Town of Hilliard

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

• Is this authority the AHJ for residential solar at this address? Yes — the Town of Hilliard is the AHJ for residential solar inside the town limits. It is its own Florida Building Code local enforcement agency, with its own Building Official, Land Use Administrator, Fire Marshal and Code Officer. Nassau County is NOT the building AHJ inside the corporate limits. 95% · department page + adopted resolution + codified ordinance
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both, and more — the Town itself permits and inspects building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing, and separately administers zoning/land use (Land Use Administrator) and fire (its own Town Fire Marshal). Nothing is delegated to Nassau County. The only lawful route around the Town's own plan review/inspection is the owner's election of a PRIVATE PROVIDER under FS 553.791, for which the Town publishes a form. 93% · adopted fee resolution + department pages + private provider form
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. A permit is required for a residential rooftop PV system, and no published exemption reaches it. 90% · adopted resolution + codified ordinance + statute
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Separate. The electrical work is permitted on its own, by the electrical contractor, and priced off a distinct Electrical Code fee table. 85% · codified ordinance + fee schedule
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No municipal architectural, appearance or HOA approval is required. The Town has no design review board, no appearance code, no architectural standards for single-family dwellings, and the zoning chapter contains no HOA-consent clause — 'association' appears in Chapter 62 only in the landscaping definition 'Common area means that area which will be maintained by a homeowners association' and in the tree definition of a specimen tree's 'association with historic events'. Private deed covenants remain a civil matter between owner and association, and FS 163.04 restricts what they may do to solar. 85% · codified ordinance (controlled absence)
• Is there a historic-district review? No. There is no historic district, no local register, no historic preservation ordinance and no Certificate of Appropriateness in the Town of Hilliard. The only use of 'historic' that carries any legal weight is inside the FLOOD article, where 'Historic structure' is defined by reference to eligibility for the FBC Existing Building Chapter 12 exception, and functions solely to (a) exclude such alterations from 'substantial improvement' and (b) allow a flood variance. That is a flood instrument, not a design gate — it grants relief, it does not withhold approval. 90% · codified ordinance (controlled absence)
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No separate local wind or windstorm certification. Wind resistance is carried by the Florida Building Code and Florida Product Approval. Nassau County is OUTSIDE the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, which is Miami-Dade and Broward only. CITATION DEFECT WORTH KNOWING: the Town's own Roofing Contractor Inspection Affidavit (updated 1/2026) requires 'the appropriate Product Approval under Rule 9N-3' — 9N-3 was the old Department of Community Affairs rule number; product approval has sat in Rule 61G20-3, F.A.C. (DBPR / Florida Building Commission) since DCA was abolished in 2011. The form is 15 years behind on its own citation. 80% · published form + codified ordinance (controlled absence)
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? Not for a rooftop array — it is a customary accessory use permitted in all districts under Sec. 62-355(a), so no special exception and no Town Council action. Relief is only needed if a dimensional standard is missed, and then it is a Variance (Residential $750.00) or Special Exception (Residential $750.00) before the Planning and Zoning Board. *** BUT READ THE AIRPORT ZONING ARTICLE BEFORE QUOTING ANY HILLIARD JOB. *** LDR Sec. 62-524(a)(2) provides: 'No operations from any type shall produce smoke, GLARE or other visual hazards within three statute miles of any usable runway of a public airport.' The Hilliard Airpark is a Town-owned PUBLIC airport with a 3,365-foot turf runway roughly a mile east of the town centre, and the Town's longest dimension is about 3.2 miles — so on any reading essentially EVERY parcel in Hilliard lies within three statute miles of a usable runway. A PV array is a specular surface. Sec. 62-526 then provides that where the airport article conflicts with any other regulation 'the more stringent limitation or requirement shall govern and prevail', and Sec. 62-525 makes the Land Use Administrator responsible for enforcing it. The Town has published no glare policy, no solar carve-out and no glare study requirement; and the Hilliard Airport Zoning Map is adopted by reference and is 'available for inspection in the town offices' only — it is not online, so no one can determine from published sources which parcels sit in which airport zone. 75% · codified ordinance
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No municipal cap on residential generation — the Town code says nothing about system size. The caps are utility-side and differ: OKEFENOKE REMC's Distributed Generation Rider is 'Applicable ... for generators with a nameplate capacity that is less than or equal to 250 kilowatts (AC)'. FPL: expedited tiers are Tier 1 up to 10 kW, Tier 2 over 10 up to 100 kW, Tier 3 over 100 kW up to 2,000 kW, with the AC rating taken as DC nameplate x 0.85; the system must be estimated to produce less than 115% of annual kWh consumption, and 'Customer generation is limited to 90 percent of the FPL service capacity'; any NEM system of 50 kW or greater must interconnect at 120/208 V or 277/480 V wye three phase. 88% · utility rider + utility 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? Licensed electrician / electrical contractor — 'the electrical contractor or person responsible for performing electrical work shall make application for the electrical permit'. A homeowner may self-permit as an owner-builder under FS 489.103(7). 88% · codified ordinance + published contractor requirements sheet
