Town of Westville

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 Westville is not the AHJ for residential solar. Building permits, electrical (trade) permits, plan review, contractor registration and inspections inside the Westville town limits are issued and performed by the HOLMES COUNTY Building Department, 107 East Virginia Avenue, Bonifay, FL 32425, 850-547-1119, hcbd@holmescountyfl.org, Building Official Keith Bennett. Westville itself (population 261 in 2020, Mayor-Council government, Mayor Stephen L. Herrington III, Town Clerk Tammy Bowers) publishes no building department, building official, permit form, fee schedule or adopted construction code of its own, and has no working website: townofwestville.com resolves but is a parked GoDaddy 'domain for sale' page, not a town site. Westville retains exactly one administrative step: the County's own Residential Construction Requirements sheet states 'If constructing within city limits a letter is required from them for city compliance' and lists Westville's own phone number (850-548-5858) among the five incorporated Holmes County places (Bonifay, Esto, Noma, Ponce De Leon, Westville) from which that letter must come. 88% · county ordinance amending joint comprehensive plan
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Delegated. Westville permits nothing itself - no building permit, no electrical permit, no plan review, no inspection, no fee schedule, no adopted construction code. Building and electrical sit with the Holmes County Building Department. Land development/zoning sits with the same county Building/Planning/Zoning office (Planner John Feeney). The one function Westville holds is the mandatory 'letter... for city compliance' that the County's own checklist requires before it will process a permit inside the town limits. 85% · county ordinance adopting Florida Building Code
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes. A residential rooftop PV system needs a Holmes County building permit. The County's own Application for Building Permit (Revised 08/2026) carries an explicit 'Solar System' checkbox in its Building Information block, alongside Single Family, Sign, Storage/Pole Barn, Multi-Family, Demolition, Garage/Carport, Swimming Pool and Townhouse. An electrical Trade Permit is required in addition (see q4). 90% · permit application form (OCR'd)
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Separate. The County issues a standalone Trade Permit Application for electrical work (headed 'RESIDENTIAL / COMMERCIAL / NEW CONSTRUCTION / EXISTING BUILDING', with its own 'ELECTRIC: [ ] WFEC [ ] FPL [ ] CHELCO' utility line), distinct from the general Application for Building Permit. The Residential Construction Checklist lists 'Trade Permit Application-All Trades (one per trade)' as its own required item alongside the building permit application. 88% · trade permit application form (OCR'd)
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? Not by the authority. Neither Westville nor Holmes County requires HOA or architectural approval for rooftop PV, and F.S. 163.04(2) voids any deed restriction or covenant that prohibits or has the effect of prohibiting solar collectors - such a body may only determine placement within south, plus or minus 45 degrees, where that does not impair performance. Holmes County's own Residential Building Packet warns applicants twice: 'NOTICE: Holmes County Building Department does not have the authority to enforce deed restrictions or covenants on properties. You are advised to check for any restrictions that may affect your property.' 78% · state statute
• Is there a historic-district review? No historic-district review is required. The Holmes County LDR carries a Historical and Archaeological Resource Protection provision (Sec. 4.08.00/4.08.02) tied to the Florida Master Site File and the County's own comprehensive historical listing, but this operates through the Final Development Order / Land Development Approval process - which LDR 10.01.03.C would exempt for a like-for-like alteration of an existing building, the same exemption discussed at q10 and q27. No separate historic-district or design-review board was found for Westville or Holmes County. 65% · county land development regulations
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No separate windstorm certificate is required. What applies instead is the statewide FBC 8th Edition (2023) ASCE 7-22 wind-speed maps (no local Holmes County wind-speed ordinance was found - see q13) plus the Product Approval process: the County's Trade/Building Permit forms carry a 'FL. PRODUCT APPROVAL CODE' field and a Product Approval Specification Sheet 'as required by Florida Statute 553.842 and Florida Administrative Code 9B-72,' and the inspector requires the product approval number and performance characteristics to be available on the jobsite at inspection. 65% · product approval specification sheet (OCR'd)
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? No Special Use Permit or Council approval is required. The one town-level step that does exist is the Letter of Compliance: the County's own Residential Construction Requirements name Westville (850-548-5858) among the five Holmes County towns from which this letter is required before the County will process a permit inside town limits. THE REACH OF THAT LETTER TO A BARE PV RETROFIT, flagged as unresolved by two prior runs on this same county checklist (Esto and, per this survey's brief, others), is partially but not fully resolved in this run: the checklist item 'Letter of Compliance (if in the City Limits)' sits on the County's general Residential Construction CHECKLIST (page bearing checkboxes '[ ] New House [ ] Addition [ ] Other'), separately from the 'Land Development Approval' checklist line - i.e. it is not merely a rider on the Land Development Approval step that LDR 10.01.03.C would exempt for an alteration of an existing building. The County's own electrical Trade Permit Application form separately and explicitly supports an 'EXISTING BUILDING' checkbox, confirming the County's paperwork treats work on an existing house as a routine, anticipated permit type, not an edge case squeezed out of a new-construction-only process. Read together, the more probable reading is that the Letter of Compliance is collected as a general Building Department intake requirement whenever a permit (of any kind, including 'Other'/existing-building work) is processed for a property inside a Holmes County town's limits - which would reach a bare PV retrofit inside Westville. But no Holmes County document says this in so many words for solar, and the companion Residential Construction Requirements narrative sheet is itself titled 'NEW HOUSES & ADDITIONS TO OBTAIN BUILDING PERMITS,' which cuts the other way and keeps this from being a clean resolution. 68% · residential construction checklist (OCR'd)
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No cap is published in the Holmes County LDR or Building Department materials. The likely binding cap sits at the interconnecting utility. WFEC's own MOG Agreement caps a Member Owned Generation system at 'no more than 25 kW of alternating current power output,' and its solar-energy page separately states WFEC 'offers an energy credit of 5.2 cents per kilowatt-hour for solar installations smaller than 25 kW.' Which utility in fact serves a given Westville parcel is not conclusively established in this run (see q22), so this 25 kW figure should be read as WFEC's cap, not confirmed as binding on every Westville address. 68% · utility interconnection agreement

