Town of Corte Madera

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% · fee schedule
• 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 85% · fee schedule
• Is a HOA or architectural approval required first? No 65% · department page (absence checked)
• Is a wind or windstorm certification required? No 80% · department page (absence checked)
• Is a Specific Use Permit or Council approval ever required? No, for the eligible small-residential-rooftop path - the Town's own guidance states Planning approval is not required for solar PV installations up to 10kW, and the Planning Division's forms list has no CUP or Design Review item aimed at solar specifically. Larger or non-qualifying systems are not shown to trigger a CUP either; none of the Town's zoning overlay chapters (Hillside, Ridgeline, ADU, ACD, etc.) were found to name solar as a use requiring discretionary review. 60% · department page
• Is there a system-size cap on residential generation? No absolute cap on residential generation size was found in the zoning code. The Town's (legacy, 2015) Eligibility Checklist gates its EXPEDITED/by-right path at 10kW AC, roof-mounted, not exceeding the legal building height, utility-interactive and 'without battery storage' - systems outside those bounds fall to standard plan review rather than being prohibited outright. This legacy checklist predates the Town's current Symbium instant-permitting platform (live since 30 Sep 2024), whose own eligibility criteria were not independently documented by the Town and may differ. 55% · published checklist (PDF, dated 10/07/2015)

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 60% · department page
• Must the contractor be registered with this authority before applying? No 55% · department page (absence checked)
• Is a homeowner permitted to self-install and self-permit? Ambiguous - the Town publishes a standing Owner-Builder Acknowledgement Form, but the Symbium instant-permitting page is framed around contractors 50% · 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? For the plan-review track (non-Symbium or Symbium-ineligible PV <=10kW): completed permit application; demonstrated compliance with the Eligibility Checklist for Expedited Solar Photovoltaic Permitting; a completed Standard Electrical Plan; a roof plan showing roof layout, PV panels, approximate roof access point, code-compliant access pathways, PV system fire classification and locations of all required labels/markings; and completed Structural Criteria with supporting documentation. This is the Town's own currently-linked 'Submittal Requirements Bulletin' (PV Toolkit Document #1), last revised 10/06/2015 and still the only submittal-requirements document linked from the live Solar Photovoltaic page. 78% · published checklist (PDF, dated 10/06/2015, still linked)
• How many copies, and in what format? Electronic PDF only, submitted by email to buildingpermit@cortemadera.gov for the plan-review track (no physical copies), formatted per the Town's current 'Document Submittal Guideline' (updated 21 Jan 2026): exported (not scanned) PDF where possible, unsecured, landscape orientation, a 6-inch cover-sheet approval block and 4x6-inch stamp block, drawn to a stated scale, Arial/Gill Sans/Tahoma 10pt minimum, grayscale, bookmarked/indexed, <=400MB per file. The Symbium instant path is fully online with no plan set submitted. 85% · published guideline (PDF, updated 21 Jan 2026)
• Is a site plan required, and what must it show? Yes - a roof plan showing roof layout, PV panels, approximate roof access point, code-compliant access pathways, PV system fire classification and label locations (plan-review track, per the Town's linked Submittal Requirements Bulletin); Ordinance 1049's own Chapter 12 addition (CMMC 15.02, Sec. 1201.4) separately requires 'a scaled and dimensioned site plan showing the location of all energy systems, property lines, buildings, service and electrical panels, transfer switches, disconnects, underground wiring and piping, fuel type and piping, map placard and signage,' clearly designating property frontage for viewer orientation. 82% · adopting ordinance
• Is a one-line / three-line diagram required? Yes 70% · published checklist (PDF, dated 10/07/2015, still linked)
• Is a structural PE stamp required, and at what threshold? No numeric threshold published for residential rooftop PV specifically. The Town's still-linked (2013 CBC/CRC-cycle) 'Structural Criteria for Residential Rooftop Solar Energy Installations' bulletin (PV Toolkit Document #5) sets a pass/fail checklist (roof slope, rafter spacing/size, module weight <=4 psf, anchor spacing per table, fastener embedment) and states: 'All items above are checked YES. No additional calculations are required' OR 'One or more items are checked NO. Attach project-specific drawings and calculations stamped and signed by a California-licensed civil or structural engineer' - i.e., the PE stamp is triggered by failing this checklist, not by a stated valuation or weight number. 65% · published checklist (PDF, 2013 CBC/CRC-cycle template, still linked)

