Residential/Commercial Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Permit in Tombstone, Arizona

Tombstone requires a residential/commercial solar photovoltaic (pv) permit for: Building/electrical permit required for solar PV installation within Tombstone city limits, submitted via the City's unified Building Permit Application (Class of Work 'New' or 'Utility' as applicable); Governed by the City's adopted 2006 IBC/IRC (structural mounting) and 1988 National Electrical Code (electrical interconnection) — see codesAdopted; confirm the currently enforced NEC edition directly with the Building Official given the discrepancy already flagged elsewhere in this file between the codified 1988 text and the AZBO directory's listed 2005 figure; Per A.R.S. § 9-468(A), the City may not require a professional engineer's stamp on a standard residential rooftop PV system absent a written, installation-specific finding of necessity; Per A.R.S. § 9-468(D), any fee the City assesses for a solar PV permit 'shall not exceed the actual cost of issuing the permit' — an independent statewide statutory ceiling that applies on top of the City's general valuation-based fee table; Properties within the Schieffelin Historic District require a Historic Preservation Commission Certificate of Appropriateness BEFORE the building permit may be submitted/approved, since a visible rooftop or ground-mounted array is a 'material change in the exterior appearance of such property... visible from a public street or alley' under Tombstone City Code Section 10-19-4; A.R.S. Title 32 contractor-licensing compliance is required on the application, per the same requirement documented in this file's Residential Building Permit entry. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Tombstone Building Department at 520-457-3415 before starting work.

No distinct solar fee line is published in the City of Tombstone Fee Schedule (effective 11/14/2025) — a PV installation is billed under the same general valuation-based Building/Electrical Permit fee chart used for other work. Arizona's statewide A.R.S. § 9-468 independently caps whatever the City actually charges at its actual cost of issuing the permit.

Tombstone does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Tombstone Building Department at 520-457-3415 for current turnaround.

You'll need: Building Permit Application (City of Tombstone, Rev. 1/2024); Electrical Plan. Depending on your project, Tombstone may also ask for: HPC Application. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Tombstone requires 2 inspection(s) for a residential/commercial solar photovoltaic (pv) permit, in order: Rough-In (Electrical/Interconnection), Final Electrical. Schedule each through City of Tombstone Building Department (520-457-3415).

Apply through City of Tombstone Building Department at 611 E. Allen Street, Tombstone, AZ 85638 (City Hall: 613 E. Allen Street, Tombstone, AZ 85638). Phone: 520-457-3415, email: buildingofficial@cityoftombstoneaz.gov. Office hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (City of Tombstone Building Inspector page and Building Permit Application, Rev. 1/2024). Building Official/Inspector: Robert Hendrickson. Applications are submitted in person or by mail to the Building Department (P.O. Box 339, Tombstone, AZ 85638); the City does not appear to offer an online e-permitting portal as of this review — all forms found are static PDFs requiring paper/email submittal. Inspections are scheduled by calling 520-457-3415. Projects within the Schieffelin Historic District require Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) approval BEFORE building permit submission/approval, per the Building Permit Application's own header notice.. Official information: https://cityoftombstoneaz.gov/building-inspector/.