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 state-certified or state-registered electrical contractor (licensed under F.S. ch. 489) who has registered with the Holmes County Building Department may pull it, or a property owner may self-permit under the F.S. 489.103 owner-builder exemption using the County's own Owner/Builder Permit Affidavit, part of the Residential Building Packet. 82% · contractor registration packet (OCR'd)
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes - with Holmes County, not with Westville (which has no registration function of its own). A certified contractor registers with a current copy of the state licence, a certificate of general liability and workers' compensation insurance naming Holmes County Building Department as certificate holder (a policy copy is not accepted), and pays a $35.00 administration fee. A registered but non-state-certified contractor pays a class-based licence fee: e.g. Electrical is $75 in-county, $125-$150 out-of-county, $200-$300 out-of-state. 90% · contractor registration packet (OCR'd)
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes. Holmes County's Residential Building Packet includes an Owner/Builder Permit Affidavit built on the F.S. 489.103 exemption: an owner may build or improve a one-, two- or three-family residence for personal occupancy, must directly supervise the work, may not hire an unlicensed person to act as contractor, and becomes the responsible party of record. Selling or leasing the improved residence within 1 year creates a legal presumption the work was done for sale, which defeats the exemption. 85% · state statute

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

• What documents make up a complete submittal? No solar-specific submittal checklist is published. The general Residential Construction Checklist requires: Land Development Approval; a completed Residential Application for Building Permit; 911 address verification; a Notice of Commencement (work of $5,000+); a septic tank permit (if applicable) with a copy of plans; a Disclosure Statement; a Driveway Permit (if applicable); an Owner/Builder Permit Affidavit (if self-permitting); Legal Description of Property/Deed; an Authorization Form for Permit Application (if someone other than the licence holder is applying); two (2) sets of signed and sealed plans drawn to scale; the Florida Energy Efficiency Code form; a Fire-resistant-construction/fire-suppression statement where applicable; Product Approval / Florida Product Codes documentation; a Trade Permit Application for each trade; an Elevation Certificate (flood zone only); an Electrical Affidavit; a Letter of Compliance if in the City Limits (which would apply to a Westville address - see q27); and a Roofing Inspection Affidavit where roofing is disturbed. 78% · residential construction checklist (OCR'd)
• How many copies, and in what format? Two (2) sets of signed and sealed plans drawn to scale. No page count, paper size or digital-format policy beyond that is published; the packet's plan requirements section is written for new construction and additions. 75% · residential construction requirements sheet (OCR'd)
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? For the Land Development Approval step (county Planning), the LDR requires standard site-plan-type information for a Final Development Order; but LDR Section 10.01.03.C exempts 'the alteration of an existing building or structure so long as no change is made to its gross floor area, its use or the amount of impervious surface on the site' from needing a Final Development Order at all - a description that fits a rooftop PV retrofit on an existing house. For the Building Department step, no separate site-plan content is specified for solar. 68% · county land development regulations
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Not published. No Holmes County document - the Residential Building Packet, the fee schedule, or the Land Development Regulations - mentions a one-line or three-line electrical diagram requirement, and no solar-specific plan-submittal handout exists. 72% · county land development regulations