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes. Before a permit issues, the contractor must file with the Town: (1) state licence, (2) copy of Florida driver's licence, (3) a Business Tax Receipt from the county where the business is located, (4) liability insurance naming 'Town of Hilliard, 15859 CR 108, Hilliard, FL 32046' as certificate holder, (5) workers' compensation naming the Town as certificate holder or a WC exemption, (6) business address and phone, (7) the qualifier's own signature on the application — or an original notarised pick-up letter / job-specific Limited Power of Attorney. 93% · published form
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes, subject to FS 489.103(7). The Town publishes an Owner Builder Disclosure form and Res. 2025-10's affidavit expressly directs owners to hire 'a properly licensed contractor in accordance with Section 489.103 (7)'. Note the statute's dedicated SOLAR limb, 489.103(7)(a)3, is NOT available here: it only applies where the permitting agency participates in a US DOE 'SunShot Initiative: Rooftop Solar Challenge' grant, and nothing on the Town's site mentions one. The general one-/two-family owner-builder limb (7)(a)1 remains, with no dollar cap for a residence (the $75,000 cap in (7)(a)1 attaches to commercial buildings). 80% · statute + published 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 Sec. 14-71(a) and the Town's forms: (1) duplicate prints or drawings at adequate scale of the structure showing PLUMBING AND ELECTRICAL LAYOUT; (2) a survey in duplicate, at adequate scale, showing lot dimensions and shape, building location, waste collection areas, the LAYOUT OF THE TREES, land and structure elevations, drainageways and off-street parking; (3) any applicable county/state agency permits (Nassau County Health Dept, FDEP, St Johns River WMD). Plus the notarised Application - Building Permit (both an owner's affidavit and a contractor's affidavit, each before a notary), the Required Certified Contractor Information package, and a recorded Notice of Commencement. CAUTION — the Town's two live forms disagree on the Notice of Commencement threshold: the Building Permit Checklist says 'Construction Valued at $2,500 or Greater', the Application says 'construction over $5000'. 88% · codified ordinance + published checklist and application
• How many copies, and in what format? Paper, in duplicate. Sec. 14-71(a) requires 'duplicate prints or drawings' and a survey 'in duplicate'; the Building Permit Checklist asks for 2 sets of engineered stamped plans, 2 sets of truss plans and 2 sets of energy forms. Insurance documents must be 'hard copies'. There is no online submission route at all. 85% · codified ordinance + forms directory
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes. A survey and site plan showing setbacks and 'distances from all property lines, including any existing structures' (Checklist); Sec. 14-71(a)(2) additionally requires the survey to show lot dimensions and shape, building location, waste collection areas, the layout of the trees, land and structure elevations, drainageways, and off-street parking/loading. The Town supplies a 'Blank Site Plan Grid Sheet'. If the parcel is in a flood hazard area (11.38% of the town) Sec. 62-481 adds the flood site-plan content, and in approximate Zone A — which is the ONLY SFHA zone mapped here — Sec. 62-482 requires BFE data or lets the floodplain administrator 'specify that the base flood elevation is two feet above the highest adjacent grade'. 88% · published checklist + codified ordinance
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Not by the Town — no published Town document names a one-line or three-line diagram. Sec. 14-71(a)(1) asks only for 'drawings ... showing plumbing and electrical layout'. BUT the utility requires one either way: Okefenoke REMC Policy 422(J) requires 'a single-line diagram of their proposed Distributed Generation facilities indicating the planned electrical configuration, interconnection and electrical relationship to the Cooperative metering installation', and 'may require that the single-line diagram be prepared and stamped by a registered professional engineer'; FPL requires project design documentation with its interconnection application. 75% · codified ordinance (absence, controlled) + utility interconnection policy
• Are string and conductor calculations required? No — the Town requires no string or conductor calculations. Sec. 14-71(a)(1) asks only for drawings showing the electrical layout. Conductor sizing is judged against NEC 2020 Art. 690/705 at plan review under Sec. 14-72, and OREMC separately requires equipment data sheets with its interconnection application. 78% · codified ordinance (controlled absence)
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No structural PE stamp threshold is published for residential alterations, and the Town's own rule points the other way: Sec. 14-61 requires plans to bear the seal or signature of a licensed architect 'excluding private residential'. The Building Permit Checklist's demand for '2 Sets of Engineered Stamped Plans (Master Plans Sealed)' and truss plans is written for new construction. In a flood hazard area Sec. 62-483 does require Florida-licensed-engineer sealed analyses, but only for floodway encroachment, riverine no-BFE-rise and watercourse alteration — none of which a rooftop array triggers. 78% · codified ordinance
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No local rule. The statewide threshold controls: FS 471.003(2)(h) exempts a chapter 489 electrical contractor designing the system he installs where the electrical system value is $125,000 or less AND the aggregate service capacity is 600 amperes (240 V) or less on a residential system. A residential PV retrofit sits well inside both. Separately, Okefenoke REMC states it is 'preferable' that a qualified independent electrical engineer licensed in Georgia or Florida certify the manual disconnect installation and NEC/NESC/IEEE compliance, with factory testing and certification accepted in the alternative — so a co-op job has an engineer-or-factory-certificate fork the Town's own rules do not create. 85% · statute + utility interconnection agreement