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? Two systems for two purposes: Symbium (symbium.com/embed-search/?jurisdiction=corte_madera), live since 30 Sep 2024, for SB 379/Gov. Code 65850.52 instant residential solar/ESS permitting; and Accela Citizen Access (ACA, aca-prod.accela.com/CORTE), the Town's general portal for permit history, fee payment and inspection scheduling (including for solar/ESS permits issued through the plan-review track). NOT SolarAPP+ (a site search for 'SolarAPP' on cortemadera.gov returns zero results, confirming the platform is genuinely absent rather than just unlinked). 88% · portal / department page
• Can the whole application be completed online? Partially 80% · published guideline
• What does a residential solar permit cost? $216 flat for residential systems 15kW AC or less; $450 base fee plus $15 per kW for each kW above 15kW 95% · fee schedule
• How is the fee calculated? Tiered 90% · fee schedule
• Is there a separate plan-check fee? No 78% · 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? Approximately 3 business days for the plan-review track ('depending on staff availability'); instant/same-day for Symbium-eligible systems 82% · department page
• How long is an issued permit valid before it expires? 180 days to commence work after issuance; the permit becomes invalid if work is suspended or abandoned for 180 days; the Building Official may grant one or more written extensions of up to 180 days each on a showing of justifiable cause 75% · published form (citing CBC 105.5)
• Which utility handles interconnection here? Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) 90% · fire protection standard
• Where does the utility sit in the sequence? Parallel, with PG&E's final step gated by the Town's inspection 85% · utility DG manual

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 85% · adopting ordinance / department page
• Which building code edition is in force? 2025 California Building Code and 2025 California Residential Code, effective 1 January 2026 95% · department page
• Which fire code edition is in force? 2025 California Fire Code plus the 2024 International Fire Code 95% · adopting ordinance
• Are there local amendments to any of the above? Yes 88% · adopting ordinance
• What is the installation judged against? 2025 CEC Article 690/705 (2023 NEC base, not locally amended) + 2025 CBC/CRC + 2025 CFC (including Section 1205, Solar Photovoltaic Power Systems, adopted un-amended) + Corte Madera's own added CFC Chapter 12 Energy Systems provisions (Sections 1201.4-1201.7: site plan, signs/labels, single exterior disconnect, mandatory shutdown test) under Ordinance 1049 + Central Marin Fire Department's own Fire Protection Standard 523 (Solar Photovoltaic Systems, rev. 1/1/2023), which supplies detailed signage/disconnect/testing specifications beyond the bare code + PG&E Electric Rule 21 for interconnection. 85% · ordinance + fire protection standard

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? 2025 California Fire Code Section 1205 (Solar Photovoltaic Power Systems, successor to the 2013-cycle Section 605.11) applies as adopted, with NO local amendment to the pathway/setback numbers - confirmed by a full-text search of Ordinance 1049 for '1205', 'pathway' and 'ridge', which returns zero hits (positive control: the same search returns Section 918 and Chapter 12 text, proving the search worked). The Town's own currently-linked legacy handout ('2013 Solar Panels - Residential Fire Code') still states the SUPERSEDED 2013-cycle numeric rules verbatim (3-ft eave-to-ridge access pathway on hip roofs, two 3-ft pathways on single-ridge roofs, 18-inch hip/valley setback, panels no higher than 3 ft below the ridge) under old Section 605.11 and cites the now-lapsed Ordinance 936 metal-conduit rule - this document is stale and should not be relied on for the current section number, though its substantive pathway numbers are likely materially unchanged from the current unamended CFC 1205 base text. 65% · fire code excerpt (PDF, 2013-cycle, still linked but superseded)

