures from property lines; adjacent streets, alleys, easements and drainage facilities; rights-of-way and encumbrances; finished floor elevation; crown elevations of adjacent roads; and all zoning or required setback areas. Minimum sheet 8.5 x 14 inches, drawn to scale with a north arrow. For accessory structures it may be drawn on an existing survey. 55% · county plot/site plan handout
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No local threshold. Florida law governs: drawings prepared by an engineer must be sealed per Fla. Admin. Code 61G15-23, drawings prepared by an architect per 61G-16, and a contractor may certify drawings under FBC 107.3.4.3 and FS 489.115(4)(b)2 for wind-load certification. Subcontractors licensed by the State of Florida may prepare drawings within their licence's scope where an engineer is not required. 60% · county plan review submittal handout
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No local threshold. The County's list of documents that must bear a professional engineer's seal includes item 5, 'Electrical documents. See Florida Statutes 471.003(2)(h)', and provides that documents requiring a seal are invalid unless a PE with a valid certificate of registration has signed, dated and stamped them per FS 471.025. The trigger is therefore the state statutory exemption line, not a local kW or amp threshold. 65% · county administrative construction code

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? Tyler EnerGov Customer Self Service (CSS), at energovweb.myokaloosa.com/energov_prod/selfservice - Okaloosa County's portal. The Town of Cinco Bayou has no portal of its own; its approval-letter step is handled at Town Hall. 95% · county permitting page / portal
• Can the whole application be completed online? No - not end to end. The County half is online and has been mandatory since 3 November 2025 ('applicants seeking licensing, building permits and development-related approvals must apply online using the Customer Service Support (CSS) portal'). But the Town of Cinco Bayou Approval Letter must be obtained from Town Hall first and is not in any portal, and an owner-builder must personally appear at the County building department to sign the affidavit. 80% · county permitting page + town permit page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? There is no published solar or PV fee line anywhere. The County charge is built up: $70 base fee per permit AND per sub-permit; plus the building permit fee from Table 1 on the cost of construction ($35 for the first $7,000 plus $5 per additional $1,000 up to $15,000; $75 for the first $15,000 plus $4 per additional $1,000 up to $50,000); plus the residential electrical sub-permit fee (service change $25-$75 by amp size, or miscellaneous wiring at $5.00 per circuit); plus a residential plans-examination fee of $25.00 or 20 percent of total permit cost, whichever is greater; plus state surcharges of 2.5 percent of the combined total, minimum $4.00. On a $25,000 rooftop retrofit taking a building permit plus an electrical sub-permit that lands around $400. SEPARATELY, the Town charges something of its own for its approval letter, but the amount is not published. 60% · county fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Valuation, for the building permit half - the County's Table 1 is a sliding scale on total valuation, and for work other than new buildings 'the valuation shall be the cost of construction'. The electrical sub-permit half is tiered/per-item (service amperage bands, or $5.00 per circuit for miscellaneous wiring). A flat $70 base fee sits on top of each permit and sub-permit. 80% · county fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes. Residential plans review is a separate fee: '$25.00 or 20 percent of the total permit cost, whichever is greater ... collected at time of permit issuance.' Re-submittals and addendums are $30.00 each. (Commercial is 25 percent and $75.00 - different numbers, do not mix them up.) 90% · county 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? Next business day for trade permits - the County's Permitting page states 'All trade permits, window permits, door permits, and roof/re-roof permits are processed in the Fast Lane and issued next day'. Otherwise the statutory outside limit applies: a building permit for a single-family residential dwelling 'must be issued within 30 working days of application therefor unless unusual circumstances require a longer time'. 65% · county permitting page + county administrative construction code
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? Two years, with two ways to lose it sooner: work must commence within six months of issuance, and failure to obtain an approved inspection within six months of the previous approved inspection also expires it. County Code 105.5: 'Unless extended as provided for herein, every permit issued shall expire after two (2) years.' 90% · county administrative construction code
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), Northwest Florida region - the former Gulf Power territory. Local office 140 Hollywood Blvd SW, Fort Walton Beach FL 32548; 800-225-5797. 90% · town budget + town services page + utility site
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? Before permit AND after inspection - the utility bookends the job. FPL: 'All interconnection applications must be approved prior to installation and operation of the renewable energy system', and 'The customer on the account must complete an application, interconnect agreement, obtain a building permit'. Then after construction the customer must give FPL a copy of the approved permit or a screen print from the local authority's site showing 'Electrical and mechanical inspection signed off / approved by the local inspector', before the bi-directional meter goes in. Operating the system before the new meter is installed is 'strictly prohibited'. Tier 1 also requires ten calendar days' notice before first placing equipment in service. 85% · utility interconnection guidelines + tariff 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 - NFPA 70, National Electrical Code, 2020 edition. 88% · county adopted codes list