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Not published. No string-sizing, conductor-sizing or voltage-drop calculation requirement appears in any Holmes County document found in this run. 70% · county land development regulations
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No local structural PE stamp threshold is published, and unlike neighbouring Washington County (which fixes a wind-speed line through Ebro by name), the Holmes County LDR sets no local wind-speed value or design-wind ordinance at all. The design wind speed for a Westville roof is set purely by the statewide FBC 8th Edition (2023) ASCE 7-22 maps, with no Holmes County amendment found. 68% · county ordinance adopting Florida Building Code
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No local electrical PE stamp requirement is published. At state level, F.S. 471.003(2)(h) exempts a ch. 489-licensed electrical contractor from engineering licensure where the project 'requires an electrical or plumbing or air-conditioning and refrigeration system with a value of $125,000 or less' and 'requires an aggregate service capacity of 600 amperes (240 volts) or less on a residential electrical system' - which covers essentially every residential rooftop PV job. 75% · state statute

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 online permit portal was found. The Building Department's own page lists only phone (850-547-1119), fax (850-547-4134) and email (hcbd@holmescountyfl.org) contact, and a paper document library of downloadable checklists and forms. No iWorq, eTRAKiT, CitizenServe, Accela, MyGov or similar portal link appears anywhere on the department's page or in its document library. 68% · county department page (live)
• Can the whole application be completed online? No. With no online portal identified (q20), the process is paper/email-based: forms are downloaded, completed, signed/notarized where required, and submitted to the Building Department by mail, fax, email or in person; F.S. 553.79(1)(b) independently requires the County to accept electronic submission including PDF by email. 62% · county department page (live)
• What does a residential solar permit cost? No flat solar fee. A residential PV job is priced as the sum of: (a) the building permit, using the County's general valuation ladder ($100 for the first $1,000 plus $8/additional $1,000 to $10,000; $252 for the first $10,000 plus $6/additional $1,000 to $50,000; and so on); (b) the electrical trade permit ('Residential: New electrical: $100.00'); (c) a plan review fee - the County's posted 2021/2023 fee schedule PDF says 'Residential: Minimum is $25.00, or 25% of the Building Permit Fee,' but the County's LIVE Building/Planning/Zoning page, read today, states 'Effective October 01, 2026: residential plan review fees will be $300 and commercial plan review fees will be $500 due at submittal' - a direct, unresolved conflict between the posted PDF and the live page, both current as of this run and pointing to different numbers 17 days apart from today's date; (d) a 3% or $4.00 (whichever is greater) state surcharge on all permits. A base fee of $10.00 applies to sub-permits per unit. 82% · fee schedule (posted PDF)
• How is the fee calculated? Mixed. The building-permit half is Valuation-based (contract value on the ladder); the electrical trade-permit half is Flat ($100.00 for new residential electrical); the plan-review fee is presently the greater of a $25 flat floor or 25% of the building permit fee (Tiered/Flat hybrid), moving to a flat $300 residential figure from 1 October 2026 per the live page - see q15 for the PDF-vs-live conflict. 80% · fee schedule (posted PDF)
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes, and there are two conflicting versions of it live today. The posted 2021 fee schedule PDF: 'Plan Review Fees: Residential: Minimum is $25.00, or 25% of the Building Permit Fee' plus a $25.00 Plan Revision fee per re-submittal. The County's live Building/Planning/Zoning page, fetched today: 'Effective October 01, 2026: residential plan review fees will be $300 ... due at submittal.' 85% · county department page (live)

