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Solar PV Permit in Unincorporated Latah County, Idaho

Latah County publishes a distinct per-square-foot valuation rate for 'solar panels' ($5.00/sq ft) in its Development Services Fee Schedule, Table 1-A, used to compute a standard valuation-based Building Permit fee for rooftop or larger ground-mounted PV installations. Separately, the Code of Latah County Section 7-1-3(A) unconditionally exempts small freestanding solar collectors (not exceeding 200 sq ft and no higher than 10 ft) from BOTH a building permit AND the Zoning Placement Permit that otherwise applies to most permit-exempt structures. Electrical interconnection is handled by the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL), not the county, consistent with the statewide Idaho pattern documented elsewhere in this corpus (Latah has adopted no electrical code of its own).

Verified 2026-07-20 · Source

When you need this permit

  • Building Permit required for rooftop-mounted PV systems and for ground-mounted/freestanding solar collectors exceeding 200 sq ft or taller than 10 ft, valued at $5.00 per sq ft under Table 1-A of the county's Fee Schedule
  • UNCONDITIONALLY EXEMPT from both a building permit and the Zoning Placement Permit: freestanding solar collectors not exceeding 200 sq ft and not higher than 10 ft, per Code of Latah County Section 7-1-3(A)
  • Written septic/sewer approval (North Central District Health Department or municipality) and written road-access approval (ITD, highway district, or municipality) are standard building-permit submittal requirements per Section 7-1-3(B), subject to narrow exemptions for certain accessory-structure permits
  • Idaho-licensed Engineer or Architect required to submit structural drawings for structures governed by the IBC, per Section 7-1-3(E) — relevant for larger ground-mount racking/foundation systems
  • Electrical interconnection (arrays, inverters, point of connection) requires a separate Idaho DOPL Electrical Permit — Latah County has adopted no electrical code and does not issue electrical permits itself
  • Permit becomes null and void if no inspection is requested/performed within 180 days of issuance or within 180 days of the most recent inspection, per Section 7-1-3(C)

Required documents

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Fee schedule

Building Permit — Solar Panels (valuation)Latah County Development Services Fee Schedule (Resolution 2023-18, amended by Resolutions 2024-14, 2025-06, 2025-10), Table 1-A — the resulting valuation is then run through the same Total Valuation fee-bracket table used for the general Residential Building Permit (e.g., $50.00 flat for $1.00-$500.00, scaling up with per-$100/$1,000 increments).
$5.00 per sq. ft.
Zoning Placement Permit (only if the solar installation is a non-agricultural exempt structure NOT within the unconditional small-collector exemption)County Development Services Fee Schedule, Land Use Fee Schedule — same fee documented in this jurisdiction's Zoning Placement Permit entry. Not applicable to freestanding solar collectors ≤200 sq ft and ≤10 ft, which are unconditionally exempt from this permit too.
$25.00
DOPL Electrical Permit — 'Other Installations' fee schedule (interconnection, separate from the county Building Permit)Rules of the Idaho Electrical Board, IDAPA 24.39.10 — same statewide mechanism documented for unincorporated Gem County in this corpus.
Wiring cost up to $10,000: $60 + 2%; $10,001-$100,000: $260 + 1% of excess; plus a $65/hr (1-hr minimum) plan review fee for grid-tied systems

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Solar PV Permit permit actually take in Unincorporated Latah County?

Anonymous — one question, no email. Answers are combined and only shown once at least 5 people have reported.

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Zoning Inspection (if a Zoning Placement Permit applies)

    Confirms setback and zoning compliance before/after placement, per Section 7-1-3(A)(3)

  2. 2

    State Rough-In / Final Electrical Inspection

    Performed by Idaho DOPL, not the county — verifies wiring, combiners, disconnects, and point of connection

  3. 3

    County Final Inspection

    Confirms mounting/structural work complete per approved plans, where a full Building Permit was required

See the full Unincorporated Latah County inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →

Tips

  • A small freestanding ground-mount solar collector (≤200 sq ft, ≤10 ft tall) needs NO county permit at all — not even the Zoning Placement Permit that otherwise applies to most exempt structures — but it still needs its own separate DOPL Electrical Permit for the wiring if it is grid-tied.
  • Larger installations (most rooftop residential PV systems, or any ground-mount exceeding the small-collector threshold) are valued at $5.00/sq ft under the county's own published fee table and processed as a standard valuation-based Building Permit — budget using that per-square-foot figure, not a flat solar fee.
  • Because Latah adopted no electrical code of its own, budget separately for the Idaho DOPL Electrical Permit (interconnection) in addition to whatever county building/zoning fee applies to the mounting/structural work.

Frequently asked questions

Not if it is freestanding, no larger than 200 sq ft, and no taller than 10 ft — Code of Latah County Section 7-1-3(A) unconditionally exempts these from both a building permit and the Zoning Placement Permit that otherwise applies to most exempt structures. Larger or roof-mounted systems require a standard Building Permit, valued at $5.00 per sq ft. Source: Code of Latah County, Section 7-1-3(A).

