Solar panels in Broward County, FL

• The Broward County Building Code Division issues permits in unincorporated Broward, and contractors must register with it before pulling permits there.
• Broward's Board of Rules and Appeals sets a countywide solar permit checklist (Policy 09-02, amended 2022): roof-mounted panels need drawings and calculations sealed by a Florida engineer, or Florida Solar Energy Center certification.
• The Broward County Property Appraiser says it does not value renewable energy devices as real property improvements.
• Broward has sponsored five solar co-ops; the county credits them with 1.5 MW installed. The latest closed January 31, 2024.
• FPL's 2025 report to the Public Service Commission lists 12,975 customer-owned solar systems on its lines in Broward County, 1,622 of them connected in 2025, by our count. See Florida solar by county.

Permits and zoning rules are set town by town. Highlights from each town's own rules:

• Coconut Creek: Coconut Creek takes permit applications through ePermits, its online submittal portal, and its Building Department is at 4800 W. Copans Road.
• Cooper City: FPL has been moving Cooper City neighborhood lines underground through its Storm Secure Underground Program. The city says many residents reported electrical surges that damaged appliances during switchovers, and it asked FPL for advance notice of future ones. A whole-home surge protector is worth asking your installer about.
• Coral Springs: Coral Springs' Office of Sustainability keeps a page of solar, energy-saving and net metering resources for residents.
• Davie: The Town of Davie publishes its own Solar Panels Checklist: structural and electrical permit applications, signed and sealed plans, and a recorded Notice of Commencement for jobs over $5,000. Plans are reviewed by structural, electrical, planning and zoning, and fire reviewers.
• Deerfield Beach: FPL picked parts of Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach and Lighthouse Point in 2019 for its pilot program to move overhead neighborhood power lines underground.
• Fort Lauderdale: Fort Lauderdale neighborhoods can vote to bury their power lines: once designs are 90% complete, a ballot is held, and if 70% of those responding approve, the cost is assessed on owners' tax bills. Las Olas Isles finished its undergrounding in September 2024.
• Hillsboro Beach: The Town of Hillsboro Beach runs its own Building Department at Town Hall, 1210 Hillsboro Mile, so permits go to the town rather than Broward County.
• Hollywood: The Florida Department of Transportation is building four stormwater pump stations along A1A in Hollywood, near Azalea Terrace and the Van Buren, Sherman and Franklin street intersections, a $34.3 million project running from June 2025 to an estimated summer 2028.
• Lauderdale-by-the-Sea: Building permits and inspections in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea are handled for the town by a contractor, CAP Government, and applications are submitted online.
• Lighthouse Point: Lighthouse Point accepts new permit applications online through its Building Department public portal or in person, and asks for a check payable to the city with permit submittals.
• Margate: Margate publishes its own solar permit checklist, revised in March 2024: a typical rooftop system needs an electrical permit plus a secondary structural permit, and every panel-to-roof-truss connection needs a special inspection signed and sealed by an engineer.
• Miramar: Miramar earned a SolSmart Silver designation after working with a SolSmart advisor to streamline its solar permitting.
• Parkland: Parkland's solar panel checklist asks for signed and sealed plans, signed and sealed shop drawings, a survey or site plan, manufacturer specifications and a roof warranty notification. A recorded Notice of Commencement is needed for jobs over $5,000.
• Pembroke Pines: Pembroke Pines' solar permit checklist (revised February 2026) requires a homeowners association affidavit even if you don't belong to an HOA, along with signed and sealed drawings and building, electrical and fire reviews.
• Plantation: The City of Plantation's own Building Department issues permits, not Broward County. Contractors register with the city's online Citizen Access system before applying.
• Pompano Beach: In 2022 Pompano Beach ran its own Go Solar Pompano Beach co-op with Solar United Neighbors, open to residents of the city and the rest of Broward County.
• Sea Ranch Lakes: Sea Ranch Lakes is a gated village where an Architectural Review Committee enforces restrictive covenants on top of the village's land code, so rooftop solar plans may need its review. Florida law (s. 163.04) lets associations set where panels go but not ban them.
• Southwest Ranches: Building permits and inspections in Southwest Ranches are handled by CAP Government, Inc., through the CAP online building permit portal, under a permit fee schedule effective March 12, 2026.
• Sunrise: Sunrise takes building permit applications online through a 24/7 self-service portal, and completed applications can be filed electronically with the city's Building Division.
• Tamarac: Tamarac holds a Class 6 rating in FEMA's Community Rating System, which gives flood insurance policies in the city's flood zones a 20% discount.
• Weston: Weston lists solar systems among the work that qualifies as a Quick Building Permit, with a 3 to 5 business day review cycle once the submittal is complete.
• Wilton Manors: Wilton Manors runs an Energy Incentive Grant that can reimburse solar panels and other energy upgrades: up to $3,000 or 50% of the cost, whichever is less, first come, first served while funding lasts, and no more than $10,000 per applicant in five years. It requires three quotes, permits and a licensed contractor.

Each town page has the full details and sources.

No. Under Florida law (s. 193.624), the value a solar system adds to a home isn't counted in its assessed value. If you're unsure whether anything needs to be filed, ask the Broward County Property Appraiser.

Solar equipment is also exempt from Florida sales tax, so it's already left out of the installed price.

FPL credits the solar you send to the grid as a kWh credit at the full retail rate. Unused credits roll forward for up to 12 months, and anything left at year-end is paid out at only a few cents per kWh, so systems are sized to cover a year of use. Solar can't take a bill below the monthly minimum ($30 at FPL).

See the full FPL solar guide.

Choosing a company? Check each installer's Florida license, compare at least two quotes and run them through our solar quote checker.