Town of Noma

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 Noma is not the AHJ for residential solar. Holmes County Building Department (Building Official Keith Bennett, hcbd@holmescountyfl.org, 850-547-1119, 107 E. Virginia Ave, Bonifay FL 32425) issues all building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and roofing permits and performs all inspections within Noma's corporate limits. Noma retains exactly one step of its own: the County's own Residential Construction Requirements checklist states 'If constructing within city limits a letter is required from them for city compliance' and lists a direct phone number for Noma (850-263-3449) alongside Bonifay, Esto, Ponce De Leon and Westville; the matching office-use Residential Construction Checklist carries a line item 'Letter of Compliance (if in the City Limits)'. 92% · county building department handout + county LDC + FBC surcharge registry
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Delegated. Holmes County Building Department performs both Building and Electrical (plan review, permitting, inspection) for all development inside Noma's corporate limits, under authority of the county's own Land Development Code Sec. 1.02.01 (which names Noma by name) and County Ordinance 23-01 (adopting the Florida Building Code countywide). Noma itself retains only a single compliance-letter sign-off step ('Letter of Compliance (if in the City Limits)') before the County will issue the permit; Noma has no building official, no plans examiner and no inspector of its own. 90% · county trade-permit application + department roster
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. Holmes County's own Building/Planning/Zoning FAQ states plainly, citing FBC 102.2: a building permit is needed to construct, enlarge, or make a change to a structure or system, and the current 'APPLICATION FOR BUILDING PERMIT' form (Revised 08/2026) carries 'Solar System' as its own structure-type checkbox alongside Single Family, Duplex, Garage/Carport etc., with 'New / Addition / Alter/Repair / Other' as the work-type checkboxes -- a rooftop PV retrofit on an existing dwelling would be filed as Alter/Repair + Solar System on this same form. 92% · county building permit application form
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Either. Holmes County runs two parallel intake forms: a full 'APPLICATION FOR BUILDING PERMIT' (which lists 'Solar System' as a structure type and requires a separate sub-permit for 'ELECTRICAL WORK... and etc.' per its own printed notice), and a standalone 'Trade Permit Application' that covers ELECTRIC alone (with utility checkboxes for WFEC/FPL/CHELCO) for either NEW CONSTRUCTION or EXISTING BUILDING. In practice a rooftop PV retrofit is likely filed as a Building Permit (Alter/Repair, Solar System) with an accompanying electrical sub-permit at $10 flat per the fee schedule's 'all sub-permits will be assessed a base fee of $10.00' line, rather than a bare stand-alone trade permit -- but the County's own forms do not make this distinction explicit for solar specifically. 65% · county building permit application + trade permit application
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No. Neither Holmes County's Land Development Code (2009) nor Noma's own recodified Town Code (adopted May 2026) contains an HOA-style architectural-review requirement of the county's or town's own; nothing in either document conditions a building or electrical permit on association or design-review approval. 78% · county LDC + town code, both control-checked
• Is there a historic-district review? No standing historic-district review board found for either Holmes County or Noma. Holmes County's LDC has a Historical and Archeological Resources Protection chapter (Sec. 4.08.00) requiring a case-by-case determination of whether a PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT sits on a site listed on the Florida Master Site File or the County's own historical listing, with construction required to pause if resources are unearthed -- but this is a site-specific screening step tied to ground disturbance, not a standing design-review gate that would apply to a roof-mount PV retrofit on an existing dwelling. Neither document contains a Board of Architectural Review, Historic Preservation Commission, or local historic-district ordinance. 72% · county LDC Sec. 4.08.00, control-checked
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No separate windstorm certification requirement found. Holmes County is not within Florida's High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (that designation is limited to Miami-Dade and Broward Counties); wind-load compliance is handled through the ordinary Florida Building Code product-approval system, and the county's own Trade Permit Application has a 'FL PRODUCT APPROVAL CODE' field on its Roof section for exactly this purpose. 68% · county trade permit application (product-approval field)
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? The Holmes County LDC and Noma's Town Code are both silent on any residential PV system-size cap (zero hits for 'solar' or 'photovoltaic' in either document, against a 223-hit 'building' control in the LDC and a 126-hit 'town' control in the Noma code). The only size limit found anywhere in this survey is the UTILITY's: WFEC's Interconnection Agreement caps a member-owned generation system at 'no more than 25 kW of alternating current power output', and its published solar-energy rate note separately references systems 'smaller than 25 kW' for its 5.2 cents/kWh export credit. 82% · utility's own interconnection agreement (AHJ code is silent)

