Data through September 2026 · updated 23 Oct 2026
4,242 solar permits were issued in unincorporated Riverside County, October 2024 through September 2026: about 2,121 a year and 16% of all permits. 1,942 solar permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 16% fewer than the 2,300 in the 12 months before. The busiest month is October. The usual one took 100 days from issue to the county's final.
Permits issued each month, October 2024 through September 2026.
| Month | Permits |
|---|---|
| Oct 2024 | 188 |
| Nov 2024 | 158 |
| Dec 2024 | 175 |
| Jan 2025 | 176 |
| Feb 2025 | 137 |
| Mar 2025 | 209 |
| Apr 2025 | 241 |
| May 2025 | 224 |
| Jun 2025 | 150 |
| Jul 2025 | 218 |
| Aug 2025 | 202 |
| Sep 2025 | 222 |
| Oct 2025 | 245 |
| Nov 2025 | 211 |
| Dec 2025 | 240 |
| Jan 2026 | 139 |
| Feb 2026 | 141 |
| Mar 2026 | 153 |
| Apr 2026 | 129 |
| May 2026 | 134 |
| Jun 2026 | 149 |
| Jul 2026 | 112 |
| Aug 2026 | 148 |
| Sep 2026 | 141 |
By calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line). October is the busiest (122), February the quietest (79). A busy month at the permit counter usually means a longer wait for a contractor.
| Month | Index |
|---|---|
| January | 89 |
| February | 79 |
| March | 102 |
| April | 105 |
| May | 101 |
| June | 85 |
| July | 93 |
| August | 99 |
| September | 103 |
| October | 122 |
| November | 104 |
| December | 117 |
Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025, at least 12 months before the file ends. Usual days is the middle permit among the 1,755 with a final date.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025 | 2,300 |
| Finished | 76.3% |
| Expired | 22.8% |
| Usual days, issue to final | 100 |
| Middle half, days | 55–168 |
How the county filed these permits. We group its types into kinds of work; this is the split.
| Permit type | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Roof Mount Solar Residential | 1,897 | 45% |
| Express Residential Solar And Storage | 1,859 | 44% |
| Express Residential Solar Only | 207 | 5% |
| Other Construction | 138 | 3% |
| Ground Mount Solar Residential | 119 | 3% |
| Energy Storage System | 15 | under 1% |
| Light Standard | 4 | under 1% |
| Solar Commercial | 3 | under 1% |
Electrical (4,935)New homes (3,769)Fences & walls (3,639)HVAC (1,833)Plumbing (1,813)Garages, sheds & shade structures (1,657)Roofing (973)Pools & spas (949)ADUs & casitas (438)
From our cross-city data studies: the same measure, read the same way, for every city we cover.
Solar permits for other places in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. Each permit office keeps its own file, so the numbers are not added together.
Source: Riverside County GIS Open Data, PLUS_ACTIVITIES (Public Land Use System), Building department records, read 23 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.
Permits Riverside County Building and Safety issues for unincorporated land only: places such as Thermal, Mecca, Winchester, French Valley, Mead Valley, Anza, Aguanga, Temescal Valley and the Temecula wine country. Riverside, Moreno Valley, Corona, Temecula, Murrieta, Palm Springs and the county's other incorporated cities (28 in all) run their own permit offices and are not in this file. Blythe permits, which the county keeps under their own permit type, are left out too.
Counts are permits, not jobs: one job can need several permits. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. Sources and definitions →
Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please credit Contractor Records and link to this page. Suggested citation:
Contractor Records, "Solar permits in unincorporated Riverside County, CA", https://contractorrecords.com/riverside-county/solar-permits, data through September 2026, from Riverside County Building and Safety building-permit records.Link to a table: By month · Season · Days to final · Permit types.
Download the tables (CSV): Solar permits by month · Solar permits by calendar month (index) · Solar permits: days to final · Solar permits by permit type.