Temple 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% · authority's own page
• What does this authority permit itself, and what does it delegate? Both (Building & Electrical are Temple City's own combination permit; Fire delegated by LACoFD to city Building & Safety for conventional rooftop PV, but LACoFD retains ESS >3 kWh, a BIPV subcategory, and all disconnect/rapid-shutdown placard field inspection) 90% · AHJ's own guidance document
• Is a permit required for a residential rooftop PV system? Yes 95% · ordinance/authority page
• Is there a separate electrical permit, or is it combined? Combined 90% · authority's own form
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No 92% · codified ordinance
• Is there a historic-district review? No 70% · authority's own site search (control-verified)
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No 55% · authority's own bulletin (absence)
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? Yes, conditionally — a Use Permit is required if the Building Official finds, based on substantial evidence, that the installation would have a 'specific, adverse impact' on public health or safety; the applicant may appeal a Use-Permit requirement or denial to the Planning Commission. 90% · codified ordinance
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? Codified expedited-path cap: 10 kW AC (CEC nameplate) or 30 kW thermal — the 2015-era AB 2188 threshold, defined in TCMC 7-8-2 and repeated on the current Solar Energy System Permits page. This cap gates only the STREAMLINED/expedited review path; larger systems remain permittable via the standard (non-expedited) Combination Permit process, which is not itself capped in the documents reviewed. 75% · authority's own page + codified 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 85% · authority's own form
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? Yes 80% · authority's own page
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Yes 85% · authority's own 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.

• What documents make up a complete submittal? Completed permit application (Combination Permit Application), the Solar Eligibility Checklist (for expedited review), a completed Standard Electrical Plan (String Inverter or Microinverter/ACM), a roof plan showing PV layout + fire-safety items (roof access point, access pathways, fire classification, label locations), and completed Structural Criteria with supporting documentation. 88% · authority's own bulletin
• How many copies, and in what format? Electronic submittal via the city's online FormCenter portal (upload of completed/scanned PDF forms); the bulletin does not state a specific hard-copy count and the process has since moved fully online. 55% · authority's own page
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes — a roof plan showing roof layout, PV module/panel locations, approximate roof-access point, code-compliant access pathways, the PV system's fire classification, and the location of all required labels/markings. 88% · authority's own bulletin
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Yes 88% · authority's own standard plan
• Are string and conductor calculations required? Conditional — the pre-engineered Standard Plan (String or Microinverter/ACM) embeds pre-calculated string/conductor tables so no separate calculations are needed if the project fits the plan's parameters (integrated DC AFCI, module Voc within Table 2 limits, etc.); systems that fall outside those parameters must move to a 'Comprehensive Standard Plan' with project-specific calculations. 65% · authority's own standard plan
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? Structural PE stamp required only if any item on the city's Structural Criteria checklist is answered 'No' — in that case the applicant must attach project-specific drawings/calculations 'stamped and signed by a California-licensed Civil or Structural Engineer.' If every item is 'Yes,' no stamped calculations are required. 90% · authority's own bulletin
• Is an electrical PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No separate electrical PE-stamp threshold is stated; the simplified Standard Plans (String/Microinverter) are pre-engineered and self-certified via Yes/No checklist items (integrated AFCI, bus-bar limits, etc.). Systems that fail those items are routed to a 'Comprehensive Standard Plan,' which the document implies needs project-specific engineering, but no PE-stamp threshold is spelled out. 50% · authority's own standard plan

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? City's own CivicPlus FormCenter ('Solar System Permit Application') plus a general 'Permit & Project Portal' for plan-check status/records; SolarAPP+ (solarapp.nrel.gov) is also offered as an alternate ministerial-review pathway. 90% · authority's own portal
• Can the whole application be completed online? Yes 88% · authority's own portal
• What does a residential solar permit cost? 2015 bulletin states a flat Plan Check fee of $223.80 for solar PV ≤10 kW; but the city's current live Fees page states plan-check and permit fees generally (not solar-specific) are set at '120% of the fees established by the County of Los Angeles' — so the current dollar figure likely differs from the 2015 number and could not be independently recomputed from LA County's fee schedule in this run. 55% · authority's own page (fee basis) + dated bulletin (fee figure)
• How is the fee calculated? Flat (2015 bulletin) / Valuation-linked via county schedule (current stated basis) 50% · authority's own page
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? Yes 75% · authority's own bulletin + 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? Two weeks or less (stated average) 90% · authority's own page
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? Plan check approval valid 1 year from submittal (may be extended); issued permit valid 6 months from issuance (may be extended). 90% · authority's own page
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Southern California Edison (SCE) 92% · authority's own page
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? After permit (installer must separately obtain the utility's own approval/permission to connect/operate; city permit approval does not itself authorize grid connection). 70% · codified ordinance

