Wayne County, IN Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

Section 156.411 sets the noncommercial solar energy system (SES-NC) permitting path administered by the Wayne County, Indiana Advisory Plan Commission (APC). Under division (C)(1), a ground-mounted system needs an improvement location permit, an electrical permit, and any other permit or approval required by Wayne County or another agency with jurisdiction, and the application must include a site plan, which may be a mechanical drawing or a hand-drawn sketch, showing the system's location, the property lines, lot dimensions, setback distances and the system's maximum height above grade; plan approval itself does not establish compliance with the building or electric codes.

Division (C)(2) covers roof-mounted or wall-mounted systems: the application needs only an electrical permit, but it must include an engineering certification from a registered professional engineer confirming the roof or wall structure will carry the installed weight and wind load of the panels. Division (C)(3) requires the application to describe the technology type, mounting method, installation height, nameplate generating capacity, grid interconnection method and any accessory structure such as an equipment shed. Before the improvement location permit issues, division (D)(1) requires the applicant to acknowledge in writing that the permit creates no right to remain free of shadows from a neighbor's future development or trees, and no right to stop a neighbor from building or landscaping. Systems of eight square feet or less are exempt under § 156.407(A).