Most authorities now take the whole application through a portal, and several states cap or constrain what a residential solar permit may cost. Check whether plan check is billed separately before you quote the job.

• Which permit portal does this authority use? None. The Town of Hilliard uses no permitting portal. Applications are paper, delivered or emailed to the Building & Zoning office; permits are picked up in person. The only portal the Town operates is the new WATER AND SEWER utility BILLING portal, which has nothing to do with permitting. 90% · department page + site search with controls
• Can the whole application be completed online? No. The application cannot be completed online. The Forms Directory publishes a dedicated 'Submit Online' column and it is empty for all seven categories, Building Permits included; every building form is a fillable/printable PDF. Insurance documents must be supplied as 'hard copies', the qualifier must sign the application, and the permit is picked up in person or by an agent holding an original notarised pick-up letter or job-specific Limited Power of Attorney. Note FS 553.79(1)(d) does require the Town to accept INSPECTION requests electronically, and it does (email). 88% · forms directory + published forms
• What does a residential solar permit cost? BOUNDED, NOT PROVED — the Unified Fee Schedule has NO solar or PV line and the Town publishes nothing that says which table a rooftop array falls under. The structure is fully recorded. Lower bound, treating it as an electrical alteration: 'Additions / Repairs / Change Out - Residential' $50.00 + 'Land Use Permit Review Fee - RES/MULTI/MH/COMM' $125.00 + state surcharge 2.5% (min $4) = about $179. Upper bound, if a Building Permit is also required: 0-500 Sq Ft Building Permit $400.00 + 0-500 Sq Ft Plan Review $175.00 + Land Use Permit Review $125.00 + surcharge = about $705. If the service is upgraded the electrical line moves to the ampere band (200 AMPS $80.00, 400 AMPS $115.00). Working without a permit is charged at 4X the permit fee. 55% · adopted fee resolution (bounded)
• How is the fee calculated? Flat / tiered set fees. Resolution No. 2026-09 (July 2026) REMOVED the International Code Council Building Valuation Data table and 'the methodology previously used to calculate building permit fees' and replaced it with set building permit and plan review fees banded by square footage, expressly to comply with FS 553.79(1)(f) as amended by ch. 2026-63 ('inspection fees may not be based on the total cost of a project and may not exceed the actual inspection costs incurred'). Electrical permits are flat or banded by ampere rating. WARNING: two documents still live on the Building Permits page implement the abolished method — 'Construction ICC Square Foot Cost' and the 'Residential Building Permit - Specification Sheet, Effective 08/2025', which computes valuation 'BASED ON 100% ICC INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL VALUATION DATA' at $170.80/sq ft heated, $86.03 garage, $85.03 porch. 90% · adopted fee resolution vs. live forms
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes — a separate Plan Review fee table: 0-500 Sq Ft $175, 501-2000 Sq Ft $225.00, 2001-4000 Sq Ft $450.00, 4000+ Sq Ft $550.00, plus 'Preliminary Plan Review & Revisions $10 per Sheet'. A Land Use Permit Review Fee ($125.00 residential / $75.00 accessory structure) sits alongside it. Private provider reductions: Private Provider Plan Review - Residential AND Commercial each 50% of the standard plan review fee; Private Provider Building Permits 50% of the building permit; and 'If both Plans Review and Inspections are going to be done by Private provider, the fee will be 25% of Standard Plan Review Fee'. 88% · adopted fee resolution + statute