Tombstone, Arizona has adopted: Arizona has no statewide mandatory building code floor for general construction — code adoption is a per-city/county authority under state enabling statutes (A.R.S. Title 9). The City of Tombstone is a home-rule city that independently adopts and administers its own construction codes through its own Building Department; it does not defer building permitting to Cochise County despite its small size (2020 Census population 1,307). Source: Tombstone City Code, Title 3 (Building Regulations), Chapter 1 (Building Code), codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/tombstoneaz (current through Ord. 2025-06, passed 10-14-2025).; 2006 International Residential Code (IRC) and 2006 International Building Code (IBC), adopted by reference as 'the Uniform Building Code' of the City, per Tombstone City Code Section 3-1-1 (Adoption of Building Codes). NOTE: this is a genuinely old code cycle (2006, not a current ICC edition) — confirmed independently via two sources: (1) the codified City Code text itself (accessed via r.jina.ai proxy of codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/tombstoneaz/latest/tombstone_az/0-0-0-1834, since amlegal.com returns HTTP 403 to a plain fetch), and (2) the Arizona Building Officials (AZBO) statewide directories, which as of the most recent editions searched (2018/2021) listed Tombstone's adopted codes as 2006 IBC/IRC/IMC/IPC and 2005 NEC. The current Building Permit Application (Rev. 1/2024) also cites 'Tombstone City Code, 3-1-1: Adoption of the Uniform Building Code' and references 'Uniform Building Code Permit Requirements' by name, consistent with the 2006-cycle adoption never having been updated to a current ICC edition. Source: Tombstone City Code Section 3-1-1; AZBO Directory (2018, 2021 editions); City of Tombstone Building Permit Application (Rev. 1/2024).; National Electrical Code of 1988, as copyrighted by the National Fire Protection Association, adopted by reference (Tombstone City Code Section 3-1-4, Electrical Code). This is a very old NEC edition (1988) relative to current AZ municipal practice (most Cochise County peers are on 2017 or 2020 NEC) — confirmed via direct code-section fetch; no more recent NEC adoption ordinance was located despite a search for 'building code' + ordinance amendments through the current Ord. 2025-06 code-currency marker. Source: Tombstone City Code Section 3-1-4.; Uniform Plumbing Code, 1988 edition, as copyrighted by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, adopted by reference (Tombstone City Code Section 3-1-5, Plumbing Code) — notably NOT an ICC/IPC adoption but the IAPMO's competing UPC model code, at its 1988 edition. Source: Tombstone City Code Section 3-1-5.; No IMC (mechanical), IFGC (fuel gas), IFC (fire), or IEBC (existing building) adoption was located anywhere in the codified Tombstone City Code Title 3 chapters reviewed, in the current Building Permit Application, or in the AZBO directory search results for Tombstone. This appears to be a genuine gap in the City's own published code structure (mechanical and gas work is folded into the 2006 IBC/IRC's own built-in mechanical/fuel-gas chapters rather than a standalone locally-adopted IMC/IFGC) rather than an extraction failure — the Building Permit Application's own 'Mechanical Plan' and 'Plumbing Plan' submittal-requirement sections cite no separate code title beyond the 'Uniform Building Code' umbrella term used throughout the form. Source: Tombstone City Code Title 3; City of Tombstone Building Permit Application (Rev. 1/2024).; Terminology construction: wherever 'a municipality' appears in the adopted building code, it is held to mean the City of Tombstone; 'corporation counsel' means the city attorney/legal advisor (Tombstone City Code Section 3-1-2, Construction of Terms). Source: Tombstone City Code Section 3-1-2.; Building Official / administrative authority is vested in the office of the City Clerk under the codified ordinance structure, with authority to designate deputies for inspections and other required duties (Tombstone City Code Section 3-1-6); in current practice, the City separately staffs a dedicated Building Official/Inspector position (Robert Hendrickson) rather than routing this through the Clerk's office day-to-day. Source: Tombstone City Code Section 3-1-6 (codified structure); City of Tombstone Building Inspector page (current practice).; Manufactured homes, mobile homes, and factory-built buildings: construction/installation standards for the home itself are regulated directly by the State of Arizona (Department of Fire, Building and Life Safety / Office of Manufactured Housing, A.R.S. Title 41-4001 et seq.), consistent with statewide practice; the City separately issues its own Manufactured Building Permit (flat fee $300.00, including 2 inspections, per the City's November 14, 2025 Fee Schedule) for local placement/site compliance, using its own dedicated Manufactured Building Permit Application form. Source: City of Tombstone Fee Schedule (effective 11/14/2025); Manufactured Building Permit Application (City of Tombstone).. Local amendments apply — see the Tombstone overview page for the full list.

Very likely yes if the property is within the Schieffelin Historic District, since a visible rooftop or ground-mounted array constitutes a material change in the exterior appearance of the property under Tombstone City Code Section 10-19-4, and a Certificate of Appropriateness must be obtained before the building permit is submitted/approved.