City of Davis

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 95% · authority's own department page
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both 90% · authority's own checklist + fee schedule
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes 95% · published checklist
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Combined 80% · fee schedule
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No 50% · absence in published checklist
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No 50% · absence in published checklist + comparable-jurisdiction inference
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? No — standard residential rooftop PV permitting is ministerial, not requiring Council/SUP approval 70% · state statute + authority's own process description

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 50% · inference from checklist silence + state law
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? No 50% · absence in published checklist

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.

• What documents make up a complete submittal? Completed Building Application; two sets of plans (min. 11x17, scale 1/4"=1'); site plan showing modules/equipment location and fire access pathways; roof membrane/structural info; electrical (one-line-equivalent) diagram with conductor/conduit sizes and calcs, AC/DC disconnects, panelboard/busbar ratings; product datasheets for all new equipment; photos of existing main/interconnection panel and its labeling; plan pages depicting labels/placards per CEC 690 & 705.12. 95% · published checklist
• How many copies, and in what format? Two sets of plans, minimum 11" x 17", drawn at 1/4" = 1' scale 95% · published checklist
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes — must show location of all new/existing solar modules and electrical equipment, fire access pathways/clearances/setbacks per CRC 324, existing roof membrane info, and existing structural support (e.g. rafter size/spacing). 95% · published checklist
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Yes 85% · published checklist
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Yes 90% · published checklist
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Required whenever the array exceeds the manufacturer's prescriptive installation instructions — no numeric threshold stated; standard prescriptive racking (with documented rafter spacing) does not require a stamp. 80% · published checklist

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? SolarAPP+ (solarapp.nrel.gov) for eligible standard residential retrofit PV systems; non-eligible/other systems are submitted as a paper Building Application over the counter at the Building Division (23 Russell Blvd). No separate general e-permitting portal (e.g. Accela/Citizen Access) was found on the city's site. 85% · authority's own department page
• Can the whole application be completed online? Partially — SolarAPP+ registration, design submission and automated code-compliance review happen entirely online, but the applicant must still bring two printed copies of the approved plans to the Building Division counter to receive City stamps and the physical permit card. 85% · authority's own department page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? Valuation-based per the City-Wide Master Fee Schedule's Building Permit and Plan Check fee table (Basic Fee + Plan Review Fee scaled to declared job valuation), plus a separate SolarAPP+ platform processing fee for systems submitted through that route. No flat residential-solar-specific fee line exists. 85% · fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Valuation 85% · fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes 85% · 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? SolarAPP+-eligible systems: permit number issued by email within 24 business hours of automated review. Non-eligible systems go through the standard Building Division plan-check queue; no published turnaround time was found for that manual path. 75% · authority's own department page
• Which utility handles interconnection here? PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) — PG&E owns the distribution wires and handles interconnection/PTO. Valley Clean Energy (VCE) is the Community Choice Aggregator that procures/supplies the electricity commodity for Davis, Woodland, Winters and unincorporated Yolo County, but does not perform interconnection. 85% · utility's own page
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? Parallel 50% · utility tariff (general inference, not Davis-specific)

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? Not clearly current — city's own posted checklists (PV/battery doc revised 2022/reissued Apr 2023; electrical-upgrade doc dated Jan 2024) both cite the '2019 California Electrical Code (CEC)', which is two code cycles behind the 2025 Title 24 cycle (2023 NEC base) that took effect statewide 1 Jan 2026. This is reported as a live contradiction, not resolved: the documents are dated after 2022 but still reference 2019-cycle codes. 55% · authority's own dated checklist (internal contradiction)
• Which building code edition is in force? Not clearly current — same city checklists cite the '2019 California Building Code (CBC)' / '2019 California Residential Code (CRC)', despite being the Building Division's live, currently-linked forms (one reissued 2023, one dated Jan 2024). 55% · authority's own dated checklist (internal contradiction)
• Which fire code edition is in force? 2019 California Fire Code — stated on the live Fire Prevention page (captured 16 May 2026, footer dated '© 2026'): 'Section 105 of the California Fire Code, 2019 edition, establishes provisions for issuance of Operational Permits.' 70% · authority's own current department page
• What is the installation judged against? 2019 CRC, CEC, California Energy Efficiency Standards, and CalGreen, per the city's own (but code-cycle-stale) PV/battery checklist — see Q29/Q30 contradiction. 65% · published checklist

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? Fire access pathways/clearances/setbacks must comply with CRC Section 324; modules may not be placed on any portion of the roof providing an existing 36-inch pathway from an emergency escape/rescue opening (e.g. a second-floor bedroom window). 85% · published checklist