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? Sec. 14-73: the building official must examine applications 'within a reasonable time after filing, not to exceed 30 days'. The statewide floor is tighter for small jobs: FS 553.792(1)(a)1 requires approval, conditional approval or denial within 5 BUSINESS DAYS for an electrical permit on an existing single-family residential dwelling where the value of the work is less than $15,000, and within 30 business days otherwise (structure under 7,500 sq ft); FS 553.792(1)(e) requires the permit fee to be reduced 10% for each business day the deadline is missed. The Town's 30 calendar days is the more stringent for larger jobs and controls under 553.792(1)(b). 85% · codified ordinance + statute
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? Sec. 14-77: a permit expires if work has not BEGUN within six months of issuance; and expires if work is not 'substantially completed within one year of the date of issuance thereof, with up to two extensions which can be permitted if work has progressed'. Read against FS 553.79(1)(c), which provides that 'A building permit issued by a local government 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' — the Town's six-month not-begun trigger is shorter than the statutory floor for single-family work and should be treated as contestable. FS 553.79(1)(c) also requires a local government that sends expiry notice to do so at least 30 days out. 88% · codified ordinance + statute
• Which utility handles interconnection here? TWO ELECTRIC SELLERS INSIDE ONE 5.5-SQUARE-MILE TOWN, one investor-owned and one a co-operative: FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT (FPL) and OKEFENOKE RURAL ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP CORPORATION (OREMC, Nahunta GA). The Town itself sells only water and sewer — there is no municipal electric utility. Which seller a given parcel has is NOT published anywhere: no Town map, no franchise map, no territory boundary. That single gap decides the entire hardware and cost picture (see q23, q42, q48). Florida Public Utilities serves other parts of Nassau County but is NOT named for Hilliard by any Town source. ALSO COLLECT: the Town levies a PUBLIC SERVICE TAX OF FIVE PERCENT on every purchase of electricity in the town (Sec. 50-31, Ord. No. 63, 9-29-1980), half the statutory maximum, with no residential kWh exemption of its own — only 'The purchases required to be exempt by F.S. § 166.231' (Sec. 50-36). It falls on kWh bought, so self-consumed generation cuts it pound for pound. 92% · authority's own utility directory page + codified ordinance + utility's own page
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? IT DEPENDS ON WHICH SELLER, AND THE TWO ARE OPPOSITE. OKEFENOKE REMC = BEFORE, hard: the member must submit the Application for Interconnection with all project design documentation and a $200 Distributed Generation Application Fee; OREMC has 20 business days to review; and 'ONLY AFTER A MEMBER HAS RECEIVED A "NOTICE TO PROCEED" NOTIFICATION FROM A OKEFENOKE MEMBER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE SHALL CONSTRUCTION BEGIN.' Then before energising, the member must give OREMC 'a copy of the signed jurisdictional approval (PERMIT) ... from the local government entity with jurisdiction'. Final inspection and function test are JOINT — 'shall include appropriate Okefenoke personnel, local governing agency representative, solar contractor (if applicable), and the member applicant'. FPL = PARALLEL: apply and execute the interconnection agreement alongside permitting; 'All interconnection applications must be approved prior to installation'; after construction, supply the approved permit showing electrical and mechanical inspection signed off, then FPL fits the bi-directional meter, and operating before that meter is fitted 'is strictly prohibited'. 88% · utility interconnection policy (co-op) + utility guidelines (IOU)

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 NEC edition in force in Florida is NFPA 70-2020, effective 31 December 2023, as incorporated by the Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023). Hilliard adopts it by floating reference — Sec. 14-72 requires work to comply with 'the latest editions the Florida Building Code' — so there is no local lag and no local amendment. Do not read '2023' on any Hilliard document as an NEC edition: it is the FBC cycle. 85% · codified ordinance + code publisher (NEC year not re-verified this run)
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), adopted by FLOATING reference: Sec. 14-72 requires compliance with 'the latest editions the Florida Building Code', and Sec. 14-64(a) authorises and directs the building official to enforce it and to render interpretations. There is no locally adopted edition number to go stale. 90% · codified ordinance + adopted resolution
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code, 8th Edition (2023), applying statewide under FS 633.202 — 'Once initially adopted and subsequently updated, the Florida Fire Prevention Code shall be adopted for use statewide without adoptions by local governments.' Chapter 22 of the Town Code adopts no edition of its own; it only establishes a state-certified fire safety inspector who 'shall fully implement the provisions of fire safety codes adopted by the town' and 'shall adhere to the state fire marshal's uniform safety rules and standards'. FOSSIL REFERENCE: the Town's Fire Marshal page describes the FFPC 'as adopted by the Standard Building Code Congress International' — SBCCI was folded into the ICC and ceased to exist in 2003, and has never adopted the FFPC. 78% · department page + codified ordinance + statute
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? No — effectively no local amendments to the FBC, the NEC or the FFPC. Sec. 14-72 floats to the latest FBC; Chapter 22 adopts no fire edition; Sec. 14-70 permits alternate materials and methods on the building official's finding of equivalence; Sec. 14-69 leaves matters 'not specifically covered by the Florida Building Code or other technical codes' to the building official. IMPORTANT NEGATIVE, PROVED TWO WAYS: THERE IS NO LOCAL FREEBOARD. The Flood Damage Prevention article (Ch. 62 Art. VIII, Ord. 2023-14) is the unamended FDEM model ordinance and defers elevation entirely to 'the Florida Building Code, Residential Section R322' — 'freeboard' appears ZERO times in 757 KB of extracted code text, and there is no BFE+1 or BFE+3 anywhere. The two 'two feet' figures in the code are DECOYS and neither is a building freeboard: Sec. 62-482(3)(b) lets the floodplain administrator specify a BFE of 'two feet above the highest adjacent grade' where no Zone A data exists, and Sec. 62-594(f) is a SUBDIVISION FILL rule ('no building will be permitted within the area of the floodplain, unless the entire area is filled to two feet above the floodplain') sitting in the drainage requirements of the required-improvements article. 82% · codified ordinance (controlled absence)
• What is the installation judged against? The Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) and the codes it incorporates — including NFPA 70-2020 for the electrical work — enforced by the Town Building Official under Sec. 14-64(a), with Sec. 14-72 floating the adoption to 'the latest editions'. Where the FBC does not cover something, Sec. 14-69 puts the determination in the building official's hands; Sec. 14-70 lets him approve alternates he finds at least equivalent 'in quality, strength, effectiveness, fire resistance, durability and safety'. Sec. 14-60 limits that discretion: an officer has 'only the discretion of determining whether the rules and standards established by ordinance have been complied with ... not ... the power to require conditions not prescribed by ordinance'. 88% · codified ordinance

