City of Burlingame

A city address is usually permitted by the city, not the county — but not always, and some authorities keep building and hand electrical to someone else. Getting this wrong costs the whole submittal, because every requirement below belongs to whoever actually holds jurisdiction. Check the overlays in the same pass: an HOA, a historic district, a windstorm certification or a system-size cap can reshape the design, and all of them are cheaper to find now than after the array is laid out.

• Is this authority the AHJ for residential solar at this address? Yes 96% · department page
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both 90% · department page + ordinance
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes 97% · department page
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Separate 82% · fee schedule
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No 78% · ordinance
• Is there a historic-district review? No 85% · ordinance
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No 75% · ordinance (absence)
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? Yes, conditionally — the Planning Division may require a use permit if it finds a specific, adverse impact on public health/safety 88% · ordinance
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? 10 kW AC / 30 kW thermal, for the expedited/no-design-review pathway; scoped to single-family or duplex dwellings and capped at the max legal building height — a gate on the streamlined process, not an absolute residential ceiling 92% · ordinance

Several authorities require the electrical permit to be pulled by a licensed electrician, or require the contractor to be registered with them BEFORE applying. Registration is not same-day. This is second on the list rather than fourth because it is the step most likely to stop the job before the drawings matter.

• Who is allowed to pull the electrical permit? Either (licensed contractor or homeowner owner-builder) 58% · form
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? No 55% · department page
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes 72% · form

Almost everywhere wants a site plan, a one-line or three-line electrical diagram, equipment cut sheets with listings, and a structural attachment detail. Build it against the published checklist rather than the last jurisdiction you worked in — the checklist is what the reviewer marks against.

• How many copies, and in what format? Electronic/PDF submittal (email or online); a front-counter paper alternative exists 68% · ordinance

Most authorities now take the whole application through a portal, and several states cap or constrain what a residential solar permit may cost. Check whether plan check is billed separately before you quote the job.

• Which permit portal does this authority use? Symbium (residential PV/ESS, expedited); eTRAKiT (general building/electrical permitting) 90% · department page
• Can the whole application be completed online? Yes 88% · department page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? $0 (residential); $650 permit / $350 plan check (commercial) 95% · fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Flat 90% · fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes 92% · fee schedule

Interconnection is a separate process from the permit and usually the longer pole. Where the utility does not depend on the permit being issued, running both at once is the single biggest saving available on a residential job.

• What is the stated plan-review turnaround? Branded 'instantaneous' plan review via Symbium (SB 379); statutory backstop of 45 days deemed-approved if not denied in writing 80% · department page + ordinance
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? No local amendment found; default (unamended) 2025 CBC permit-expiration provision applies 55% · ordinance (absence)
• Which utility handles interconnection here? PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) 92% · department page
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? After Permit — Permission to Operate is gated on the City's own final-inspection clearance 85% · utility tariff

The NEC edition a jurisdiction enforces is often a cycle behind the newest one published, and local amendments sit on top of it. Rapid shutdown, conductor sizing and labelling all change between editions, so the edition in force is the first thing to establish, not the last.

• Which NEC edition is in force? 2023 96% · adopting ordinance
• Which building code edition is in force? 2025 California Building Code (based on 2024 IBC) and 2025 California Residential Code (based on 2024 IRC), both Ord. 2041, 11/3/2025 96% · adopting ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? 2025 California Fire Code (based on 2024 IFC, as amended by the State of California) 95% · adopting ordinance
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes 88% · ordinance
• What is the installation judged against? The 2025 CEC/CBC/CRC/CFC as locally amended by Ord. 2041/2042 (11/3/2025); BMC §1-704 additionally requires PV systems to meet CEC, IEEE, and UL (or other accredited testing lab) standards 88% · ordinance

Ridge setbacks and roof access pathways are fire-service requirements and they constrain the array layout. They are the most common cause of a redesign after the fire department comments on a plan set.