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 92% · codified adopting ordinance
• Which building code edition is in force? 2025 California Building Code (Part 2, Title 24 CCR), locally amended 92% · codified adopting ordinance
• Which fire code edition is in force? 2023 Los Angeles County Fire Code (LACFC) — a locally-amended version of the 2022 California Fire Code, codified as LA County Code Title 32 and automatically incorporated by Temple City's own floating adoption clause. 85% · codified ordinance + AHJ's own current document
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes 88% · codified ordinance
• What is the installation judged against? The 2025 California Building/Residential/Electrical/Energy/Green Building Standards Codes as locally amended (Ord. 25-1085, 12-2-2025), the 2023 LACFC (LA County Title 32) for fire aspects, and the city's own Solar Eligibility Checklist / Standard Plans for the expedited path. 82% · codified 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? Not spelled out with the city's own dimensions — the city's Submittal Requirements bulletin instead points applicants to the State Fire Marshal's Solar PV Installation Guide ('Examples of clear path access pathways are available in the State Fire Marshal Solar PV Installation Guide') for pathway examples, and the Eligibility Checklist simply requires 'Clear access pathways provided' and 'Fire classification solar system is provided' without stating its own setback numbers. 55% · authority's own bulletin (external reference, no local numeric standard found)

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 code currently in force (2025 CEC, based on 2023 NEC, NEC/CEC §690.12) by operation of TCMC 7-2-5 (Ord. 25-1085, 12-2-2025). However, none of the six solar-specific PDFs the city currently links from its Solar Energy System Permits page (Submittal Requirements, Eligibility Checklist, Combination Permit Application, Structural Criteria, and both Standard Plans) — all dated October 2015 — mention 'rapid shutdown' or '690.12' anywhere; a corpus-wide grep across all six PDFs returned zero hits for both terms. 65% · codified adopting ordinance + authority's own (dated) bulletins

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? From the city's own 2015 Standard Plan: 'PV SYSTEM AC DISCONNECT' and 'PV SYSTEM DC DISCONNECT' plaques at the disconnects, an inverter-output-connection overcurrent-device warning, a dual-power-source warning at the main panel, an ungrounded-DC-conductor shock warning (ungrounded systems only), and 'WARNING: PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER SOURCE' markings on junction/combiner boxes and conduit every 10 ft. Separately, for the LACoFD-retained scope, LACoFD's own Guide (Appendix B) requires an exterior 'F.D. – ELECTRICAL / BLDG DISCONNECT / #X of Y' placard plus matching panel-interior placards at every electrical/PV/ESS disconnect. 85% · authority's own standard plan + AHJ's own guide
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? Yes 90% · AHJ's own guide
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? LACoFD specifies exact letter height/colour/material for its retained-scope placards: exterior placards minimum 2"×3.5", panel-interior minimum 7/16"×¾", red letters engraved into a yellow weather-resistant-plastic background, solid all-capitals Arial font (minimum size 24, with 'F.D.' and '# X of Y' bold minimum size 28 on exterior placards), attached with permanent epoxy. The city's own 2015 Standard Plan gives only a non-binding suggestion (a phenolic plaque per ANSI Z535.4, '20 point (3/8") should be considered the minimum') rather than a mandatory spec. 92% · AHJ's own current guide
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? Yes — CEC 705.12 requires 'a permanent plaque or directory denoting all electric power sources on or in the premises,' cited directly in the city's own Standard Plan; the roof/site plan submitted with the permit must show the roof layout, module/anchor layout, access pathways, fire classification, and disconnect/roof-access locations. 82% · authority's own standard plan
• Where must the labels be placed? At the inverter output-connection overcurrent device, the DC and AC disconnects, on junction/combiner boxes and conduit (every 10 ft), and as a permanent directory plaque at the main service panel/point of all power sources. 80% · authority's own standard plan