Ridge setbacks and roof access pathways are fire-service requirements and they constrain the array layout. They are the most common cause of a redesign after the fire department comments on a plan set.

• What ridge setback and access pathways are required? No local fire pathway, ridge setback or access requirement. The Florida Fire Prevention Code 8th Edition applies by state law (FS 633.202) and carries the NFPA 1 rooftop PV access and pathway provisions; Hilliard adopts no amendment and publishes no solar fire diagram. The Town Fire Marshal's own published scope is Site Plan Review, Construction Plan Review, Fire Protection System Review, Re-inspections and Annual Life Safety Inspections — none of which is written to reach a single-family rooftop retrofit, and the Town publishes no scope clause that says whether fire review touches a house. 70% · department page + codified ordinance (bounded)

Which rapid-shutdown rule applies follows directly from the NEC edition in force, and the initiation device has to be at a location the fire service can reach and identify. This is inspected, and it is labelled.

• Is rapid shutdown required, and to which NEC edition? Yes — NEC 2020 Article 690.12 rapid shutdown, unamended: a controlled conductor limit of 80 volts within one foot of the array boundary (module-level electronics in practice) and 30 volts outside it, within 30 seconds of shutdown initiation. This comes from the state adoption via Sec. 14-72's floating reference to the latest FBC; Hilliard has no rapid-shutdown provision of its own — 'rapid shutdown' returns the zero-result page on the Town site search and zero hits in the code. 82% · codified ordinance + adopted NEC

