Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Permit in Shelby, Montana

Shelby requires a solar photovoltaic (pv) permit for: City of Shelby Building Permit required if the installation constitutes a structural change (racking/roof-mount work), per Shelby Municipal Code 10-1-9.B — whether a given installation qualifies is determined by the building inspector; State of Montana Residential (or Commercial) Electrical Permit required for the PV system's electrical installation — mailed to the Building Codes Program, PO Box 200517, Helena, MT 59620-0517, or filed online at ebiz.mt.gov; NOT issued by the City of Shelby; On the state Electrical Permit application, answer 'Yes' to 'Does this project consist of, or include an Alternative Energy Source?' and select 'Solar,' then select either 'Micro Inverter/AC Module System' or 'PV String System'; Licensed electrical contractors apply for the electrical permit and select solar on the application; non-electrician installers submit an alternate energy permit with solar specifications; homeowners may obtain a homeowner electrical permit for a single-family system; All commercial solar work requires a licensed electrical contractor to apply for the permit. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Shelby Building Department — Building Official Keith Thaut (per the City's live Building & Zoning page, https://www.shelbymt.com/building, fetched 2026-07-16: 'Keith Thaut Building Inspector'); city-certified for Building (B) permits only. Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC permits within Shelby city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau, not the City. NOTE: the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's own certified-jurisdictions roster PDF (updated 04/22/2026) spells the same position 'Ken Thaut' — a name-spelling discrepancy between two current primary sources (city website vs. state roster) that could not be independently resolved as of 2026-07-16; both are cited so nothing is silently reconciled. at (406) 434-5222 before starting work.

Yes. The state's Application for Residential Electrical Permit includes an 'Alternative Energy Source' question; answering yes and selecting Solar adds a flat $65 fee on top of the applicable base electrical fee for the project (e.g., $200 for a single-family dwelling with up to 200-amp service).

Plan review for a solar photovoltaic (pv) permit in Shelby typically runs Up to 30 business days. This is an estimate, not a published figure — confirm current review times with City of Shelby Building Department — Building Official Keith Thaut (per the City's live Building & Zoning page, https://www.shelbymt.com/building, fetched 2026-07-16: 'Keith Thaut Building Inspector'); city-certified for Building (B) permits only. Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC permits within Shelby city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau, not the City. NOTE: the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's own certified-jurisdictions roster PDF (updated 04/22/2026) spells the same position 'Ken Thaut' — a name-spelling discrepancy between two current primary sources (city website vs. state roster) that could not be independently resolved as of 2026-07-16; both are cited so nothing is silently reconciled. at (406) 434-5222.

You'll need: City of Shelby Building Permit Application; State of Montana Application for Residential (or Commercial) Electrical Permit. See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

Shelby requires 2 inspection(s) for a solar photovoltaic (pv) permit, in order: City Building Inspection, State Electrical Inspection. Schedule each through City of Shelby Building Department — Building Official Keith Thaut (per the City's live Building & Zoning page, https://www.shelbymt.com/building, fetched 2026-07-16: 'Keith Thaut Building Inspector'); city-certified for Building (B) permits only. Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC permits within Shelby city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau, not the City. NOTE: the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's own certified-jurisdictions roster PDF (updated 04/22/2026) spells the same position 'Ken Thaut' — a name-spelling discrepancy between two current primary sources (city website vs. state roster) that could not be independently resolved as of 2026-07-16; both are cited so nothing is silently reconciled. ((406) 434-5222).

Apply through City of Shelby Building Department — Building Official Keith Thaut (per the City's live Building & Zoning page, https://www.shelbymt.com/building, fetched 2026-07-16: 'Keith Thaut Building Inspector'); city-certified for Building (B) permits only. Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC permits within Shelby city limits are issued directly by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry Building Codes Bureau, not the City. NOTE: the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's own certified-jurisdictions roster PDF (updated 04/22/2026) spells the same position 'Ken Thaut' — a name-spelling discrepancy between two current primary sources (city website vs. state roster) that could not be independently resolved as of 2026-07-16; both are cited so nothing is silently reconciled. at 112 1st Street South, Shelby, MT 59474. Phone: (406) 434-5222. Office hours: Shelby City Hall: contact (406) 434-5222 for all building inspection and ordinance enforcement matters, per the City's current Building & Zoning page (the former 'City Building Inspector' page at /city-building-inspector/ is a 404 as of 2026-07-16 — the City's site re-platformed from a custom/WordPress-style CMS to Wix, and this content now lives at /building). Building Official Keith Thaut is named on that live page; the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's certified-jurisdictions roster lists the same position as 'Ken Thaut' (see department name note).. Official information: https://www.shelbymt.com/building.

Shelby, Montana has adopted: Montana has a mandatory statewide building code administered by the Montana Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) Building Codes Bureau, amended by the Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) Title 24, Chapter 301. Cities, counties, and towns may become 'certified' to locally administer permitting and inspection for all or part of the code; non-certified trades in a partially-certified jurisdiction fall under direct state administration by the DLI Building Codes Bureau. Source: Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau, Certified City, County and Town Programs (bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits).; Shelby is a Montana DLI-certified jurisdiction for Building (B) ONLY within city limits; certified building official on file with DLI: Ken Thaut, (406) 434-5222. Verified directly against the DLI Building Codes Bureau's 'Montana Certified Local Government Program' roster PDF (fetched and text-extracted directly from the primary-source PDF, updated 04/22/2026): 'Shelby | B | Ken Thaut | 434-5222 | City Limits'. Source: https://bsd.dli.mt.gov/_docs/building-codes-permits/certified-city.pdf. NOTE (2026-07-16 re-check): this DLI roster quote is preserved verbatim and re-confirmed current (re-fetched and re-extracted from the same PDF this session, still reading 'Ken Thaut'), but the City of Shelby's own live website (shelbymt.com/building, fetched the same day) spells the position 'Keith Thaut.' This is a genuine discrepancy between two current primary sources that could not be independently resolved — both spellings are recorded rather than one being silently chosen as correct.; Shelby Municipal Code Title 10 (Building Regulations), Chapter 1 (Building Codes), Section 10-1-1 (Adoption Of Model Building And Technical Codes By Administrative Action), last amended by Ordinance 803 (9-20-2010): adopts by reference, through administrative action of the building inspector as authorized by Mont. Code Ann. Section 50-60-301(1)(b), 'the current editions of the building, mechanical and related codes and all accompanying appendices, amendments and modifications adopted by the bureau of building and measurement standards, Montana department of labor and industry (or its successor), as set out in the administrative rules of Montana.' Source: City of Shelby Code of Ordinances, https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/shelbymt/latest/shelby_mt/0-0-0-2417 (section 10-1-1); Per the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau's Current Codes page (statewide effective date June 11, 2022, applicable to all certified and state-enforced jurisdictions alike): 2021 IBC, 2021 IRC, 2021 IEBC, 2021 IMC, 2021 IFGC, 2021 IECC, 2021 ISPSC, 2021 UPC, 2020 NEC, 2017 ICC A117.1 Accessibility. Shelby's own municipal code (Title 10, Chapter 1) adopts the state-published editions by administrative reference rather than authoring independently amended code text, consistent with a small B-only-certified jurisdiction enforcing the state-adopted editions. Source: bsd.dli.mt.gov/building-codes-permits/current-codes. Local amendments apply — see the Shelby overview page for the full list.

No. Electrical permits in Shelby, including for solar/photovoltaic systems, are issued by the Montana DLI Building Codes Bureau in Helena, not the City — Shelby is DLI-certified for Building only. The City still issues its own Building Permit for any structural/roof-mount component of the project.