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? The County publishes no plan-review turnaround of its own beyond the statutory floor. F.S. 553.792(1)(a)-(c) sets 5 business days after a complete application for an electrical or structural permit on an EXISTING single-family dwelling where the work is under $15,000; 30 business days for a residential unit/electrical permit on a structure under 7,500 sq ft; and the County must give written notice within 5 business days of anything missing, or the application is automatically deemed complete. 68% · state statute
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? Two different answers are in force and they conflict. Holmes County's own current Application for Building Permit (Revised 08/2026) states: 'The building permit is valid as long as there is construction progress and an approved inspection is recorded within each 180 days (6 months) period.' F.S. 553.79(1)(c) states a building permit 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.' Reported as an open conflict, not resolved here. 75% · permit application form (OCR'd)
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Not resolved to certainty. Holmes County's own Trade Permit Application offers a three-way choice - 'ELECTRIC: [ ] WFEC [ ] FPL [ ] CHELCO' - and both West Florida Electric Cooperative Association (WFEC) and Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative (CHELCO) state on their own websites that they serve Holmes County. WFEC's About page: 'providing reliable electricity and other value-added services in Calhoun, Holmes, Jackson and Washington Counties,' headquartered in Graceville with a district office in Bonifay (the same town as the county building department). CHELCO's own page: 'serving more than 56,000 accounts in Walton, Okaloosa, Holmes and Santa Rosa counties.' Neither cooperative's own page names Westville specifically. Given Westville's location on US-90 in far southern/western Holmes County near the Walton County line, and WFEC's Bonifay office serving the same US-90 corridor, WFEC is the more likely utility for a Westville address, but this is not confirmed at the parcel level in this run. 55% · utility own page
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? Parallel, with the AHJ's building-permit inspection as a hard precondition to operation - documented for WFEC, the more likely utility (see q22). WFEC's Interconnection Agreement for Member Owned Generation (MOG) requires the member to provide, at least 10 business days before operating in parallel, 'documentation showing the MOG has been inspected and approved by local code officials prior to its operation,' plus IEEE-1547, IEEE-1547.1 and UL 1741 compliance certifications and proof of $100,000 general liability insurance. 65% · utility interconnection agreement

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

• Which NEC edition is in force? NEC 2020 (NFPA 70, 2020 edition). Florida Administrative Code Rule 69A-60.005(2)(qq) reads verbatim: '(qq) NFPA 70, 2020 edition, National Electrical Code.' Holmes County adopts the Florida Building Code (which incorporates the NEC by reference) wholesale via Ordinance 23-01 with no local amendment of its own. 85% · state administrative rule (LII mirror)
• Which building code edition is in force? Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023). Holmes County Ordinance 23-01 (adopted 21 Feb 2023): 'The Florida Building Code, including all updates or amendments, is hereby adopted for use in Holmes County, Florida' - a wholesale, no-local-amendment adoption. The County's own current Application for Building Permit is independently stamped 'Code in effect 8 Edition Florida Building Code.' 90% · county ordinance adopting Florida Building Code
• Which fire code edition is in force? Florida Fire Prevention Code - NFPA 1, the Fire Code, Florida 2021 Edition (FAC 69A-60.003), adopted statewide and reaching Holmes County/Westville by operation of state rule regardless of any local ordinance. 70% · state administrative rule (LII mirror)
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? No. Holmes County Ordinance 23-01 adopts the Florida Building Code 'including all updates or amendments... for use in Holmes County, Florida' with no local amendment of its own beyond a fee-setting clause (Section 2: fees are set separately by County Commission resolution). No Holmes County Code of Ordinances chapter equivalent to Washington County's 1980 local Electrical Code article was found; Holmes County's own ordinance archive and Land Development Regulations were searched and no building/electrical amendment ordinance beyond 23-01 and the LDR's own generic setback rule (Sec. 6.01.05, arterial-road setbacks only) was found. 75% · county ordinance adopting Florida Building Code
• What is the installation judged against? The installation is judged against the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023) and NEC 2020 (NFPA 70) as wholesale-adopted by Holmes County Ordinance 23-01, plus the Florida Fire Prevention Code (NFPA 1, Florida 2021 Edition) by operation of state rule. No Holmes County local amendment to any of these was found (see q32). LDR Section 6.01.05 sets setbacks from arterial roads only, and County Ord. #88-02 (quoted on the County's own FAQ page) sets a generic 15 ft front/rear, 10 ft side setback reaching 'all additions, and storage buildings' - relevant chiefly to a ground-mounted array rather than a roof-mounted one. 78% · county department page (live)