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023). The County also lists the 2023 Florida Plumbing, Mechanical, Accessibility, Gas and Energy Conservation Codes, all 8th Edition. 92% · county adopted codes list
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code, 8th Edition (2023) - based on NFPA 1, Fire Code 2021 edition and NFPA 101, Life Safety Code 2021 edition. The local fire agency for Cinco Bayou is the Ocean City/Wright Fire Control District (233 Racetrack Rd NE, Fort Walton Beach; Division Chief/Fire Marshal Jennifer Arne, 850-862-1185 option 4, jlarne@ocwfcd.org). Fire inspections are NOT mandatory for one- and two-family detached dwellings: County Fire Ordinance 07-38 says 'EXCEPTION: One and two-family detached dwellings: Fire inspections will be performed for a fee at the request of the occupant/owner.' 80% · county fire district contact sheet + county fire ordinance
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes, but administrative only - nothing technical touches PV. Okaloosa County replaces FBC Chapter 1 wholesale with its own Administrative Construction Code (Code s.6-133) covering permits, fees, inspections and certificates, and adopts local wind-borne-debris/wind-speed contour lines in s.6-3. The Town of Cinco Bayou amends nothing: it adopts no building, electrical or fire code of its own (its Code Chapter 22, Fire Prevention and Protection, reads '(RESERVED)'). 80% · county administrative construction code + town code
• What is the installation judged against? The Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) and NFPA 70-2020, as adopted statewide under FS ch. 553 and listed by Okaloosa County, with no local technical amendment and no local PV standard. The County's Administrative Construction Code supplies only the administrative layer (permits, inspections, certificates). 85% · county adopted codes list

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 Town or County ridge-setback or access-pathway rule exists. The requirement comes from the Florida Fire Prevention Code 8th Edition (2023), based on NFPA 1 (2021), which the County lists as the fire code in force - no local amendment to it, and no PV section anywhere in the Town or County codes. 60% · county adopted codes list (fire code edition)

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 to the 2020 NEC (NFPA 70-2020, Article 690.12), which is the edition Okaloosa County lists as in force. Neither the Town nor the County amends or relaxes it. 75% · county adopted codes list (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? Neither the Town nor Okaloosa County specifies a placard set of its own - the labelling that applies is whatever NFPA 70-2020 requires. The only locally-specific placard requirements at the service equipment come from the UTILITY: FPL requires a permanent placard on the meter enclosure reading 'Battery storage utilized in this facility' where battery storage is installed, and, where a required manual disconnect switch is sited away from the meter, 'a permanent weather-proof plaque adjacent to FPL's meter socket indicating the location of the manual disconnect switch or switches'. 65% · utility guidelines + tariff agreement (AHJ absence proved)
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No. Neither the Town of Cinco Bayou nor Okaloosa County specifies placard wording of its own. FPL does - it specifies the exact phrase 'Battery storage utilized in this facility' for the meter-enclosure battery placard - but that is the utility, not the AHJ. 75% · town code + county code (full-text pass)
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? Nothing specified by either AHJ - no letter height, no colour, no material requirement at Town or County level. The only material specification anywhere in the chain is FPL's, which requires the remote-disconnect-location plaque to be 'permanent weather-proof'; FPL does not give letter height or colour either. 60% · utility tariff agreement (AHJ absence proved)
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? No AHJ-specific site plan or facility map placard requirement at either the Town or the County. What applies is NEC 2020 705.10, which requires a permanent plaque or directory at each service equipment location denoting the location of all electric power source disconnecting means - carried in through the 2020 NEC edition the County lists as in force, not through any local document. 55% · county adopted codes list (AHJ absence proved)
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes - FPL specifies placards the AHJ does not. (1) Battery storage: 'A placard must be permanently affixed to the meter enclosure stating "Battery storage utilized in this facility."' (2) Disconnect location: where a required manual disconnect is not adjacent to the meter, 'the customer shall install a permanent weather-proof plaque adjacent to FPL's meter socket indicating the location of the manual disconnect switch or switches'. (3) Disconnect warning: 'The disconnect switch should also have a warning sign indicating that both sides of the switch may be energized.' FPL asks to approve the verbiage and the sign location for a remote switch before final design. 85% · utility interconnection guidelines