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 contractor, or the homeowner acting as owner-builder under Ch. 489, Florida Statutes. The Trade Permit Application requires a 'CONTRACTOR NAME' and licensing is enforced through the county's own 'Certified Contractor Packet' (Contractor's Competency Card required); the county's own Disclosure Statement, bound into the Residential Building Packet, explains the Ch. 489 owner-builder exemption verbatim: an owner 'may act as your own contractor... You must provide direct, onsite supervision of the construction yourself.' 80% · county disclosure statement + certified contractor packet
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes for a licensed contractor pulling the permit under license. The county's 'Certified Contractor Packet' requires a Contractor's Competency Card Application and Contractor's Permit Authorization before a licensed contractor may pull permits in Holmes County. 82% · county certified-contractor packet
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes. Holmes County's Disclosure Statement expressly permits an owner to act as their own contractor on a one- or two-family residence they occupy, under the Ch. 489, F.S. owner-builder exemption, with direct onsite supervision required and hiring of unlicensed labor prohibited. 80% · county disclosure statement

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 own 'RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS' checklist: Land Development Approval; 911 Address verification; Florida Energy Form (new construction); legal description/deed; two (2) sets of signed & sealed plans drawn to scale; elevation certificate if in a flood zone; notarized owner authorization if building on someone else's property; the city-compliance letter if inside Noma's limits; Notice of Commencement (work over $5,000); owner-builder disclosure if applicable; and, per the actual Building Permit Application form, a completed Trade Permit Application for each separate trade (electrical, etc.). 88% · county residential construction requirements checklist
• How many copies, and in what format? Two (2) sets of signed & sealed plans, drawn to scale, submitted in person or by mail/email to the Building Department at 107 E. Virginia Ave, Bonifay; no separate electronic-only submittal portal was found. 78% · county residential construction requirements 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? No dedicated online permitting portal was found. Applications are filed in person or by mail at the Building Department, 107 E. Virginia Ave, Bonifay, or by phone (850-547-1119); inspection requests may be phoned in or emailed to hcbd@holmescountyfl.org. 68% · county department page (no portal link found)
• Can the whole application be completed online? No. No portion of the application can be completed online; forms are downloaded as PDFs, filled out, signed/notarized where required, and submitted in person, by mail, or by email. 65% · county forms requiring wet signature/notarization
• What does a residential solar permit cost? Effective through 30 September 2026: tiered by valuation under 'Building Permits' (e.g. $100 for the first $1,000, plus $8/thousand to $10,000; $252 plus $6/thousand from $10,001-$50,000; etc.), plus a Residential Electrical sub-permit fee (a flat $10 base sub-permit fee applies, per the schedule's 'all sub-permits will be assessed a base fee of $10.00' line, on top of the Building Permit valuation fee) plus a Residential Plan Review fee of the greater of $25 or 25% of the Building Permit fee -- plus the mandatory 3%-or-$4 state surcharge on every permit. Effective 1 October 2026, the county's own Building/Planning/Zoning page states the Residential Plan Review fee changes to a flat $300 (commercial $500) due at submittal, superseding the 25%/$25 figure above. 78% · county fee schedule + current department webpage notice
• How is the fee calculated? Valuation (tiered building-permit fee scaled to declared job cost), plus a flat per-sub-permit fee and a percentage-of-permit plan-review fee. 82% · county fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes. Residential plan review is a minimum of $25 or 25% of the Building Permit fee (current schedule), rising to a flat $300 effective 1 October 2026 per the department's own webpage notice. 85% · county fee schedule + department webpage notice