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 - NEC 2023 Article 690.12, via the 2025 California Electrical Code (unamended by the Town). Corte Madera separately layers its OWN local shutdown requirement via Ordinance 1049 Sections 1201.6 (a single, approved, readily accessible, independently labeled exterior disconnect located as close as possible to the main service panel) and 1201.7 (mandatory operational testing of new installations: simulate a normal power failure by closing the main service breaker, then use the disconnect(s) to terminate ALL alternate power sources - main service, PV, ESS and generators - and verify the shutdown is complete). Central Marin Fire's Standard 523 confirms this test is performed and verified at the field inspection, with all shutoff switches checked for being operational, and carries an express exception for Enphase-style module-level rapid-shutdown equipment that de-energizes at the roof panels. 88% · ordinance + fire protection standard

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) standard 2023 NEC Article 690/705 labels (rapid-shutdown label 690.56(C), disconnect marking 690.13(B), point-of-interconnection directory 705.10) - state law, not local; (2) Central Marin Fire's OWN Standard 523 label set, verified this run: an exterior/interior DC-conduit CAUTION label ('CAUTION - Solar PV Wiring May Remain Energized After Disconnection During Daylight Hours') every 20 feet (mounted at eye level on vertical runs); a Power Source Warning label posted on both the exterior and interior of the main service panel stating how many and which power sources supply the building and how to cut all power (verbatim examples given for 2/3/4-source combinations, e.g. 'WARNING - TWO POWER SOURCES - SOURCES INCLUDE: UTILITY GRID AND PV SOLAR'); individually labeled Disconnect labels (e.g. 'BATTERY DISCONNECT', 'PV DISCONNECT', 'GENERATOR DISCONNECT') affixed to each disconnecting means; a Disconnect-Location label at the main PG&E electrical disconnect giving written directions to any other disconnects; and a Site Card Placard (facility map) verified at the final inspection; (3) PG&E Rule 21 H.1.d requires the isolating device be marked open/closed and, if not adjacent to the point of common coupling, accompanied by permanent signage at a PG&E-approved location. 90% · fire protection standard (image-only PDF, OCR + visual read)
• Does the authority specify placard wording of its own? Yes 92% · fire protection standard
• Does it specify letter height, colour or material? Yes - red label with white lettering, minimum letter height of approximately one-quarter inch ('no smaller than 1/4 inch' per the standard's own text, OCR-read from a scanned original); conduit labels installed every 20 feet, with one label mounted at eye level where conduit runs vertically. 80% · fire protection standard (OCR read)
• Is a site plan / facility map placard required, and what must it show? Yes - a Site Card Placard, required and 'verified at the final inspection', posted at the exterior main service panel (and at the equipment location if installed internally), showing the location of the main service panel, all disconnects (numerically labeled to match the number of power sources) and, per Ordinance 1049 Section 1201.4, the property frontage 'for viewer orientation'. Standard 523 illustrates this with a worked example: a roof diagram with a 'STREET FRONTAGE' arrow and numbered disconnects (#1 Main, #2 PV, #3 ESS) radiating from a 'YOU ARE HERE' main-service-panel marker. 90% · fire protection standard + ordinance
• Does the UTILITY specify placards beyond the AHJ's? Yes, to a limited extent - PG&E Electric Rule 21 Section H.1.d requires the generating facility's isolating/visible disconnect device be clearly marked open/closed, capable of being locked open, clearly marked on the submitted single-line diagram with its type and location pre-approved by PG&E, and - only if the device is NOT adjacent to the Point of Common Coupling - accompanied by 'permanent signage ... installed at a Distribution Provider approved location.' No letter height, color or material is specified in Rule 21 itself. 80% · utility DG manual
• Where must the labels be placed? At the main service panel, both exterior and interior (power-source warning label); every 20 feet along DC conduit runs, at eye level where vertical (conduit caution label); on the main PG&E electrical disconnect (disconnect-location label with written directions to other disconnects); on each individual disconnecting means (disconnect labels); and, per PG&E Rule 21, on or adjacent to the isolating device itself, or at a PG&E-approved alternate location if that device is not adjacent to the point of common coupling. 85% · fire protection standard / utility spec