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 Town requires none of its own — there is no Hilliard placard, marking or labelling rule anywhere. The floor is NEC 2020 Art. 690/705 labelling as enforced by the Building Official. Above that it depends entirely on the seller, and the two diverge sharply. FPL: a placard permanently affixed to the meter enclosure stating 'Battery storage utilized in this facility' where battery storage is installed; for Tier 2/3 systems, 'A sign noting the location of the disconnect switch should be installed at the meter', and 'The disconnect switch should also have a warning sign indicating that both sides of the switch may be energized', with FPL approval of the verbiage and location required in advance for a remote switch. OKEFENOKE REMC: NOTHING. Its entire 19-page Distributed Generation Member Information Package — Policy 422, the DG Rider, the Interconnection Agreement and the Application — contains ZERO occurrences of placard, label, marking, signage, warning or posted. The only adjacent word is 'tagged', in the requirement that the disconnect be 'capable of being tagged open'. 85% · utility guidelines (IOU) + utility DG package (co-op) + controlled absence at the AHJ
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No. The Town of Hilliard specifies no placard wording of its own. 90% · codified ordinance (controlled absence)
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? No letter height, colour or material specified by the Town, and none by Okefenoke REMC either. FPL's net-metering guidelines describe the signs but give no dimensions or colours; FPL's Electric Service Standards (a separate document not re-read this run) is where FPL's engraved/weatherproof material specification lives. So on a Hilliard job the only dimensional label specification available is the NEC's own (ANSI Z535.4 style, durable and legible), and on the co-op side there is no utility layer at all. 80% · utility guidelines + controlled absence
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? No local site-plan or facility-map placard requirement. NEC 2020 690.56(B)/(C) and 705.10 apply through the adopted code: a permanent plaque or directory at the service equipment showing the location of the PV system disconnecting means and, for rapid-shutdown systems, the labelled diagram. FPL adds the practical equivalent for Tier 2/3 — a sign at the meter noting where the disconnect is. OREMC requires a single-line diagram as a SUBMITTAL (Policy 422 J), not as a posted placard. 70% · adopted NEC + utility guidelines
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes for FPL customers; NO for Okefenoke REMC members — and that is the single most useful divergence on this job. FPL requires the battery-storage placard on the meter enclosure, the disconnect-location sign at the meter and the both-sides-energized warning on the switch. OREMC requires no placard of any kind. Because no published source maps which parcels belong to which seller, the placard question in Hilliard cannot be answered from the address alone — it has to be answered from the meter. 85% · utility DG package + utility guidelines
• Where must the labels be placed? Per the NEC at the PV system disconnecting means and service equipment. Utility-side, on an FPL service: the battery placard goes on the METER ENCLOSURE; the disconnect-location sign goes AT THE METER; the both-sides-energized warning goes ON THE SWITCH; and for a relocated/remote disconnect the location and verbiage need FPL approval before final design. On an OREMC service there is no utility placement rule — but the DISCONNECT itself must be 'within 6 ft. of meter base' (see q48), which effectively fixes where the NEC labelling ends up. 78% · utility guidelines + 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? PER SELLER, AND THE TWO ARE OPPOSITE — this is the answer that changes what the installer buys. OKEFENOKE REMC (co-op): a manual air-gap disconnect is ALWAYS required, at every size. 'A positive means of disconnecting and locking out the Member Generator-owned generation equipment WITH VISIBLE AIR-GAP shall be provided ... This disconnecting means may be via a lockable air-break disconnect or by a lockable draw out circuit breaker LOCATED WITHIN 6 FT. OF METER BASE.' Policy 422(D) adds that it must be 'preapproved by the Cooperative, capable of being tagged open ... at a location which is approved by the Cooperative and is available and readily accessible to the Cooperative's personnel for operation twenty-four hours per day, seven (7) days per week'. The interconnection point 'shall be made at the load side of member service disconnect using a bidirectional circuit breaker'. FPL (investor-owned): 'Tier 2 and tier 3 renewable generation systems require a manual disconnect switch of the visible load break type ... mounted separate from, but adjacent to, the FPL meter socket ... readily accessible to FPL at all times and be capable of being locked in the open position with a single FPL utility padlock' — and TIER 1 (10 kW AC or less, inverter-based) NEEDS NO AC DISCONNECT AT ALL. That exemption is not FPL's gift: FAC 25-6.065(6)(a) provides that 'Inverter-based Tier 1 customer-owned renewable generation systems shall be exempt from this requirement, unless the manual disconnect switch is installed at the investor-owned utility's expense.' 92% · utility interconnection agreement + utility guidelines + PSC rule
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Yes in substance, though not by a Town list. Both sellers require Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory listing: OREMC requires adherence to 'the most current edition of: 1) the National Electric Safety Code (NESC), 2) the National Electric Code, 3) IEEE 1547, 4) UL1741' and requires the member to 'provide verification that the vendor has certified that the distributed generation facility ... is in compliance with the requirements established by Underwriters Laboratories or other national testing laboratories'. FPL requires a utility-interactive inverter certified under its net-metering agreement, and for batteries 'a certification conducted by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) to the current UL 1741 standard'. Roof-mounted components additionally need Florida Product Approval under the FBC. The Town itself maintains no approved-equipment list. 80% · utility policies + PSC rule
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Permitted, with no local conditions — the Town of Hilliard has NO battery or energy storage provision whatsoever. 'Battery' and 'energy storage' both return zero across the entire code, and the Town site search for 'battery' returns the zero-result page against a working control. What governs: FBC-Residential R328 and the Florida Fire Prevention Code by state adoption; and on an FPL service, FPL's published battery policy — UL 1741 NRTL certification (or DC-coupling behind a UL 1741 listed device), the meter-enclosure placard, and the rule that 'Energy stored by the battery is only for the customer's use ... the customer may not export power from the battery to the grid'. A backup-only battery not charged to export needs no FPL interconnection agreement; a grid-charging, grid-interconnected battery does, via a Small Generator Interconnection Application. OREMC's policy is generation-agnostic and does not address batteries separately. 80% · controlled absence at the AHJ + utility policy
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? No — there is no separate ESS permit or ESS inspection. The Town lists no ESS permit type and no ESS inspection anywhere — not in the Unified Fee Schedule's Building, Electrical, Mechanical or Fire tables, not on the Building Permits page, not in the Forms Directory. In practice a battery would be permitted on the same Application - Building Permit under the 'Electrical' scope box and inspected at the electrical rough-in and final under Sec. 14-74. 80% · adopted fee resolution + codified ordinance (controlled absence)
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Yes — a ground mount is an accessory structure under Sec. 62-355 and is regulated as one. Consequences: NOT permitted in a required front yard or side yard in a residential district (62-355(a)(1)), except that a detached accessory structure separated from the main structure by at least ten feet 'may be located in a required side or rear yard but not less than three feet from any lot line'; height capped at 22 feet above established grade (62-355(a)(4)); and it counts toward the district lot-coverage cap of 30 percent of lot area 'by all buildings and accessory structures' in R-1 and R-2. THERE IS A SECOND, MORE FAVOURABLE READING WORTH ARGUING: Sec. 62-355(a)(1)d provides that 'Air conditioning compressors or OTHER EQUIPMENT DESIGNED TO SERVE THE MAIN STRUCTURE may be located in any required side or rear yard but not less than seven feet from any lot line' — a ground array serving the house fits that description, which trades the three-foot setback for seven feet but removes the ten-foot separation condition. Nothing published chooses between them. ALSO: a ground mount that requires tree removal triggers Sec. 62-570's permit and, where a removed tree is not replaced, a TREE MITIGATION FEE OF $100.00 PER INCH OF DBH under Sec. 42-12 (Ord. 2025-03, 17 Apr 2025) — with a live internal conflict about whether a single-family owner needs a tree permit at all (see q10 note and the tree entry below). 78% · codified ordinance
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? No local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing — NEC 2020 Art. 705.12 governs, unamended. The only local touchpoint is pricing: the Unified Fee Schedule bands the electrical permit by service size (Below 100 AMPS $40.00, 100 AMPS $60.00, 150 AMPS $70.00, 200 AMPS $80.00, 300 AMPS $100.00, 400 AMPS $115.00, 600 AMPS $125.00, 800 AMPS $140.00, 1000 AMPS $200.00), so a service upgrade moves the job from the $50.00 'Additions / Repairs / Change Out - Residential' line onto the ampere ladder. 80% · adopted fee resolution + codified ordinance (controlled absence)
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? No local mounting, attachment or spacing standard. Roof attachment is judged against the FBC and Florida Product Approval at the building official's plan review. The Town's only attachment-detail instrument is the ROOFING Contractor Inspection Affidavit, and its scope is closed to roofing permits — 'Replacement Roofing / Recovering / Repair-Maintenance' by 'Roofing Category' — so it never reaches a solar array. THE DIFF IS THE FINDING: for a re-roof the Town demands a notarised contractor affidavit recording sheathing evaluation, replacement material, fastener spacing at field and perimeter, verified fastener embedment, underlayment lapping, drip edge and valley gauge and spacing, roof covering product approval number and attachment method — and for a PV array penetrating the same deck it demands nothing at all, and publishes no attachment affidavit, no solar roof-load form and no mounting checklist. 75% · published form (scope diff) + controlled absence