• What ridge setback and access pathways are required? No local ridge-setback or fire-access-pathway amendment found; the unamended 2025 CFC default applies 75% · ordinance (absence)

Which rapid-shutdown rule applies follows directly from the NEC edition in force, and the initiation device has to be at a location the fire service can reach and identify. This is inspected, and it is labelled.

• Is rapid shutdown required, and to which NEC edition? Yes, per NEC §690.12 as adopted (2023 NEC / 2025 CEC), unmodified locally 78% · ordinance (state code, no local amendment found)

The NEC sets a baseline for permanent markings at the service equipment and the disconnecting means. On top of that, an authority may specify its own wording, and the utility may specify more again. Where any of them writes its own text, a generic off-the-shelf label set will not pass — this is the detail most often fixed on a return visit.

• Which placards does this authority require at the service equipment? No Burlingame-specific placard beyond the unamended 2025 CEC (Art. 690/705) and CFC signage requirements 72% · ordinance (absence)
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No 80% · department page (absence)
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? No 78% · ordinance (absence)
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? No Burlingame-specific supplement found; governed by the unamended CEC §705.10 default 68% · ordinance (absence)
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? PG&E requires a visible, manually-operated isolating disconnect near the point of interconnection with markings clearly indicating open/closed positions; the exact meter-proximity distance and any placard wording live in PG&E's internal Greenbook (not publicly published) 65% · utility tariff

Where the AC disconnect must sit relative to the meter is usually the utility's rule, not the building department's. Battery storage frequently carries its own permit, its own inspection and its own fire conditions.

• Where must the AC disconnect be, relative to the meter? Near the point of interconnection, visible, and marked open/closed per PG&E Rule 21; exact meter-proximity distance not publicly published 62% · utility tariff
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? No 75% · ordinance
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Permitted, governed by the unamended 2025 CFC Chapter 12 (Energy Systems/ESS) — no Burlingame-specific condition found 65% · ordinance (absence) + fee schedule
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? Likely yes at the fire level — CCFD's own fee schedule lists a distinct 'Battery System' permit ($530), separate from any PV line (which has none) 60% · fee schedule
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? No PV-specific ground-mount provision found; likely 'not contemplated' given Burlingame's small urban residential lots 55% · ordinance (absence)
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? No 82% · ordinance (absence)
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? No local mounting/attachment-spacing rule found; governed by the unamended CBC/CRC and manufacturer engineering 68% · ordinance (absence)

Booking is a portal, a phone call or an email depending on the authority, and the notice required is rarely zero. Book before the work is finished rather than after — the lead time, not the work, is usually what sets the date.

• How is an inspection booked? Phone or Email 85% · department page

Some authorities inspect their own solar work; some delegate it, and a few do not inspect the PV equipment itself at all. Who is coming determines what they will look at.

• Does this AHJ perform its own final solar inspection? Yes 88% · ordinance
• If delegated, to whom? Central County Fire Department (fire-specific component only, when required) 85% · ordinance

A rough-in or mid-roof inspection, where one is required, has to happen before the work it covers is closed up. Missing a stage means opening something back up, and it is the most expensive kind of correction.

• Which inspections are required, and in what order? One Building Division inspection (final) for eligible small residential rooftop solar; a separate CCFD fire inspection only if required, within 3 business days 82% · ordinance
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? No 75% · ordinance

The approved plan set, the permit, and the equipment listings should be on site and reachable. Inspectors routinely verify that installed equipment matches what was approved, and that the labels are the ones the plan set promised.

• Is there a published inspection checklist? No 85% · department page + form (absence)
• What must be on site at inspection? The printed permit card and approved plans/documents 68% · department page

Passing gives you a final or an equivalent sign-off. That is not the same as permission to operate: PTO comes from the utility, and who tells the utility the inspection passed varies. A system left switched off for weeks is usually waiting on this handover.

• Who notifies the utility for PTO? Installer (Applicant) 68% · utility tariff
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $230.35/hour (one-hour minimum) 75% · fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? A subsequent (re-)inspection is authorized and required if the system fails; no separate written-correction-notice process is described for solar specifically 62% · ordinance