City of San Clemente

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% · adopting ordinance
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Combined 65% · department page
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No 78% · AHJ form / ordinance
• Is there a historic-district review? No for a typical single-family rooftop PV retrofit; conditionally Yes only if the property is a historically-designated site, within 300 feet of one, or inside the A-D Architectural Design Overlay District (the 'Pier Bowl' area) — in which case Discretionary Design Review under the city's Design Guidelines and Zoning Ordinance Sec. 5.21 applies. 78% · design guidelines
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No 70% · adopting ordinance
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? Not required for a standard residential rooftop PV permit. A Specific/Conditional Use Permit or Planning Commission/Council action could be triggered only incidentally — e.g., a ground-mount array that cannot meet zoning setbacks, or a property inside the historic/Architectural Overlay District requiring Discretionary Design Review escalation — but no PV-specific SUP/Council-approval trigger is stated in any reviewed document. 50% · design guidelines / inference

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 85% · department page
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? No 50% · 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? Solar Permit Application form; plans and structural/electrical calculations (PDF only); HOA Confirmation Form (BA-1) — checked as exempt for rooftop solar under the Solar Rights Act citation on the form itself; OCFA Fillable SFD form; Special Inspections form and Engineer's Structural Observation form if triggered by non-prescriptive framing/attachment. 85% · published checklist
• How many copies, and in what format? PDF only, submitted electronically to SolarPermits@San-Clemente.org (or via SolarAPP+ website for eligible projects). 'No links or Dropbox submissions accepted.' Standard (non-solar) building permits separately require 3 physical plan sets dropped at City Hall, but the solar-specific pathway is described as electronic/PDF-only. 85% · department page
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes — the BI-5 'Typical Plot Plan' checklist requires: property boundaries/dimensions, bordering street names/widths, existing and proposed structures, distances to property lines, easements, and utility locations (electrical, gas, water, sewer). The solar checklist additionally requires an exterior elevation showing equipment and label locations/heights. 85% · published checklist
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Yes 90% · published checklist
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Yes 92% · published checklist
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No blanket PE/architect stamp requirement for a standard roof-mount PV racking system installed per an ICC-ES report; a stamp by a CA-licensed architect or civil/structural engineer is required only for 'any portion of any structure that deviates from compliance with requirements found in the California Residential Code' (CRC Sec. R301.1.3.1), e.g., non-standard attachment, ground mount, or structural non-conformance. 70% · published checklist
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No PV-specific electrical PE stamp threshold found; the solar plan-review checklist requires load calculations, busbar-derating justification (CEC 705.12(D)) and Voc/Isc calcs, but does not state these must be a PE's stamped work as opposed to the installer/designer's calculations. 55% · 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? eTRAKiT (https://cdweb.san-clemente.org/eTRAKiT/login.aspx), plus SolarAPP+ (https://solarapp.nrel.gov/) as an optional expedited front-end for eligible systems that then still issues the permit of record in eTRAKiT. 95% · portal landing page
• Can the whole application be completed online? No 75% · portal
• What does a residential solar permit cost? No flat solar fee; calculated from the general Building Permit Fee valuation table (Resolution 08-80): e.g. ~$345 permit fee for a $20,000 valuation job ($74.75 for the first $2,000 + $15/$1,000 to $25,000), plus Building Plan Check Fee = 65% of that permit fee (~$224), plus a $35 Electrical Permit issuance fee and 25% electrical plan-check. A typical residential PV job in the $15k-$30k range totals roughly $500-$900. 65% · fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Valuation 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.

• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? Locally amended (Ordinance No. 1796, amending CBC/CRC Sec. 105.5/105.8): a permit becomes invalid if work is not commenced within 12 months of issuance, or if no inspection is requested within 180 days with no approved progress; one or more 180-day commencement extensions may be granted (total extensions capped at 18 months for an abandoned application). Separately, Sec. 105.8 requires all construction be completed within 12 months of permit issuance, extendable up to an additional 12 months by the Building Official. 92% · adopting ordinance
• Which utility handles interconnection here? San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) 92% · AHJ document naming utility
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? After permit 75% · utility DG program 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 97% · 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 as locally amended, effective January 1, 2026. 97% · adopting ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? 2025 California Fire Code (based on 2024 IFC), amended by the State, the City, and Orange County Fire Authority (SCMC Title 8, Ch. 8.16). 95% · adopting ordinance
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes 97% · adopting ordinance
• What is the installation judged against? The 2025 California Electrical Code (based on the 2023 NEC) and 2025 California Building/Residential Codes, both as amended by Ordinance No. 1796, plus the city's own 'Solar Voltaic Electrical Plan Review Comments - Residential' checklist which applies CEC Articles 690 and 705 (rapid shutdown, interconnection, disconnects, labeling) item-by-item during plan check. 90% · ordinance + 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? No PV-specific ridge-setback or fire-access-pathway rule was located in the sections of Ordinance No. 1796 reviewed (its Fire Code amendments cover fuel modification, hazardous conditions/2808 waste-pile separation, and sprinkler requirements — not roof access setbacks), nor in OCFA's lettered-guideline index (A-01 through E-01, none titled PV/ESS/solar). This suggests the default 2025 CFC/2023 NEC Sec.705.10-style pathway and setback rules apply without a documented local or OCFA amendment, consistent with the pattern (no PV/ESS lettered OCFA guideline) reproduced elsewhere in this survey. 55% · ordinance review + guideline index