• Where must the labels be placed? At and adjacent to the FPL meter. The battery placard goes permanently on the METER ENCLOSURE. The disconnect-location plaque goes adjacent to FPL's METER SOCKET. The warning sign goes on the disconnect SWITCH itself. Where a manual disconnect is required it is 'mounted separate from, but adjacent to, the FPL meter socket' and must stay readily accessible to FPL and lockable open with a single FPL padlock - it must not be inside a locked meter room. Neither the Town nor the County adds a placement rule of its own. 80% · utility interconnection guidelines + tariff 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? For a UL 1741 listed, inverter-based Tier 1 system (10 kW AC or less - the normal residential case) FPL requires NO customer-installed manual disconnect switch at all: 'U.L.1741 Listed, inverter-based Tier 1 customer-owned renewable generation systems do not require a customer-installed manual disconnect switch.' For Tier 2 and Tier 3 systems, and for Tier 1 systems that are not UL 1741 inverter based, a manual disconnect switch of the visible load break type 'shall be mounted separate from, but adjacent to, the FPL meter socket', must remain readily accessible to FPL at all times and be capable of being locked open with a single FPL utility padlock. If adjacent mounting is impractical, FPL and the customer may agree another location, and the customer must then fit a permanent weather-proof plaque next to the meter socket pointing to it. The switch should disengage only the renewable source, not the whole service. 90% · utility tariff agreement
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Yes, in effect - listing rather than a local approved-products list. FPL will only interconnect generation 'submitted by a manufacturer to a nationally recognized testing and certification laboratory, and ... tested and listed by the laboratory for continuous interactive operation with an electric distribution system in compliance with the applicable codes and standards of IEEE 1547, IEEE 1547.1, and UL 1741', and battery storage behind the meter 'must have a certification conducted by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) to the current UL 1741 standard'. Separately Okaloosa County requires Florida Product Approval numbers for regulated building components. 80% · utility tariff agreement + county product approval form
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Yes, permitted, with the conditions set by FPL rather than by the AHJ. Battery equipment behind the meter must be NRTL-certified to the current UL 1741 (non-certified batteries must be DC-coupled behind a UL 1741 listed device); a placard reading 'Battery storage utilized in this facility' must be permanently affixed to the meter enclosure. Batteries paired with customer-owned renewable generation are for the customer's own use and 'the customer may not export power from the battery to the grid'. A battery installed with no renewable generation and used purely as emergency backup may be grid-charged and needs NO interconnection agreement, but the customer is responsible for preventing back-feed. A battery with no renewable generation that charges from the grid and operates interconnected must be notified to FPL by a Small Generator Interconnection Application. Stand-alone storage is not 'renewable energy' under FPSC Rule 25-6.065(2)(d) and its output is not net metered. 75% · utility interconnection guidelines
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? No separate ESS permit type and no separate ESS inspection at Okaloosa County - an energy storage system falls under the ordinary electrical/building permit requirement of s.6-134(b)(2) ('erect, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert, or replace any electrical ... system'). There is no ESS line in the County fee schedule and no ESS provision in the County code. 55% · county fee schedule + county code
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Yes. Okaloosa County Code s.6-134(b)(1) defines it plainly: 'a structure is anything constructed or erected with fixed location on the ground, measuring 30 inches above natural grade. A structure may be a building, deck, sign, billboard, liquid storage tank, antenna or tower.' A ground-mounted array over 30 inches tall is therefore a structure needing a County permit. On the Town side a ground mount also loses the LDC s.3.03.01(B) exemption if it adds impervious surface, which pulls it into Town development-plan review as well. 75% · county building permit ordinance + town land development code
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? No local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing at either the Town or the County - NEC 2020 705.12 governs. The operative local constraint is the utility's: FPL limits gross power rating to 90 percent of the customer's utility distribution service rating, will upsize its own facilities for customer generation at the customer's expense, and 'will not increase the size of the distribution equipment greater than required for a renewable energy system designed to offset all of the customer's annual energy use'. A service change itself draws a County electrical sub-permit priced by amperage ($25 up to 100 A, $35 for 101-200 A, $50 for 201-400 A, $75 for 401-600 A). 65% · utility guidelines + county fee schedule
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? No local mounting or attachment-spacing requirement. What the County does require is Florida Product Approval documentation: a completed Product Approval Sheet naming manufacturer, product description and Florida approval number, signed and dated, with separate spec sheets for roofs and siding and for structural components. 55% · county product approval form + permit 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. Inspections are requested through Okaloosa County's Tyler EnerGov CSS self-service portal: sign in, View > My Permits, open the permit, then Available Actions or Inspections > Request Inspections, tick the inspections needed and submit with a requested date and a comments/gate-code note. 90% · county inspection how-to guide
