What the County asks for
The County's Solar Packet (dated 19 February 2024, linked from Getting Started; read 26 October 2026) holds the building permit application, the requirements and a loading worksheet. Its requirements "apply to All solar installation applications for permit, residential or commercial":
| Item | When |
|---|---|
| Site plan with all existing structures | Always |
| Footing detail | Ground or pole mount only |
| Roof framing plan: slope, member size, grade and spans | Roof mount |
| Elevations; an array may not be more than 10 feet above the roof | Always |
| Electrical plans: one-line diagram with panel count, kW, conductor and conduit sizes, breaker and disconnect ratings, main panel rating | PV |
| Battery details: number, size, location, grounding | If batteries are used |
| Engineering with calculations | Unless the exception below applies |
| Signed Homeowner Responsibility form | Homeowner permits only |
| PNM approval | Before applying for the building permit |
Arrays need three feet of clearance around them on the roof. Ground mounts over 6 feet tall to the top of the panel need a structural engineer's or architect's calculations and stamp.
When you can skip the engineer
A New Mexico engineer or architect has to certify that the roof can carry the array, unless all of these are true (Solar Packet, section B.f):
| Condition | Limit |
|---|---|
| Roof structure | Multiple parallel wood rafters, engineered I-joists or trusses; at least 2x4, no more than 24 inches on center |
| Roofing | One layer, of any IRC R905 material except clay or concrete tile or slate |
| Attachment | Directly to framing, or to rails attached to framing, no more than 4 feet on center |
| Weight | 5 psf or less; 45 lb or less at each attachment; 200 lb or less on any one framing member |
| Height | Top of panel no more than 18 inches above the roof |
The packet's worksheet does the arithmetic: total array weight divided by attachments, and by array area. A second roof layer or a tile roof sends you to an engineer, so a re-roof first can save that fee. Commercial systems always need an engineer's stamp.
Who can pull it
The installer, usually. The ordinance issues permits to contractors licensed by New Mexico's Construction Industries Division; the packet's application asks for the qualifying party, NM license number and license type. The wiring needs an electrical classification (EE-98 or ER-1 on a house); check it on PSI's search with the steps in How to check a contractor's license in New Mexico.
You, as homeowner. The packet has a "Homeowner Permit" box that needs the Homeowner Responsibility form. For the electrical side the ordinance requires the County's written homeowner electrical exam, passed at 75% or better.
What it costs
From Administrative Resolution 25-2009 (effective 1 May 2009, "as amended from time to time"):
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Building permit (Table 3-A) | $30.00 plus $4.00 per $1,000 of valuation |
| Building plan review | $30.00 plus $2.00 per $1,000 of valuation |
| Electrical administrative charge (Table 3-B) | $23.50, plus item fees |
| Solar collectors, mechanical (Table 3-C), up to 1,000 sq ft | $4.00 (solar thermal) |
| Re-inspection | $47.00 |
By our arithmetic, at the usual $36,338 the building permit is about $175 and plan review about $103. Across the middle half of installers ($33,620 to $45,000), the two together run about $260 to $330. The application says the final valuation is set by the Building Official.
Inspections
Solar is on the County's list of required electrical inspections: "Solar System – overhead or underground" and "Solar System Rec Meter", which needs the service riser, meter can, point of attachment and ground in place. Book them on (505) 314-0351 with the application number. The permit expires if work does not start within 180 days or stops for 180 days.
What 881 County solar permits show
| Measure | Unincorporated Bernalillo County solar |
|---|---|
| Permits on homes, October 2023 to September 2026 | 881 |
| Installers / with a permit in the last 12 months | 57 / 36 |
| Usual value (middle half of installers with 3+ permits) | $36,338 ($33,620 to $45,000) |
| Closed (permits a year or more old) | 78.8% |
| Usual days from issue to close (where dated) | 168 |
| Share held by the busiest / five busiest installers | 20.1% / 62.5% |
| Installers with 5+ permits and none in the last 12 months | 3 |
| Busiest / quietest month | October (174) / June (68) |
Five installers hold 62.5% of County solar permits, and the busiest in the last year was Our World Energy NM LLC dba Our World Energy (47 permits). Filing is strongly seasonal, peaking in October at index 174. Prices by home value: Bernalillo County solar cost; national figures: solar panel installation cost. Inside the City, the rules differ: Albuquerque solar permit.