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 per CEC 690.12 (2023 NEC as adopted in the 2025 CEC) — but the city's own checklist template contains an internal date conflict: item 32 cites 'CEC 690.12' (current, matching the 2025 CEC/2023 NEC in force), while item 36 on the same document instructs applicants to 'Show all signage, labels, and directory required per 2019 CEC — Article 690, and 705,' an apparent leftover reference to the prior (2019) code cycle. Reporting both rather than resolving the conflict. 78% · 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? At minimum: (1) a main-service-panel placard reading 'WARNING: THIS EQUIPMENT FED BY MULTIPLE SOURCES...' per CEC 705.12; (2) AC-disconnect/rapid-shutdown labels at the disconnect and inside the panel adjacent to the PV breaker; (3) an ESS listing/labeling per UL 9540 where a battery is installed; (4) a directory/exterior-elevation diagram showing every label's location. 92% · published checklist
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? Yes 88% · published checklist
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? Yes — item 35 of the solar checklist requires 'an exterior elevation indicating all equipment and their required labels,' identifying 'the specific location and height of each label on the exterior elevation' at the MSP, inverter, and disconnect. This functions as the facility/label-location diagram (paralleling NEC 705.10) rather than a physical on-site placard separate from the label set itself. 78% · published checklist
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Not clearly beyond the AHJ's. SDG&E's own contractor-facing documents found (Interconnection Handbook reference, NEM-ST application forms, a sample one-line diagram) do not add a distinct SDG&E placard spec. The one artifact found — SDG&E's sample one-line diagram PDF, still linked live from its current Solar Contractor Documents & Forms page but internally dated 2010 — actually calls the AC disconnect 'Recommended but not required,' which conflicts with the city's own 2026 checklist making that same disconnect mandatory. Flagging the discrepancy rather than resolving it; SDG&E's current position could not be independently confirmed beyond that outdated document. 45% · utility sample document (dated)
• Where must the labels be placed? At the main service panel (same height/location as the PV breaker, plus a duplicate label inside the panel next to that breaker); at the AC disconnect itself, which must be on the exterior of the building, readily accessible, and within 3 feet of the meter or the PV disconnect (or as required by the Fire Code Official); and the master label locations must additionally be documented on an exterior-elevation diagram in the plan set. 90% · published 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.

• Where must the AC disconnect be, relative to the meter? Within 3 feet of the meter (or of the PV disconnect, or as otherwise required by the Fire Code Official); must be a visible-open, lockable, exterior-mounted AC disconnect. This is the city's own current (April 2026) requirement. Flagging a conflict: SDG&E's own sample one-line diagram, still linked from SDG&E's current site but dated 2010 internally, labels the AC disconnect 'Recommended but not required' by the utility — the AHJ rule is unambiguous and current; the utility-side document is old and inconsistent with it. 82% · published checklist
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Yes, narrowly — the checklist requires NRTL/UL listing for individual components (supply-side tap equipment listing, UL 1703 modules, UL 9540 for ESS) rather than a city-maintained 'approved products list.' No authority-specific approved-equipment list was found. 60% · published checklist
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Yes. Batteries/ESS are permitted subject to: CRC R328.4 compliance if located inside an inhabitable room, R328.8.1 impact protection if in a garage/carport, UL 9540 listing, and the unit must be at or above the property's Base Flood Elevation (BFE). Fire-code (OCFA) plan review is separately triggered above CFC Article 64 / 2007 IFC Sec.608 chemical-quantity thresholds. 88% · published checklist
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? Yes, conditionally — the city itself does not issue a separate 'ESS permit' distinct from the solar/building permit, but OCFA runs a separate fire plan-review/inspection track (PR375, $963 plan review + $233 inspection) specifically for 'Battery Systems, stationary storage and cell sites' once chemical quantities exceed CFC Art.64/2007 IFC Sec.608 thresholds — most small home battery installs stay under that trigger. 72% · fire authority fee schedule
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? No city-specific busbar/service-upgrade rule beyond the state CEC 705.12(D) sum-of-breakers / 120%-rule, which the city's own checklist reproduces verbatim (items 10-13, 705.12(D)(2)(3)(a)-(c)) rather than tightening. The one local electrical amendment in Ordinance No. 1796 (new SCMC 15.12.020(B), Sec.300.5(L)) concerns mandatory undergrounding of new/relocated main-building utility services — unrelated to busbar sizing. 82% · adopting ordinance

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? Portal (eTRAKiT, https://cdweb.san-clemente.org/etrakit/) or by phone at 949-361-3366. 90% · department page
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? AM/PM windows only, not same-day guarantees: morning 8:30am-noon, afternoon 12:30-3:30pm. 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 85% · department page
• If delegated, to whom? Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA), but only for the fire-code-triggered portion of a job (e.g., ESS above CFC Art.64/IFC 608 thresholds) — not for the routine building/electrical solar inspection, which the city performs itself. 80% · 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? No PV-specific inspection code exists in the city's numbered inspection list; a residential rooftop PV job is closed out under code '333: Electrical Final' (and '999: Building Final' if structural/roof work was also permitted). No separate rough-in code for solar appears in the list. 75% · department page
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? No 60% · department page (inference)

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 60% · document library (absence)
• What must be on site at inspection? Permit number and inspection code, the approved plan set, and the inspection job card. 88% · department page
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Yes (inferred) 65% · inference from plan-review checklist + 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.

• What is issued on pass? Final 75% · department page (inference)
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? Installer 65% · utility program page (inference)
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $200.00 per hour (one-hour minimum) 90% · fee schedule
• How are corrections issued and cleared? Not explicitly documented as a formal 'correction notice' process; inferred from the Inspections page's emphasis on the physical 'inspection job card' (which an inspector presumably annotates on-site) and the portal's permit-status lookup — corrections are most likely communicated on the job card/verbally in the field and cleared by requesting a re-inspection through the same eTRAKiT portal or phone line used for the original booking. 45% · department page (inference)