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? Up to seven (7) business days for plan review and permitting on a complete residential submittal (commercial: fourteen days or longer depending on complexity); a life-safety plan review, where it applies (structures other than one- and two-family dwellings), gets the full 30 days the Florida Building Code allows. 88% · county department FAQ page
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? 180 days (6 months) without an approved inspection voids the permit; a one-time extension of up to 90 additional days may be requested. 90% · county residential construction requirements + department FAQ
• Which utility handles interconnection here? West Florida Electric Cooperative (WFEC), a member-owned distribution cooperative headquartered in Graceville with a district office in Bonifay (805 St. Johns Rd). 85% · utility's own board-district boundary description
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? Parallel intake with a hard gate before energizing: the Member submits WFEC's Interconnection Application and Compliance Form (Section A-C) at any point, but Paragraph 2(e) of WFEC's Interconnection Agreement requires the member to furnish 'documentation showing the MOG has been inspected and approved by local code officials PRIOR to its operation' at least 10 business days before parallel operation begins, and the compliance form's own Section F requires the AHJ inspector to sign off ('1. Satisfies Code Requirements') before the WFEC representative signs off ('2. Satisfies Utility Requirements') on the same document. 82% · utility's own interconnection agreement

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

• Which NEC edition is in force? 2020 NEC (as the Florida Electrical Code 2020, based on NFPA 70-2020), in force statewide since 31 December 2023 as part of the 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code cycle, with no end date yet set. 68% · secondary code-tracking source (primary FAC rule text blocked by Cloudflare; IA offline)
• Which building code edition is in force? 8th Edition (2023) Florida Building Code, based on the 2021 International Building Code. 90% · county's own current building-permit application form
• Which fire code edition is in force? 8th Edition (2023) Florida Fire Prevention Code, based on NFPA 1 (2021 edition), in force statewide since 31 December 2023. Critically, per the county's own FAQ, one- and two-family dwellings are largely carved OUT of the plan-review/inspection side of this code: 'All new structures OTHER THAN one- and two-family dwellings must comply with the Florida Fire Prevention Code and be reviewed and inspected accordingly... A life-safety plan review is required for all structures OTHER THAN one- and two-family dwellings subject to the Residential Building Code.' 65% · county FAQ (R-3 exemption) + secondary code-tracking source (edition number)
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? No local amendments found for the Building Code. Holmes County Ordinance 23-01 (adopted 21 Feb 2023) reads in full: 'The Florida Building Code, including all updates or amendments, is hereby adopted for use in Holmes County, Florida' -- a blanket adoption of the statewide code with no locally-added sections, wind-speed lines, or technical amendments of its own. 82% · county's own adopting ordinance, read in full

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 Town of Noma 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? Rapid shutdown is a National-Electrical-Code requirement (NEC 690.12) that applies by operation of the statewide-adopted 2020 NEC, but no Holmes County document specifically references '690.12' or 'rapid shutdown' by name -- the county's own material states only that installations must meet 'the current National Electrical Code' without elaboration, and WFEC's own interconnection compliance form cites IEEE 929 and the 'current National Electric Code' generally rather than NEC 690.12 specifically. 55% · inference from statewide NEC adoption; no local document names 690.12

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

• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No. Neither Holmes County's LDC nor its Residential Building Packet, fee schedule, or Trade Permit Application specifies placard wording of its own for solar installations. 70% · county LDC, control-checked absence
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? No placard specification beyond the baseline UL/IEEE hardware-compliance language on WFEC's own Interconnection Application and Compliance Form ('the system hardware is in compliance with... UL 1741... UL 1703... IEEE 1262-1995' and 'installed in compliance with IEEE Standard 929... and the current National Electric Code'); WFEC's form does specify where the AC disconnect must be located (see Q48) but does not prescribe placard wording, colour, or letter height of its own. 72% · utility's own interconnection compliance form