• How much notice is required? Next business day is the soonest. The County's inspection how-to says of the requested date: '**The soonest we can accommodate is the next business day**'. 85% · county inspection how-to guide
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? No same-day inspections and no published AM/PM windows - the portal takes a requested DATE only, with a free-text comments/gate-code field, and assigns an inspector when scheduled. Out-of-hours work is possible but chargeable: 'Special request for evening or weekend inspections: $100.00 per hour (a minimum of one hour will be charged).' 65% · county inspection how-to guide + county fee schedule

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? Delegated. The Town of Cinco Bayou does not inspect solar. Okaloosa County Growth Management performs the building and electrical inspections including the final. The Town's only inspection role is on NEW construction (single-family dwellings and commercial), where Growth Management telephones the Town when a final has been requested and the Town inspects drainage, sidewalks and setbacks and then issues an approval letter to Growth Management - which would not be triggered by a rooftop PV retrofit permit. 85% · county interlocal permit guide + town permit page
• If delegated, to whom? Okaloosa County Growth Management Department, Building Division. Director Kristen Shell. Offices at 1250 N Eglin Pkwy, Suite 301, Shalimar FL 32579 (850-651-7180) and 812 E James Lee Blvd, Crestview FL 32539 (850-689-5080). Permit counter Monday-Thursday 8:00-16:00, Friday 8:00-12:00. Building permit enquiries: GmbuildingPermitting@myokaloosa.com. 92% · county permitting 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? No PV-specific inspection sequence is published. The County's general rule is that 'The building official shall determine the timing and sequencing of when inspections occur and what elements are inspected at each inspection' (s.6-133, 110.3), and work must not proceed past a point until that inspection is approved (110.6). The published 110.3 list is construction-oriented (foundation, slab, framing, electrical conduit and boxes, insulation, energy efficiency) with no solar entry. Fire is not in the sequence for a house: one- and two-family detached dwellings are excepted from mandatory fire inspection. 55% · county administrative construction code

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. Okaloosa County publishes no inspection checklist. What it publishes is four CSS how-to guides (create account, apply, see projects, request an inspection), a live 'Daily Inspection Report' view inside the portal, and permit-guide handouts for decks, docks, pools, sheds, garages, re-roofs and single-family homes - none of which is an inspection checklist and none of which covers solar. The Town publishes nothing. 70% · county online forms library (full walk)
• What must be on site at inspection? The approved plan set. The County's submittal sheet says 'One set will be returned at the time the permit is purchased. This approved set is to be placed on the job site and remain throughout the construction phase for construction and inspections.' For new construction a certified survey must also be available at the job site for the inspector ('shall be available at the job site for review by the building inspector'), and gate or key codes should be given in the inspection request. 65% · county submittal sheet + county administrative construction code

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? For work that does not create or change an occupancy - which is what a solar retrofit is - a Certificate of Completion, defined in the County code as 'An official document evidencing that a building satisfies the requirements of the jurisdiction for the completion of a building'. A Certificate of Occupancy is the instrument for new construction and changes of occupancy (s.6-133, 111.1-111.2), and on new construction in Cinco Bayou the County will not issue the C.O. until it holds the original Town-signed certified foundation survey and the Town's drainage/sidewalk/setback approval letter. 60% · county administrative construction code
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? The installer or the customer, not the AHJ. FPL requires the customer side to deliver the evidence: 'Once construction is complete, a customer should provide a copy of the approved permit or a screen print from the local authority's website indicating the permit has been approved and that includes ... Electrical and mechanical inspection signed off / approved by the local inspector, Description of work, Address ..., Permit number, Building department name.' The Tier 1 agreement likewise makes it the customer's duty to 'provide Local Building Code Official inspection and certification of installation', and to notify FPL at least ten calendar days before first placing equipment in service. Okaloosa County does not notify FPL. 85% · utility interconnection guidelines + tariff agreement
• Is there a re-inspection fee? Yes, and it escalates: first reinspection $50.00 per trip per trade; second reinspection $100.00 per trip per trade; third and subsequent reinspections $150.00 per trip per trade. 90% · county fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? The building official 'shall either indicate the portion of the construction that is satisfactory as completed, or notify the permit holder or his or her agent wherein the same fails to comply with this code. Any portions that do not comply shall be corrected and such portion shall not be covered or concealed until authorized by the building official' (s.6-133, 110.6). Work may not proceed past the point of a failed inspection. In practice the result and any re-inspection are handled in the CSS portal under View > My Existing Inspections, and each re-inspection trip is charged. 70% · county administrative construction code + inspection how-to