See every Bernalillo County solar installer by permits closed →
Related
Other places' rules: do I need a permit for solar panels. Choosing one: hiring a solar installer. Counts by year: Bernalillo County permit statistics.
What this does not tell you
The value is what the applicant entered. The County dates completion on only part of its closed permits. Solar firms are counted under solar only, not as electricians. Fees are from the 2009 resolution the County links.
How we know this
Submittal items, the engineering exception, the PNM step and homeowner permits are quoted from Bernalillo County's Solar Packet (19 February 2024) and Solar Permit Requirements (2 August 2023); inspections from its Electrical inspections page; fees from Administrative Resolution 25-2009; issuance and expiry from Building Ordinance 2024-8 (unsigned copy), all read 26 October 2026. Fee examples are our arithmetic. Our figures are County solar permits on homes in unincorporated Bernalillo County, October 2023 to September 2026.
Numbers come from Bernalillo County Planning & Development Services permits on homes in unincorporated Bernalillo County (the County's Accela permit layer; the City of Albuquerque issues its own permits and has its own separate pages), data through October 15, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- Do I need a permit for solar panels in Bernalillo County?
Yes. The County's solar packet applies to 'All solar installation applications for permit, residential or commercial', with a building permit application, a roof framing plan, elevations, electrical plans and engineering. Solar inspections are on the County's list of required electrical inspections.
- Do I need a structural engineer for solar in Bernalillo County?
Not if the roof and array meet every condition in the County's exception: ordinary wood rafters, I-joists or trusses of at least 2x4 at 24 inches or closer, one layer of roofing that is not tile or slate, attachments no more than 4 feet apart, no more than 5 pounds per square foot, 45 pounds per attachment or 200 pounds per framing member, and panels no more than 18 inches above the roof.
- How much is a solar permit in Bernalillo County?
The building permit is valuation-based: $30 plus $4 per $1,000 for the permit and $30 plus $2 per $1,000 for plan review under Resolution 25-2009. By our arithmetic a system valued at the usual $36,338 is about $175 for the permit and $103 for plan review, before the electrical permit.
- Do I need PNM approval before the County permit?
Yes. The County's requirements say approval from PNM to connect the system or to join PNM's solar program 'will require prior approval by PNM before making application for a building permit.'
- Can a homeowner pull a solar permit in Bernalillo County?
The solar packet allows a homeowner permit for a residential installation if you sign the County's Homeowner Responsibility form. The electrical part follows the County's homeowner electrical exam rule (75% or better).
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Albuquerque building permit search: how to look up permits on an address
- Do I need a solar permit in Albuquerque? Building and electrical permits, the engineer triggers and the fee
- Do I need a solar permit in Anaheim? The online small-rooftop permit, the 10 kW line and the City utility
- Do I need a solar permit in Bend, OR? The prescriptive checklist, the 2026-27 fees and how fast permits final
- Do I need a solar permit in Cape Coral? Yes: the residential electrical (photovoltaic) permit, who can pull it, and the roofing catch
- Do I need a solar permit in Chicago? Yes: the express solar permit, its 13.44 kW limit, and who must sign
For one city
- Home improvement costs in Bernalillo County, NM (2026): what 6 kinds of jobs were filed at
- Do I need an electrical permit in Bernalillo County? The exemptions, the homeowner exam and the fixture-based fee
- Do I need an HVAC permit in Bernalillo County? Furnaces, AC, swamp coolers and the mechanical permit
- Solar Packet (building permit application, solar installation requirements, loading worksheet; 02/19/2024) — Bernalillo County (accessed 2026-10-26)
- Solar Permit Requirements (8.02.23) — Bernalillo County (accessed 2026-10-26)
- Electrical inspections — Bernalillo County Planning & Development Services (accessed 2026-10-26)
- Getting Started (permit application packets) — Bernalillo County Planning & Development Services (accessed 2026-10-26)
- Administrative Resolution 25-2009, Permit Fee Schedule (Tables 3-A to 3-C) — Bernalillo County (accessed 2026-10-26)
- Bernalillo County Building Ordinance, Ordinance 2024-8 (unsigned copy, Issuance, Sec. 105.5) (accessed 2026-10-26)
- License search — PSI (New Mexico CID licensing) (2026-10-20)