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? The manual AC disconnect must be mounted SEPARATE from the meter socket, must be readily accessible to the utility, and must be capable of being locked in the open position with a utility padlock. 88% · utility's own interconnection agreement, verbatim
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Yes, at hardware-compliance level via the utility. WFEC's Interconnection Application and Compliance Form requires certification that 'the system hardware is in compliance with Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 1741... and UL 1703... and IEEE 1262-1995', and its companion Interconnection Agreement additionally requires certification to IEEE-1547 (2003) and IEEE-1547.1 (2005) before the MOG may operate in parallel with the grid. No Holmes County AHJ document states an equipment-listing requirement of its own beyond general NEC/FBC listed-equipment practice. 78% · utility's own interconnection documents
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Likely yes, though not stated in solar-specific terms. The county's own current Building Permit Application lists 'Solar System' as a distinct structure-type checkbox in the same list as 'Storage/Pole Barn', 'Garage/Carport' and 'Swimming Pool' -- all of which are treated as structures requiring a Building Permit -- but the form does not distinguish a roof-mounted array from a ground-mounted one, so whether a ground mount specifically is reviewed as a 'structure' (setbacks, footings, wind load as a freestanding structure) rather than as an accessory to the dwelling is not stated outright. 58% · inference from county building-permit application layout

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. The county's own FAQ states: 'Inspection requests may be called in or emailed.' 85% · county department FAQ
• How much notice is required? Effectively one business day: requests called in or emailed 'must be in before 2 p.m. to be scheduled for the next business day' per the county's own FAQ. 85% · county department FAQ

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, self-performed. Holmes County Building Department performs its own inspections; no delegation to a third-party firm, the fire district, or another agency was found anywhere in this run. 85% · county department page + FAQ

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 residential job the county's own checklist lists (in the order printed, not necessarily the mandatory sequence for every job type): Footings (Dig and Pour); Pre-Treat for Termites; Temporary Construction Pole; Install Doors/Windows; Sheathing (Nailing); Dry-In (Rough-In Electrical, Rough-In Mechanical/HVAC, Framing, Plumbing Stack-Out); Plumbing Rough-In; Insulation; Utilities Turned On; Final Inspection -- plus a 'Call Back' step for Plumbing/Electrical/Heating-Cooling contractors before Final. A rooftop PV-only retrofit would realistically only trigger a subset of these (Rough-In Electrical and/or Sheathing if roof penetrations are involved, then Final), but the county publishes no PV-specific sequence. 68% · county residential construction checklist

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? Yes, in the general sense: the county publishes a 'RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION CHECKLIST' used for office intake and tracked through to final inspection, and the 'Building Department Fee Schedule' plus the four permit packets (Residential, Commercial, Mobile Home, Certified Contractor) function as its published requirement lists. No inspection checklist specific to solar/PV exists. 65% · county's general residential construction checklist (no PV-specific version)
• What must be on site at inspection? A recorded Notice of Commencement (for work valued over $5,000) must be posted at the jobsite before the first inspection can be performed, per the form's own printed notice: 'A certified copy of the Notice of Commencement must be provided to Building Department and posted on the jobsite before the first inspection can be performed.' No other on-site document requirement (e.g., a general permit card) is stated in the material reviewed, though Florida practice generally expects the approved permit to be available on site. 70% · county building permit application, verbatim

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 closes the permit; no document describes a separate Certificate of Occupancy being issued for an alteration/retrofit permit on an already-occupied existing dwelling (as opposed to new construction), and no 'green tag' or letter-based sign-off system was found described anywhere in the county's material. 62% · inference from county checklist's final-inspection stage
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? The installer/member, functionally: WFEC's own process requires the Member to submit the completed Interconnection Application and Compliance Form (with the AHJ's Section F(1) code-compliance sign-off already obtained) to the Cooperative, which then evaluates and signs Section F(2) itself within 10 business days if approved -- i.e., the applicant/installer initiates and carries the paperwork to the utility rather than the utility or the AHJ doing so automatically. 68% · inference from utility's own interconnection agreement workflow