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 or email, to a named person — there is no portal and no online booking form. Building inspections: contact Chelsea Wingate, Building and Zoning Administrative Assistant, on (904) 675-6171 or buildingpermits@townofhilliard.com. Fire inspections: contact Teresa Fedick on (904) 845-3555 or tfedick@townofhilliard.com. FS 553.79(1)(d) requires the Town to accept inspection requests electronically, and email satisfies that. 88% · department pages + statute
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? No committed windows, AM/PM or otherwise, and no same-day policy. The only thing the Town promises is Sec. 14-74(e): 'Every effort will be made to develop a schedule as to the time the administrative officer will be available in the various sections of the town, in order to avoid delays in construction.' That is an aspiration to area-based scheduling, not a published calendar. Town Hall hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Practical consequence: with a single contracted Building Official serving a town of about 2,967, inspection availability is a phone conversation, not a bookable slot. 62% · codified ordinance + 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 Town Building Official performs the Town's own inspections — the department page says he 'Performs prompt & thorough inspections at the various stages of construction', and Sec. 14-74 puts the duty on the building department. The one published alternative is the owner's own election of a PRIVATE PROVIDER under FS 553.791, for which the Town publishes a Private Provider Notice form (updated 1/2026); that is an owner's choice, not a delegation by the Town. 92% · department page + codified ordinance + published form
• If delegated, to whom? Not delegated. No county, no consultant firm, no neighbouring municipality performs Hilliard's building or electrical inspections. The only route to a non-Town inspector is the owner electing a private provider under FS 553.791, and the Town's own form limits that provider to building-code compliance only — 'does not include review for fire prevention, fire safety, land use, environmental or other codes' — so fire, zoning and environmental review stay with the Town in every case. FS 553.791(1)(r) expressly names 'solar energy and energy storage installations or alterations' as single-trade work a private provider may review. 85% · published form + statute

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? Sec. 14-74(b),(c): 'Electrical, mechanical and plumbing installations shall require TWO inspections. The first inspection will be considered as the "rough in" inspection, and shall be made on plumbing and sewer lines, electrical wiring and outlets, AC duct and control circuits, while exposed for visual inspection, including all work that will be concealed in floors, walls, and ceilings. The second inspection will be considered the final inspection and will be made when plumbing fixtures have been installed, ELECTRICAL WORK COMPLETED AND READY FOR SERVICE CONNECTION BY THE UTILITY COMPANY.' So: rough-in, then final. Sec. 14-74(a) adds a separate duty on the building department to verify the structure is sited per the approved plan. Fire inspection fees exist as a separate Town Fire Marshal table, but nothing published says a residential solar permit is routed through fire. 85% · codified ordinance
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? Yes on the face of the ordinance — Sec. 14-74(b) makes rough-in mandatory for electrical installations, with no exception for alterations or for work that conceals nothing. There is no published solar or retrofit carve-out. In practice the rough-in is defined by reference to work 'while exposed for visual inspection, including all work that will be concealed in floors, walls, and ceilings', which a roof-mounted array and an exterior conduit run largely do not create. 75% · codified ordinance

The approved plan set, the permit, and the equipment listings should be on site and reachable. Inspectors routinely verify that installed equipment matches what was approved, and that the labels are the ones the plan set promised.