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? Rapid shutdown is implicitly required — the checklist requires all secondary-source interconnection circuits to comply with 'CEC section 705.12' generally and requires AC/DC disconnects to be identified, but the document does not independently name NEC 690.12 or a rapid-shutdown edition; per the CA STATE-mode findings the current statewide requirement is under the 2023 NEC (2025 Title 24 cycle, effective 1 Jan 2026), while Davis's own posted checklist still cites 2019-cycle code (see Q29). 55% · inference + published checklist

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? Placards/labels are required at the service equipment per CEC Sections 690 and 705.12 (as cross-referenced by the city's checklist); the city does not add placards beyond what those code sections already require. 75% · published checklist
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? No 65% · absence in published checklist
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? No Davis-specific spec found 60% · absence in published checklist
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? A site plan showing the location of all new/existing solar modules and electrical equipment is required (functions as the facility map for 705.10 purposes); the checklist does not separately name a dedicated 'facility map placard.' 60% · published checklist
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes — PG&E Rule 21 requires a visible, manually-operated, lockable isolating disconnect near the Point of Interconnection with its own signage: markings clearly indicating open/closed position, and if the switch is not adjacent to the PCC, permanent signage at a PG&E-approved location describing where the device is (plus contact-info signage and an approved locking device if the switch sits behind locked premises). 75% · utility tariff
• Where must the labels be placed? At the main electric service / point of interconnection — the electrical checklist requires labels at 'the main electric service' for any secondary-source (PV/ESS/generator) system, and Rule 21 requires the visible disconnect (and its signage) at or near the Point of Interconnection. 70% · published checklist + 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.

• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Yes 80% · published checklist
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Yes — batteries (ESS) are permitted and are addressed together with PV in the same city checklist. Conditions include CEC 705.12 interconnection sizing (120% rule or all-breakers-sum method), equipment grounding conductor sizing per CEC 250.122/250.169, and required product datasheets for 'battery equipment' and 'gateway/energy management hardware.' 90% · published checklist
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? No — combined with the PV permit under one Building Application; the checklist title and structure ('Residential Solar (PV) & Energy Storage Systems (Batteries)') treats PV and ESS as one submittal, not separate permits. 75% · published checklist
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? Yes — CEC 705.12(B)(2)(3) interconnection sizing is spelled out in detail: the '120% Rule' (705.12(B)(2)(3)(b)) and the all-breakers-sum method (705.12(B)(2)(3)(c)), plus a table of grounding-electrode-conductor sizing by main breaker amperage (CEC Table 250.66), and a minimum 100A main breaker requirement for any service (CEC 230.79(C)). 90% · published checklist
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? Racking must carry a Class A fire rating and comply with UL 1703 and UL 2703; non-penetrating (ballast) systems require design pages showing ballast-block locations/weights per manufacturer; penetrating systems require flashing/waterproofing detail. 90% · published checklist

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 90% · authority's own department page
• How much notice is required? 1 business day 90% · authority's own department page
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? AM/PM preference can be requested via the 'special instructions' field on the automated line, but is not guaranteed; inspection windows run 8:00am-12:00pm and 1:00pm-3:30pm. 85% · authority's own 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 85% · authority's own department page
• If delegated, to whom? N/A — not delegated; the City of Davis Building Division performs its own final solar/electrical inspections. 85% · authority's own department page

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? For solar/battery permits the checklist describes a single inspection stage (final) covering grounding, panel access, and labeling — no separate rough-in stage is named. Electrical service-upgrade permits (a related but distinct permit type) do have a staged sequence: a 'Temporary Power Inspection' (panel set, grounding, ready for PG&E connection, city issues an 'Authorization to Connect' red sticker) followed by a final. 65% · published checklist
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? No 55% · absence in published checklist

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? Yes 85% · published checklist
• What must be on site at inspection? Stamped plans and the permit (card) must be on site; all electrical boxes open with deadfronts removed; for roof-mounted PV, a CAL-OSHA-approved extension ladder extending a minimum of 3 feet above the roofline; grounding electrode system (incl. gas/water bonds, or two ground rods 6' apart if no ufer) verifiable; all exterior equipment/conduit rated for exterior use; smoke alarms and CO detectors in working condition per CA H&SC 13113.7. 90% · published checklist
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Yes (inferred) 65% · inference from published checklist

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.

• What is issued on pass? Final (signed-off permit card) — no Certificate of Occupancy is issued for an existing single-family residence undergoing a PV/battery retrofit; the process language throughout (permit card, inspection sign-off) implies closing the permit rather than issuing a new CO. 55% · inference from process description
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? Installer 50% · inference from utility tariff (utility-level, not Davis-specific)
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $184.00 (hourly rate, minimum 1 hour) for re-inspections generally 85% · fee schedule