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 Westville 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 required, to NEC 2020 - i.e. NEC 690.12 as it stands in the 2020 edition, including that edition's array-boundary and inside-the-boundary controlled-conductor provisions. Neither Westville nor Holmes County adds or subtracts anything: the FBC/NEC is adopted wholesale by Ordinance 23-01, and the state edition in force is NFPA 70, 2020 (FAC 69A-60.005(2)(qq)). 72% · state administrative rule (LII mirror)

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

• Which placards does this authority require at the service equipment? No AHJ-specific placard set is published by Westville or Holmes County. What applies instead: NEC 2020 Article 690/705 marking requirements (through the wholesale NEC adoption); and, for whichever cooperative serves the address (see q22), a utility-required manual disconnect switch that must be 'mounted separate from the meter socket... readily accessible to Cooperative and capable of being locked in the open position with a utility padlock' (WFEC's own MOG Agreement language). 62% · county land development regulations
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No. Neither Westville nor Holmes County specifies placard wording of its own. 68% · county land development regulations
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? No. No letter height, colour or material specification for placards or labels was found in any Holmes County document. 65% · county land development regulations
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? Not published locally. A facility/site plan placard would be governed by NEC 705.10 (through the wholesale NEC 2020 adoption) without any Holmes County supplement found. 55% · county land development regulations
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes, at the utility level, for whichever cooperative serves the address (see q22 caveat). WFEC's own MOG Agreement requires a manual disconnect switch 'of the visible load break type,' 'mounted separate from the meter socket,' 'readily accessible to Cooperative and capable of being locked in the open position with a utility padlock.' 68% · utility interconnection agreement
• Where must the labels be placed? Not published locally beyond the NEC's own labelling-location rules (unread text, see q37). WFEC's disconnect switch must sit separate from the meter socket (see q42/q48) - the clearest location rule found in this run, though utility rather than AHJ-sourced. 55% · 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? Separate from the meter socket. WFEC's MOG Agreement: 'The manual disconnect switch shall be mounted separate from the meter socket and shall be readily accessible to Cooperative and capable of being locked in the open position with a utility padlock.' 68% · utility interconnection agreement
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Not addressed by the County. At the utility level (for whichever cooperative serves the address, see q22), WFEC's MOG Agreement requires certification that the system complies with IEEE-1547 (2003), IEEE-1547.1 (2005) and UL 1741 (2005) before interconnection. 68% · utility interconnection agreement
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? No separate ESS permit type exists among the County's own enumerated permit categories (Temporary Electrical, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical, Roofing, Gas - listed on the Residential Construction Checklist's own 'PERMITS:' block). A battery/ESS installed alongside PV would most plausibly be folded into the electrical trade permit, but no document confirms this. 58% · residential construction checklist (OCR'd)
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Yes, most likely. Holmes County's LDR treats 'accessory structures' as development subject to its general rules, and the setback ordinance the County's own FAQ page quotes (Ord. #88-02: 15 ft front/rear, 10 ft side) expressly 'includes septic tanks, all additions, and storage buildings' - a ground-mounted rack is the closest analog among these. LDR 10.01.03.C's alteration exemption (see q10/q27), by contrast, applies only to alterations of an EXISTING building, so a new ground-mount would not qualify for that exemption and would instead need to clear the ordinary development-permit/setback process. 62% · county department page (live)
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? Not published. No busbar/120% rule, service-conductor sizing rule, or meter-height rule specific to Holmes County was found - unlike Washington County, whose Chapter 14 Article III carries its own detailed 1980-vintage local electrical prescriptions. NEC 2020 (adopted wholesale, see q29/q32) governs service upgrades and busbar sizing without any Holmes County overlay found in this run. 68% · county land development regulations
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? Not published. No mounting-system, rail, attachment-spacing or standoff requirement appears in any Holmes County document found in this run. What does apply is the general Florida Product Approval regime: the County's Trade/Building Permit forms require a Florida Product Approval code for roof-related work, and the inspector requires product-approval documentation on site (see q26). 65% · residential construction checklist (OCR'd)