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? No Town or PG&E rule fixes a distance from the METER. Corte Madera's own rule (Ordinance 1049 Section 1201.6, restated in Standard 523) is proximity-to-PANEL, not proximity-to-meter: a single, approved, readily accessible, independently and clearly labeled exterior disconnect 'located prior to any load/service panel and installed as close as possible to the main service panel or as approved by the fire code official,' reachable by emergency personnel from the exterior without ladders or special equipment, with integrated toggle/rocker/electronic switches barred from serving as this independent disconnect - and an express exception for Enphase-type module-level rapid-shutdown systems that de-energize at the roof panels on loss of AC reference. PG&E Rule 21 H.1.d requires only that the isolating device be visible, lockable, marked on the pre-approved single-line diagram, and (only if not adjacent to the point of common coupling) accompanied by signage at a PG&E-approved location - no numeric distance appears in Rule 21 either. 80% · fire protection standard + utility DG manual
• Must equipment be on a specific approved list? Yes 65% · published checklist / utility spec
• Are batteries permitted, and under what conditions? Permitted, with conditions. 'Battery Backup Storage - Residential' is its own line in the Town's current fee schedule ($96). Central Marin Fire's Standard 523 requires: energy storage systems in enclosed rooms be mounted a minimum of 24 inches above the finished floor, with a permanent placard on any battery cabinet; ESS installed in an attached garage, basement or interior room be equipped with EITHER a fire sprinkler system OR a heat detector hardwired to an interior smoke alarm audible at a minimum of 70 decibels in any sleeping room; individual solar arrays not exceed 100 feet in length without a 5-foot separation between arrays. Ordinance 1049's Chapter 12 additions (signs/labels, single disconnect, shutdown test) apply equally to energy storage systems. 90% · fire protection standard + fee schedule
• Is there a separate ESS permit or inspection? Yes 80% · fee schedule
• Is a ground mount treated as a structure? Likely yes, though not stated outright 55% · fee schedule
• Is there a local rule on service upgrades or busbar sizing? No local rule found on service-upgrade sizing or busbar rating beyond the unamended 2023 NEC (705.12) 65% · adopting ordinance (absence checked)
• Is a specific mounting system or attachment spacing required? No current local mounting/attachment-spacing standard was found in Ordinance 1049 or on the Town's current Building Division pages. The Town's own still-linked but stale generic 'PV Toolkit Document #5' Structural Criteria bulletin (built for 2013 CBC/CRC, unfilled statewide template with no Corte Madera-specific edits found) does carry anchor-spacing tables by roof slope and rafter spacing for flush-mounted arrays. 65% · published checklist (PDF, 2013 CBC/CRC-cycle template, still linked)

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 95% · department page
• Are same-day or AM/PM windows offered? No same-day guarantee stated; two fixed daily windows are offered instead - Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM and 1:00 PM-4:00 PM. No AM/PM selection or narrower window is described. 88% · 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? Delegated 60% · department page + fire protection standard (inference)
• If delegated, to whom? For the fire-code portion of a PV/ESS job specifically: Central Marin Fire Department, the operating brand of a Joint Powers Authority ('Central Marin Fire Authority' in the Town's own adopting-ordinance text) formed in 2018 between the Town of Corte Madera and the City of Larkspur, also serving incorporated Greenbrae and parts of Marin County Service Area 31. Building and electrical are NOT delegated - they stay with the Town's own Building Division. 85% · 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? A single combined final inspection for both the building/electrical work and Central Marin Fire's Chapter 12 requirements (signage verification and the whole-system shutdown test) - no separate rough-in stage is described anywhere. This matches the Town's legacy 'Inspection Guide for PV Systems' (PV Toolkit Document #7), which frames the entire inspection as one field visit against the approved Standard Plan. 68% · published inspection guide (PDF, 2013-cycle, still linked)
• Is a rough-in or mid-roof inspection required? No 62% · fire protection standard (absence checked)

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 75% · published checklist (PDF, 2013-cycle, still linked)
• What must be on site at inspection? The approved plans (the Inspection Guide repeatedly requires items to match 'the approved plan') and, per Central Marin Fire's Standard 523, the completed Site Card Placard posted at the main service panel, checked in place at the final inspection. 65% · fire protection standard + inspection guide
• Does the inspector verify labels and listings? Yes 85% · fire protection standard + inspection guide

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 62% · fire protection standard (inference)
• Who notifies the utility for PTO? Installer 78% · utility DG manual
• Is there a re-inspection fee? $144 per re-inspection, applying after the first re-inspection 88% · fee schedule