New York’s Solar Permitting Mandate: Your S5781A Compliance Guide

What S5781A Requires

New York Senate Bill S5781A and companion Assembly Bill A6270A require all municipalities with more than 5,000 residents to adopt a residential automated solar permitting platform by June 30, 2026. This legislation directly targets New York’s permitting bottlenecks that currently cause 11% of solar projects nationwide to be cancelled due to delays.

The mandate requires your jurisdiction to implement a platform that processes at least 75% of residential solar applications automatically, provides instant permit issuance for code-compliant systems, and offers remote inspection options via recorded video or photos. Coverage must include residential photovoltaic systems up to 200-amp main service capacity, energy storage systems, main panel upgrades, and main breaker derates while maintaining full compliance with the Residential Code of New York State.

Impact on Your Building Department

Currently, New York’s complex permitting process creates significant delays and cost increases. Solar installations face plan objections, long DOB review times, and coordination challenges across multiple agencies including the Department of Buildings, FDNY, Con Edison, and NYSERDA. These bottlenecks add substantial costs and frustration for both building departments and contractors.

After implementation, code-compliant systems receive instant automated approval. Your staff can redirect efforts from routine reviews to complex projects, quality control, and enhanced customer service. Jurisdictions using automated platforms save an estimated 15 minutes to 1 hour of review time per application, while customers save an estimated 12 business days from project submission to final inspection.

How Building Departments Can Prepare for Changes

Given Symbium’s proven ability to launch in just a few weeks with no pilot required, preparation is straightforward. Building officials should engage stakeholders early — including installers, fire officials, FDNY representatives, and IT departments — to communicate the upcoming changes and gather input on local requirements. Document your current solar permitting workflow to establish baseline metrics, and identify integration points with existing permit software systems. Most importantly, contact Symbium immediately to begin the implementation process, as the platform’s flexibility and comprehensive code compliance capabilities eliminate the need for lengthy pilot programs or multi-month rollouts that other solutions require.

Why Symbium is Your Best Option

While over 125 jurisdictions nationwide have shown interest in SolarAPP+, Symbium offers proven advantages for jurisdictions with complex local requirements. The platform’s Complaw®-powered AI technology provides instant code compliance verification while handling nuanced local fire codes and zoning requirements that often challenge other systems.

Symbium is also the only option on the market that enables jurisdictions to add a myriad of other permit types over time, having launched instant permitting for EV charging, reroofs, HVACs and heat pumps, building-integrated PV, and more in other jurisdictions.

Symbium seamlessly integrates with major permit tracking systems and offers 24/7 availability with responsive technical support. The platform’s implementation speed is unmatched, with proven ability to meet tight government deadlines. For New York jurisdictions dealing with FDNY Fire Code requirements and DOB coordination, Symbium’s flexibility in handling complex local regulations provides significant advantages.

Given the challenges New York installers face with FDNY clear path requirements and plan redesigns that add costs and delays, Symbium’s ability to accommodate complex fire code compliance checks becomes especially valuable. The platform can be configured to handle New York City’s unique requirements including Section 504 clear path regulations and professional certification processes.

Financial Benefits

The mandate addresses New York’s clean energy goals, including 70% renewable electricity by 2030 and 100% zero-emissions electricity by 2040, with 6,000 MW of distributed solar by 2025 (supra from bill justification). Automated permitting eliminates the delays that currently force 11% of solar projects to be cancelled nationwide.

Using Symbium, the streamlined process will save building department staff hours of review time per application for a relatively simple residential PV installation and weeks of permitting delays faced by installers and property owners. This efficiency allows building departments to reallocate staff from routine reviews to revenue-generating activities like commercial plan review and code enforcement while supporting New York’s ambitious renewable energy targets.

Compliance Requirements and Reporting

S5781A includes strict compliance and reporting requirements. Jurisdictions must submit compliance reports to NYSERDA within 60 days of achieving compliance, including implementation date, software used, and confirmation of instant permit capability.

Annual reporting is required from April 2027 through April 2036, documenting the number of permits issued through automated platforms, permits issued by other means, and plans to increase automated platform usage if fewer than 75% of permits are processed automatically. NYSERDA may determine report accuracy and take enforcement actions based on findings.

How Local Building Departments can Achieve Compliance with Symbium

The path to S5781A compliance is straightforward with Symbium’s proven implementation process:

• Schedule a Demo — Experience the only platform with flexibility to handle New York’s complex Fire Code requirements and scalability to other permit types with 100% accuracy. Symbium is entirely applicant-facing and will supercharge your existing permitting solution with compliance checks.
• Select and Sign On — Execute agreement with Symbium as your automated compliance check solution for purposes of satisfying the State mandate.
• Schedule Kickoff — Meet with Symbium’s implementation team to review your specific, nuanced needs.
• Configure Your Requirements — Use Symbium’s self-configurator to input your jurisdiction’s permitting requirements, Fire Code compliance, and local ordinances.
• Go Live and Achieve Compliance — Symbium pushes your configuration live makes any selected permit types available for application directly on Symbium, with a comprehensive, pre-checked delivery into your jurisdiction’s preferred permit tracking solution.

Are you a government official who wants to see Symbium in your jurisdiction? Contact us: hello@symbium.com

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About Symbium

Symbium is the leader in automated compliance checks for instant or accelerated permit issuance across a range of project types in the energy saving space. The company partners with local building departments to enable instant permitting, which is used by high volume and independent installers everywhere. Symbium is currently a resident at Autodesk and has achieved significant recognition and growth as a proud portfolio company of climate impact leaders such as Elemental Impact and RMI’s Third Derivative. The company continues to receive numerous awards for its breakthrough tech and success with instant permitting from the Association for Corporate Growth, GovTech 100, the ALP Alain Colmerauer Heritag