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 85% · authority's own standard plan
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Permitted under the standard (non-expedited) Combination Permit process; batteries are explicitly EXCLUDED from the city's expedited/self-certifying path (the Eligibility Checklist requires the system be 'utility interactive and without battery storage'). Under LACoFD's Guide, an individual ESS unit is capped at 20 kWh with an 80 kWh aggregate site cap across garages/exterior walls/ground locations, and any ESS with more than 3 kWh energy capacity requires full LACoFD plan review and field inspection regardless of city sign-off. 88% · authority's own checklist + AHJ's own guide
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? Yes 90% · AHJ's own current fee schedule
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? No mandatory service-upgrade rule found, but the expedited/self-certifying path gates on a bus-bar limit: the PV system must interconnect to a single-phase 120/240V panel with a bus-bar rating of 225 A or less to qualify for the Eligibility Checklist route. 78% · authority's own checklist
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? Yes — a detailed pre-engineered mounting/attachment-spacing table: max anchor horizontal spacing varies by roof slope and rafter spacing (e.g. 5'-4" to 6'-0" for flat-to-6:12 slopes at 16"-32" o.c. rafters for PV arrays ≤4 psf), and anchor fasteners must be 5/16" lag screws with 2.5" rafter embedment (or per manufacturer's tested guidelines). 90% · authority's own bulletin

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 page
• How much notice is required? Approximately 1 business day — 'Next-day inspections must be received before 3:30 p.m. All requests received after 3:30 p.m. will be scheduled for the next available business day.' 85% · authority's own 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? Delegated / split — the city itself (in-house Building & Code Inspector) performs the final structural/electrical/PV inspection for conventional rooftop PV; LACoFD separately performs its own final field inspection for the fire-retained scope (disconnect and rapid-shutdown placarding on every PV job, plus full inspection of any ESS >3 kWh or qualifying BIPV). 82% · authority's own staff directory + department page
• If delegated, to whom? City side: in-house (Eric So, Building and Code Inspector, City of Temple City, eso@templecityca.gov) — not delegated. Fire-retained scope: delegated to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Fire Prevention Division (regional inspection office, per LACoFD's own Regional Inspection Office phone/email list). 82% · authority's own staff directory

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 system eligible for the city's expedited/self-certifying path: a single combination-permit final inspection by the city (structural, electrical, PV-specific checklist items) — 'Only one inspection shall be required for a small residential rooftop solar energy system eligible for expedited review' (TCMC 7-8-4.E). Separately and in parallel, LACoFD requires its own final field inspection covering disconnect/rapid-shutdown placarding on every PV job, plus a distinct ESS/BIPV plan-review-and-inspection track where applicable. 82% · codified ordinance + AHJ's own checklist
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? No 85% · codified 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? Yes 82% · authority's own bulletin + AHJ's own checklist
• What must be on site at inspection? Approved/stamped plans and any equipment spec sheets/data matching those plans, so the inspector can verify module count/model, conductor sizing, grounding, mounting/attachment details, and that installed labels/signs match the equipment actually installed. 75% · authority's own bulletin
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Yes 85% · authority's own bulletin

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 85% · codified ordinance
• Is there a re-inspection fee? LACoFD-side re-inspection fee (for the fire-retained scope) is $98, per its own current Appendix QQ fee schedule ('Additional inspections after initial inspection and one reinspection'). The city's own municipal code (TCMC 7-1-4.B) provides for a general re-inspection fee 'as determined per the fee resolution' but no dollar figure for that city-side fee was found in the code text or the extracted solar PDFs. 60% · AHJ's own current fee schedule (LACoFD portion); codified ordinance (city portion, amount not found)
• How are corrections issued and cleared? Comments/corrections are issued in writing during plan review (per the Building Review Process: 'PLAN REVIEW... Comments/corrections provided' → 'PLAN REVISIONS — Applicant makes revisions to plans' → additional review rounds if needed); for the solar-specific expedited path, TCMC 7-8-4.B requires the Building Official to 'issue a written correction notice detailing all deficiencies in the application' for an incomplete submittal. 78% · authority's own page + codified ordinance