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? Most plausibly Phone, given no online portal was identified (see q20) and the Building Department's only published contact channels are phone (850-547-1119), fax and email. 55% · county department page (live)
• How much notice is required? 24 hours. The County's own Residential Construction Requirements sheet: 'No inspections will be made prior to the issuance of a building permit. A 24 hour notice is required prior to each inspection.' 85% · residential construction requirements sheet (OCR'd)
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? Not published. No AM/PM-window or same-day-inspection policy was found; inspections run on a fixed two-day-a-week schedule instead (see q54). 55% · residential construction checklist (OCR'd)

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 Holmes County Building Department performs its own final electrical/building inspections for all permits it issues, including inside Westville - there is no separate Westville inspector, and Westville performs no inspection function of its own (see q1/q2). 80% · county department page (live)
• If delegated, to whom? Not delegated. Holmes County performs its own final inspections rather than delegating to a third party or to Westville. 78% · county department page (live)

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? The County's Residential Construction Checklist lists (for a new house/addition, in the order printed): Footings (Dig and Pour); Pre-Treat for Termites (certificate checked at Final); Temporary Construction Pole; Install Doors/Windows (checked at Final); Sheathing (Nailing); Dry-In (Rough-In Electrical, Rough-In Mechanical/HVAC, Framing, Plumbing Stack-Out); Utilities Turned On; Insulation; Plumbing Rough-In (bath/kitchen); Call-Back for Plumbing/Electrical/HVAC contractors; and Final Inspection. Inspections are conducted only Mondays and Thursdays (see q setback re: cadence below). For a solar-only retrofit, only a subset of these stages would apply - most plausibly the electrical rough-in/final and a roofing-related check if the array penetrates the roof deck - but no solar-specific inspection sequence is published. 65% · residential construction checklist (OCR'd)
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? For roofing specifically: yes, in the form of the Roofing Inspection Affidavit and the sheathing/nailing inspection stage listed on the Residential Construction Checklist, both of which a roof-mounted PV job could trigger if it disturbs roofing. No separate 'mid-roof' inspection distinct from these is named. 62% · residential construction checklist (OCR'd)

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 a general sense: the Residential Construction Checklist itself functions as a published inspection sequence (Footings, Sheathing, Dry-In, Utilities Turned On, Insulation, Final, etc. - see q54), and inspections run on a fixed Monday/Thursday cadence. No solar-specific checklist exists. 72% · residential construction checklist (OCR'd)
• What must be on site at inspection? Based on the County's own materials: the Product Approval copy and performance characteristics (see q56); the Notice of Commencement, which must be 'posted on the jobsite before the first inspection can be performed' for work of $5,000 or more; and, where applicable, a termite pre-treatment certificate (checked at Final per the checklist). No solar-specific on-site document list is published. 68% · residential building packet (OCR'd)
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Yes, for product-approval documentation specifically: the County's Product Approval Specification Sheet states that at inspection, 'the following information must be available to the inspector on the jobsite: 1) Copy of the product approval, 2) The performance characteristics' for any product that did not demonstrate product approval at plan review. No document independently confirms the inspector checks equipment LISTING (e.g. UL marks) as such. 68% · product approval specification sheet (OCR'd)

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? Not established with certainty. The County's own documents do not name what document issues on a passed final inspection for an alteration permit (no Certificate of Occupancy language, no 'green tag' or letter template was found for anything short of new-dwelling construction). The Application for Building Permit's revocation clause implies an 'approved inspection' record is the operative event, but names no specific document issued to the applicant. 45% · residential building packet (OCR'd)
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? Installer/member to the utility, not the AHJ, for whichever cooperative serves the address (see q22 caveat). WFEC's MOG Agreement puts the burden on the Member: at least 10 business days before parallel operation, the Member must provide WFEC with documentation including proof the MOG 'has been inspected and approved by local code officials' - i.e. the AHJ's sign-off is a precondition document the member/installer transmits, not something Holmes County itself sends to the utility. 65% · utility interconnection agreement
• Is there a re-inspection fee? Not published. No re-inspection fee line appears anywhere in the County's Construction Permit Fees schedule. 68% · fee schedule (posted PDF)