City of Redwood City

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% · department page
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both 90% · department page
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes 95% · department FAQ
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Combined 75% · department page
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No 50% · department FAQ / inference
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No — Redwood City has a design wind speed (85 mph, 3-second gust) used in structural calculations, but no separate 'windstorm certification' program (that concept is specific to Gulf Coast/TDI states) 60% · department page
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? No 65% · state statute

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 55% · state statute
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes 60% · state statute

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? Site plan showing array location, roof plan, electrical line (one-line) diagram, load calculations, and manufacturer's specification sheets for all proposed equipment (modules, inverter(s), mounting system) 90% · department FAQ
• How many copies, and in what format? Digital submittal only 75% · department page
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes — must show location of the solar array on the site plan 90% · department FAQ
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Yes 88% · department FAQ
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Yes 82% · department FAQ

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? E-TRAKiT (permits.redwoodcity.org/etrakit), accessed through the SolarAPP+ (gosolarapp.org) automatic-permitting workflow for residential PV 95% · department page
• Can the whole application be completed online? Yes 90% · department page

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? Over-the-counter / same-day for SolarAPP+-eligible systems; general 'Roofing and Subpermits' category is listed as 'Over the Counter' on the current Plan Review Times page (captured 5 Mar 2026) 72% · department page
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? 365 days from issuance; each passed inspection extends validity another 365 days; a one-time 365-day extension is available for a fee if within the current code cycle 88% · department FAQ
• Which utility handles interconnection here? PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) 85% · utility document
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? Parallel, with PTO gated on the AHJ's passed final inspection 60% · utility document

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 NEC (via the 2025 California Electrical Code, part of the 2025 Title 24 cycle effective 1 Jan 2026) as the statewide default 50% · department page + inference
• Which building code edition is in force? 2025 California Building Code (13th/14th edition per cycle, statewide, effective 1 Jan 2026) as the statewide default 50% · department page (stale) + inference
• Which fire code edition is in force? 2025 California Fire Code (statewide default, effective 1 Jan 2026) 45% · department page + inference
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes 85% · department page / ordinance
• What is the installation judged against? The California Building Code, California Electrical Code (NEC as amended), and California Fire Code as adopted by the City, plus the City's Reach Codes ordinance 55% · inference

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.

Nothing recorded for City of Redwood City on this step yet — 1 question checked and found unpublished. The guidance above is general.

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, rapid shutdown is required at the array boundary and PV source/output conductors, per NEC 690.12 as incorporated into whichever CEC cycle is currently in force (2023 NEC via the 2025 CEC, statewide default per Q29) 50% · inference from statewide code

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.

• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes — PG&E requires permanent signage on distributed-generation installations independent of any AHJ requirement 95% · utility manual (Greenbook)
• Where must the labels be placed? At the meter panel (permanent generation-source signage), and — if the AC disconnect is more than 10 feet from or out of line of sight of the meter — an additional sign/map at the meter panel showing the disconnect's location; an engraved placard at the metering equipment is required where a fusible AC disconnect serves a line/supply-side connection 90% · utility manual (Greenbook)

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? Behind/after the meter on most self-contained and all transformer-rated panels (AC disconnect required); not required on single-phase, ≤320A self-contained socket-based panels with an inverter-based generator, unless it's a K-base meter panel (always requires one). Where required, PG&E-approved AC disconnect switches are installed after the meter and ahead of the main breaker for line/supply-side connections, or on a dedicated manufactured generation breaker. 92% · utility manual (Greenbook)

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 (24-hour recorded line) or walk-in at the Building Counter, City Hall 88% · department page
• How much notice is required? Effectively 1 business day — requests must be received by 2 p.m. to be placed on the following day's inspection schedule 85% · department page
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? No stated AM/PM window — inspections are available Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. with no time-slot confirmation ('you will not get a call back to confirm your inspection') 75% · 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 70% · department page / inference
• If delegated, to whom? N/A — not delegated; performed by the City's own Building Division 75% · department page / inference

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.

Nothing recorded for City of Redwood City on this step yet — 2 questions checked and found unpublished. The guidance above is general.

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.

• What must be on site at inspection? At minimum, a copy of the permit card, posted on site in a weatherproof sleeve and visible from the street 55% · department FAQ

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, following the passed AHJ final inspection 55% · utility manual (Greenbook) / inference