City of San Bernardino

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 88% · department page
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes 95% · department page
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Combined 80% · department page
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? No — for qualifying systems the process is administrative/ministerial via the Eligibility Checklist, with no Council or discretionary Specific Use Permit step described. 72% · checklist
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No blanket system-size cap found; the City's own expedited/ministerial fast-track is limited to systems ≤10kW AC, roof-mounted on 1-2 family dwellings, utility-interactive without battery storage — larger or non-conforming systems fall to standard (non-expedited) plan review rather than being barred outright. 80% · checklist

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 78% · department page
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes 78% · department page
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes 80% · department page

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? Permit application; Contractor or Owner-Builder declaration (notarized if signed by a company rep); proof of active business license; completed Eligibility Checklist for Expedited Residential Solar Voltaic Permitting; plans min. 11x17 (site/plot plan, roof plan+framing, single-line electrical diagram, structural/lateral calcs by CA PE/architect where panels >4 lbs/ft², equipment spec sheets, UL listings, structural criteria form); signed/stamped by CA-licensed B/C-46/C-10 contractor with engineered portions stamped by a CA architect/engineer. 92% · published checklist
• How many copies, and in what format? Not specified for the solar-specific expedited path; the City's general (non-solar) Plan Check Submittal Requirements (rev. 02/2023) calls for six complete sets for standard plan check. 55% · checklist
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes — a plot/site plan (APN, address, all structures, setbacks, north arrow) plus a roof plan showing location/dimensions of all PV equipment and arrays. 92% · checklist
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Yes 95% · checklist
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Yes 92% · checklist
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Required generally for engineered portions (CA-licensed architect/engineer); explicit numeric trigger given for LATERAL calcs: 'For panels weighing more than 4 lbs/ft², provide lateral calculations by a licensed professional engineer or architect... showing that affected existing lateral resisting elements are no more than 10% overstressed.' 88% · 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? Accela Citizen Access ('Online Permits', https://aca-prod.accela.com/SANBERN/) for general permit search/status; Symbium Solar portal for the expedited residential-solar instant plan review path. 88% · portal landing page
• Can the whole application be completed online? Yes, for eligible systems via Symbium (instantaneous online plan review/approval); the general Accela portal is used more for permit status/search than full application intake. 75% · department page
• What does a residential solar permit cost? $0 / 'No Charge' for the solar-system-specific permit fee line itself; a general $60 permit issuance fee (applies to 'all permits' per the fee schedule) may still be layered on. 62% · fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Flat 62% · fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? No 58% · 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? 1–3 business days (via the Symbium instant/automated plan-review portal for eligible systems); standard (non-expedited) turnaround not separately stated. 85% · department page
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? 180 days (permit deemed abandoned/expired if no inspection/substantial progress within any 180-day period) 90% · ordinance
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Southern California Edison (SCE) 95% · city page

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 (2022 California Electrical Code, Title 24 Part 3, based on 2017 NEC) 80% · adopting ordinance
• Which building code edition is in force? 2022 California Building Code (Title 24 Part 2, based on 2021 IBC) 80% · adopting ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? 2022 California Fire Code (Title 24 Part 9); amendments to it are adopted by the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, not the City directly. 80% · adopting ordinance
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes 92% · ordinance
• What is the installation judged against? 2022 California Electrical Code Article 690 (per the City's general Plan Check Submittal Requirements cover-sheet rule, which lists '2022 CEC' among the applicable codes/editions). 62% · checklist (dated/stale)

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? By reference to CA Residential Code §R324 and California Fire Code §1204 fire-safety access-pathway requirements; eligibility checklist requires 'clear access pathways provided' but no city-specific numeric ridge-setback amendment was found beyond the state-code default. 62% · 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? Required under the adopted 2022 CEC (based on 2017 NEC) Article 690.12 rapid-shutdown provisions. 58% · inference from adopted code edition

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? (1) Permanently affixed metal placard at the service panel stating the down-sized main breaker rating; (2) system labels/warnings per NEC Article 690; (3) fire-classification and required markings/labels checked at final inspection per the eligibility checklist. 80% · checklist
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? Yes — exact required wording for the breaker placard: "The main service breaker has been down sized to ____ Amps." 85% · checklist
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? Material specified ('permanently affixed metal placard'); letter height/color not specified in any City document reviewed. 55% · checklist
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? Yes — a roof-layout diagram showing all panels/modules, clear access pathways, and approximate locations of electrical disconnecting means and roof access points is required as part of the Fire Safety Requirements section of the eligibility checklist. 85% · checklist
• Where must the labels be placed? At/inside the main service equipment panel for the breaker-derating placard; system labels per NEC Article 690 shown 'on the plans' implying placement at the inverter, disconnects, and array per code. 65% · checklist

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 88% · checklist
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Systems 'with battery storage' or that 'utilize storage batteries, charge controllers, or tracker' are explicitly EXCLUDED from the expedited/ministerial checklist path and would require standard (non-expedited) plan review; no outright City prohibition on batteries was found. 70% · checklist
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? No specific numeric busbar/120%-rule found, but the City's solar handout requires: no derating of the service panel for solar interconnection is permitted, and a permanent placard must state the main breaker has been down-sized to a specific amp rating with no up-sizing allowed. 68% · 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 — via 'SB Direct' at (909) 998-2000, with the permit number ready. 90% · 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 80% · department page + checklist
• If delegated, to whom? Not delegated for building/electrical (City Building & Safety performs it directly); the fire-code portion is administered by the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, which the City annexed into in 2016. 75% · council record

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 a qualifying expedited residential system (≤10kW AC, roof-mount, no battery storage): plan review and final inspection occur TOGETHER as one combined field inspection. If a service/panel upgrade is also involved, that work must already be inspected or ready for inspection concurrently with the solar final. 82% · department page
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? No — for the expedited path there is a single combined final inspection, not a separate rough-in/mid-roof inspection. 75% · department page

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 92% · checklist
• What must be on site at inspection? The permit, approved plans, and the eligibility checklist must be on site; the Solar landing page separately notes hard copies of an 11x14 site map, single-line diagram, and 8x11 spec sheets should be available at inspection. 85% · checklist
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Yes 90% · 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? Approved/passed final inspection sign-off on the permit (not a separate Certificate of Occupancy — the CO fee in the schedule applies to new construction/occupancy changes, not a PV retrofit on an existing dwelling). 55% · inference
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? Installer 58% · utility page
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $118.35 75% · fee schedule