• Is there a published inspection checklist? No. There is no published building or electrical inspection checklist. The Forms Directory carries exactly one document with 'Inspection Checklist' in its title — 'Local Business Tax Receipt - Inspection Checklist' — which is the business-tax premises inspection and has nothing to do with construction. The only construction-side inspection instrument published is the Roofing Contractor Inspection Affidavit, and it is a contractor's self-certification scoped to roofing permits, not an inspector's checklist. 85% · forms directory (controlled absence)
• What must be on site at inspection? A copy of the permit, posted. Sec. 14-76: 'A copy of all permits shall be kept on the premises open to public inspection during the prosecuting of the work and until the completion of such work, and final inspection made.' A certified copy of the recorded Notice of Commencement must be received by the first inspection and posted on the job site. Approved plans stamped and attested by the building official are returned to the applicant under Sec. 14-73 and are the document the inspector works from. For a roofing permit the Roofing Contractor Inspection Affidavit 'must be kept with the permit documents for the Building Inspector to review at every INSPECTION' — there is no equivalent requirement for solar. 85% · codified ordinance + published forms

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 creating or changing occupancy, a CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY, and unusually it is issued by the LAND USE ADMINISTRATOR rather than the building official: Sec. 14-79 — 'No person shall use or occupy ... until a certificate of occupancy shall have been issued by the land use administrator to ensure that the building or land conforms to all the requirements of the land development regulations.' Sec. 14-63 conditions it on code-compliant construction. Sec. 14-64(b) separately provides for a CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION 'in accordance with the Florida Building Code' as the building official's written authorisation short of a CO. For a solar retrofit, which creates no new occupancy, the operative event is the approved electrical FINAL under Sec. 14-74(c), which is what triggers Sec. 14-74(d)'s notification to the utility. 70% · codified ordinance
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? BOTH — and the AHJ limb is codified, which is unusual. Sec. 14-74(d): 'When the building official has made the final inspection on electrical installation, and it appears that such installation has been made in accordance with rules and regulations of this chapter, HE SHALL FORTHWITH NOTIFY THE ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANY that installation is ready for service connection.' That is a mandatory duty on the Town, not a courtesy. The installer/customer must ALSO deliver proof to the seller: FPL requires 'a copy of the approved permit or a screen print from the local authority's website indicating the permit has been approved' showing electrical and mechanical inspection signed off, a description of work, the address, the permit number and the building department name, before it fits the bi-directional meter — and operating before that meter is fitted 'is strictly prohibited'. OREMC requires the member to 'submit to the Cooperative a copy of the signed jurisdictional approval (PERMIT) ... from the local government entity with jurisdiction' before initial interconnection, and then runs a joint final inspection and function test before the meter change-out. 85% · codified ordinance + utility guidelines + utility agreement
• Is there a re-inspection fee? Yes, and it escalates steeply: 'Re-Inspection Fee (1st/2nd/3rd) $25 / $50 / $200'. The fire side has its own flat 'Re-Inspection Fee $25.00' in the Town Fire Marshal table. Refund rules sit beside them: 'Refund BLDG Permit Fee Prior to First Inspection 50% Permit Fee'; 'Refund BLDG Permit Fee After First Inspection No Refund'. 92% · adopted fee resolution
• How are corrections issued and cleared? No corrections workflow is published. Chapter 14 supplies only the blunt instruments: Sec. 14-73 requires the building official, on rejecting an application, to note his findings 'in a report to be attached to the application and disapproved plans' and deliver a copy to the applicant; Sec. 14-59 provides stop-work orders; Secs. 14-67 and 14-78 provide permit revocation. THE LEVER THE TOWN DOES NOT PUBLISH IS STATUTORY AND WORTH KNOWING: FS 553.79(7)(a) requires a local enforcement agency to REFUND 10 PERCENT of the permit and inspection fees where the work fails an inspection and the inspector or building code administrator fails, within 5 business days of the inspection, to give the permitholder a Florida-Building-Code-based reason for the failure; FS 553.79(7)(b) then requires the 553.721 and 468.631 surcharges to be recalculated on the reduced amount. FS 553.79(2)(c) additionally makes a plans examiner or building code administrator who does not give reasons for substantive plan changes liable to discipline under FS 468.621(1)(i). 65% · statute + codified ordinance (controlled absence locally)