The county's Fee Schedule (Table 1-A) values solar panels at $5.00 per square foot, and that valuation is then run through the standard Total Valuation fee-bracket table used for other building permits. A separate Idaho DOPL Electrical Permit is required for the interconnection wiring, since Latah County does not administer electrical permits. Source: Latah County Development Services Fee Schedule (Resolution 2023-18 et seq.), Table 1-A.

Unincorporated Latah County does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact Latah County Planning, Building and GIS Department at (208) 883-7220 for current turnaround.

You'll need: Building Permit — Full Checklist, Application and Handouts; DOPL Electrical Permit (online). See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Unincorporated Latah County requires 3 inspection(s) for a solar pv permit, in order: Zoning Inspection (if a Zoning Placement Permit applies), State Rough-In / Final Electrical Inspection, County Final Inspection. Schedule each through Latah County Planning, Building and GIS Department ((208) 883-7220).

Apply through Latah County Planning, Building and GIS Department at 200 S Almon Street, Ste 102 (Annex Building), Moscow, ID 83843. Phone: (208) 883-7220, email: PB@LatahCountyID.gov. Office hours: Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 5 PM. Per the Latah County government contact-directory API (api.latah.id.us/web/getcontact?dept=Planning%2C%20Building%20and%20GIS), fetched 2026-07-04, which returns this department's authoritative current name, address, phone, and hours record: {"Id":13,"Department":"Planning, Building and GIS","Phone":"(208) 883-7220","AddressLn1":"Latah County Planning & Building","AddressLn2":"200 S Almon Street, Ste 102","AddressCSZ":"Moscow, Idaho 83843","AddressRoom":"Annex Building","DeptHours":"Monday - Friday\r\n8 am - 5 pm"}. NOTE ON CORRECTION: a prior research pass on this file reported the address as '522 South Adams Street' and phone '(208) 882-8580' / '(208) 883-7220' (ambiguous, unreconciled) sourced from a City of Moscow homeowner's-guide directory listing; this pass queried the county's own live contact API directly and found the current authoritative record uses the Annex Building address above with phone (208) 883-7220 only. The email PB@LatahCountyID.gov is confirmed on the county's own Zoning Placement Permit application form (Application for Zoning Placement, revised 6/5/2026) and Building Permit Application Requirements handout.. Official information: https://latahcountyid.gov/planning_building/.

Unincorporated Latah County, Idaho has adopted: International Building Code, 2018 edition — Latah County Code of Ordinances, Title 7 'Building Regulations,' Chapter 1 'Building Codes and Regulations,' Section 7-1-2 'Codes Adopted,' subsection A.1. Adopted in accordance with Idaho Code Title 39 Chapter 41, Idaho Code Title 44 Chapters 21 and 22, and Idaho Administrative Procedures Act Section 24.39 (7.03). (Ord. 384, 12-14-2021; amd. Ord. 408, 6-24-2025). Source: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/latahcountyid/latest/latahcounty_id/0-0-0-1168, fetched 2026-07-04 via browser-header curl (amlegal.com returns 200 to a Chrome-UA request and embeds the full section text as JSON inside a `window._redux_state = JSON.parse(...)` script tag; the HTML field of the matching `sections.items` entry contains the verbatim ordinance text, extracted and parsed for this file).; International Residential Code, 2018 edition, Parts I through VI — same source, subsection A.2, same ordinance history.; International Mechanical Code, 2018 edition — same source, subsection A.3.; International Fuel Gas Code, 2018 edition — same source, subsection A.4.; International Energy Conservation Code, 2018 edition — same source, subsection A.5.; International Existing Building Code, 2018 edition — same source, subsection A.6.; International Property Maintenance Code, 2018 edition — same source, subsection A.7.; Adopted appendices: IBC 2018 Appendices C (Group U Agricultural Buildings), E (Supplementary Accessibility Requirements), F (Rodent Proofing), G (Flood Resistant Construction), H (Signs), I (Patio Covers), J (Grading); IRC 2018 Appendices A, B, C, D, J, M, H (Patio Covers), Q (Tiny Houses), R (Light Straw-Clay Construction), S (Strawbale Construction); IEBC 2018 Appendices A-1, A-2, B, and Resource A — Section 7-1-2, subsections B, C, D.; Idaho Building Code Act (Idaho Code Title 39, Chapter 41, Section 39-4116) makes building code standards a matter of statewide concern; local governments that issue building permits must adopt the IBC and Idaho Residential Code as amended by the Idaho Building Code Board. Source: https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title39/t39ch41/; The Latah County Building Code (all codes adopted in Title 7, Chapter 1) is formally designated as such under Section 7-1-1 'Composition Of County Building Code' and applies to all structures and property in Latah County. Source: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/latahcountyid/latest/latahcounty_id/0-0-0-1167, fetched 2026-07-04.. Local amendments apply — see the Unincorporated Latah County overview page for the full list.

Sources & verification

Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-07-20.

Fees, timelines, and adopted codes are researched from each jurisdiction's published records — see how we verify. Requirements change and vary by project, so always confirm the current details with the Unincorporated Latah County building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.

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