Freedom Code Compliance
Single Family

Single Family Solar

Install residential solar photovoltaic panels and related electrical equipment. Use Battery Storage for a stand-alone battery.

Last updated: Sep 29, 2026

Section 1

Required Documents

Submit these with your initial project package.

Always required

  • Construction Plans
    Solar installation plans including structural attachment details, equipment specifications, and electrical diagrams. Must include product/equipment specs. Plans prepared by a Florida-registered architect or engineer carry that professional's seal. Plans prepared by a contractor or owner are accepted without a seal unless Florida law or the building department requires professional plans.

Conditional

  • Site Plan
    Rooftop system: the site or roof layout sheet showing the array, roof access pathways and ridge setbacks, and equipment locations. Ground-mounted system: a site plan with distances to lot lines and other structures.
    WhenGround-mounted systems need a site plan with distances to lot lines and other structures (FBC-R R324.7.1). For rooftop systems, the site or roof layout sheet in the plans is enough.

Courtesy screen

Courtesy screen on every plan review

Every plan FCC reviews receives a limited courtesy screen for the items below when they are reasonably visible in the submitted documents. If we see an apparent issue that could cause the plans to fail review by another agency, we will identify it as a Courtesy Comment. Courtesy Comments alone do not cause FCC to fail or return the plan set unless the same condition also creates a building-code compliance issue within FCC's review scope. The responsible agency makes the final determination—for example, Planning and Zoning for setbacks, lot coverage, use, and other lot-compliance matters. The absence of a Courtesy Comment is not approval of those separate requirements.

  1. #01Plan and document coordination

    Obvious clerical, title-block, sheet-index, permit-description, or cross-sheet inconsistencies visible in the submitted documents. A Courtesy Comment on these items does not cause FCC to fail or return the plan set unless the same condition also creates a building-code compliance issue within FCC's review scope.

    FBC-B 107.2.1
  2. #02Zoning and site coordination

    Apparent setback, lot-coverage, use, or site-dimension conflicts visible in the submitted plans that could cause the plans to fail Planning and Zoning review. Planning and Zoning makes the zoning and lot-compliance determination. The absence of a Courtesy Comment is not approval of those separate requirements.

  3. #03Floodplain coordination

    Apparent inconsistencies or missing coordination in flood-zone, design-flood-elevation, finished-floor, or flood-opening information shown on the plans that could cause the plans to fail floodplain review. The floodplain administrator makes the determination. The absence of a Courtesy Comment is not approval of those separate requirements.

  4. #04Fire-authority coordination

    Apparent separately reviewed fire alarm, sprinkler, hood-suppression, smoke-control, or similar coordination issues visible on the plans that could cause the plans to fail fire review. The fire marshal makes the determination. The absence of a Courtesy Comment is not approval of those separate requirements.

Section 2

Approval criteria for this project type

These are the building-code criteria FCC uses to determine the plan-review result. An unresolved item may be issued as a Required Correction and cause the plan set to be returned for correction.

BuildingRequired

  1. #01Structural attachment and upliftLife Safety

    Racking system attachment to roof structure must be designed for wind uplift at the project wind zone; fastener embedment and spacing per engineering.

    FBC-R R324.4.1FBC-R R301ASCE 7-22
  2. #02Roof structural capacity verificationLife Safety

    Existing roof structure (rafters or trusses) must be evaluated for the added solar dead load plus wind uplift.

    FBC-R R324.4.1FBC-EB 503.3
  3. #03Fire access setbacks and pathwaysLife Safety

    Roof solar installations must preserve firefighter access pathways and ridge setbacks per FBC-R R324.6.

    FBC-R R324.6
  4. #04Flashing and roof penetration detailPerformance

    Flashing detail at each roof penetration (lag/standoff) must match roof covering type and manufacturer product approval.

    FBC-R R905Product approval for flashing kit

ElectricalRequired

  1. #01PV system disconnectLife Safety

    Accessible disconnecting means for the PV system per NEC 690.13, typically at or near the service equipment.

    NEC 690.13
  2. #02Rapid shutdownLife Safety

    Rapid shutdown system per NEC 690.12 for rooftop PV installations.

    NEC 690.12
  3. #03Grounding and bondingLife Safety

    PV system grounding, equipment bonding, and grounding electrode conductor per NEC 690.41-.50.

    NEC 690.41NEC 690.43NEC 690.47
  4. #04Conductor sizing, overcurrent, and interconnectionCode

    DC and AC conductor sizing, overcurrent protection, and utility interconnection per NEC 690/705.

    NEC 690.8NEC 690.9NEC 705.12

Section 3

Inspection Walkthrough

Inspections are listed in their typical phase order. Your own inspection list comes from your approved plans. Inspections marked “If in scope” apply only when your plans include that work. Call (772) 222-6679 with questions.

Electrical

Phase #1

Electrical Rough-In

  1. Mounting and racking systemCritical

    Verify solar panel mounting and racking system is installed per engineered plans with proper roof attachment

    FBC-R R324.4
  2. Electrical conduit and wiringCritical

    Show PV wiring methods and conduit routing against approved plans; compare conductor size to approved calculations.

    NEC 690.31
  3. PV equipment and racking bondingCritical

    Show exposed module frames, metal racking and other PV equipment bonded to the equipment grounding conductor with listed or identified bonding connections before concealment.

    NEC 690.43
  4. Grounding electrode systemCritical

    Show how the PV system uses the building grounding electrode system under the approved one-line; verify existing electrodes and connections as applicable, without assuming a new electrode is required.

    NEC 690.47NEC 250.50NEC 250.52
  5. Rapid shutdown complianceCritical

    Verify rapid shutdown system is installed and labeled per NEC

    NEC 690.12
  6. Roof penetration waterproofingCritical

    Verify all roof penetrations are properly flashed and sealed

    FBC-R R903.2
Phase #2

Electrical Final

Typical Final
  1. Panel installation and layoutCritical

    Compare rooftop PV layout and attachments with approved plans and roof-load design.

    FBC-R R324.4.1
  2. Inverter installationCritical

    Compare inverter mounting and clearance with product instructions and source connection with approved one-line and NEC 705.12.

    NEC 705.12
  3. Disconnect and labelingCritical

    Verify AC and DC disconnects are installed, accessible, and properly labeled

    NEC 690.13NEC 690.56
  4. System operational test

    Demonstrate normal startup, status and shutdown against the approved PV design and manufacturer instructions.

  5. Building portion completeCritical

    The solar final covers the electrical and the building work. Show roof attachments, flashing, and penetrations complete and sealed, and the array layout matching the approved roof plan and manufacturer instructions.

    FBC-R R324.4FBC-R R905.17.3