Where to Find the Title 24 Code PDF
The 2025 Energy Code, Title 24 Part 6, is published by the California Energy Commission as a free PDF, with its Reference Appendices and compliance manuals. The other parts of Title 24 are free to read online, read-only, through links on the Building Standards Commission website.
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First, which Title 24 do you need?
Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations is the California Building Standards Code. It is published in numbered parts, and the 2025 edition took effect on 1 January 2026. When someone asks for a "Title 24 report", they mean Part 6, the Energy Code. The full set is:
- Part 1, Administrative Code; Part 2, Building Code; Part 2.5, Residential Code
- Part 3, Electrical Code; Part 4, Mechanical Code; Part 5, Plumbing Code
- Part 6, Energy Code; Part 7 is vacant
- Part 8, Historical Building Code; Part 9, Fire Code; Part 10, Existing Building Code
- Part 11, Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen); Part 12, Referenced Standards Code
The Energy Code: a free PDF from the CEC
The Energy Commission publishes the code itself as 2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings, publication CEC-400-2025-010-F. The volume holds Part 6 and the administrative sections of Part 1 that go with it, including the rules on compliance documents and field verification. Download it from the CEC's 2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards page.
The same page links the 2025 Reference Appendices (CEC-400-2025-010-AP). They are in three sets: joint, residential and nonresidential. The code points into them for test procedures, field-verification protocols and product specifications, so a reader of Part 6 usually needs both.
The 2025 code applies to buildings whose permit applications are submitted on or after 1 January 2026. Applications submitted before that date fall under earlier editions, and the CEC keeps a separate page for the 2022 standards.
The compliance manuals
The CEC also publishes a manual for each building type: the 2025 Single-Family Residential Compliance Manual (CEC-400-2025-005), the Multifamily Compliance Manual (CEC-400-2025-009) and the Nonresidential Compliance Manual (CEC-400-2025-008). They explain each section with commentary and worked examples.
Read them as guidance, not as the rule. In the CEC's own words, a manual "supplements, explains, and clarifies" the standards and "does not replace them". Where the two read differently, the standards govern.
Other CEC documents worth knowing
The same 2025 page links the documents behind the software and the forms. The 2025 Alternative Calculation Method Reference Manual sets the modelling rules that CBECC and every approved third-party program must follow for the performance approach. The Data Registry Requirements Manual covers how compliance documents are registered. The list of approved compliance software has its own page, and the CEC's Energy Code Support Center gathers fact sheets, FAQs, checklists and training.
The rest of Title 24: free to read, not to download
The other parts are published by private code publishers. The Building Standards Commission's Codes page links to each publisher for the 2025 edition, and says the code is available for purchase or viewable at no cost through several State Document Depository Libraries.
- ICC hosts Parts 1, 2, 2.5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 online. Its free version is read-only: no copying, pasting or printing.
- IAPMO hosts Part 4, Mechanical, and Part 5, Plumbing.
- NFPA hosts Part 3, Electrical, and requires a user login for its free online version.
So for most parts, the official free version is a web page, not a PDF. Part 6 is the exception, because the Energy Commission publishes its own. For CALGreen, the Department of Housing and Community Development also publishes residential checklists, such as the 2025 CALGreen Residential Mandatory Measures, as PDFs.
Plain-language help: Energy Code Ace
Energy Code Ace offers no-cost tools, training and resources. Reference Ace is a searchable version of the code with pop-up definitions and links between sections. Forms Ace helps with compliance forms, and there are fact sheets, checklists and a question-and-answer service. It is run by the California Statewide Codes and Standards Program and vetted by the Energy Commission. It explains the code; the CEC's published text is the regulation.
A note on copies found elsewhere
The code changes every three years, and a PDF passed around online can be from an earlier cycle. Take the code from the CEC and the publishers' pages linked above, and check the edition on the cover. We do not host or attach copies of the code; every link here goes to the official source.
The PDF also cannot tell you about local amendments. A city may adopt a reach code that goes beyond the state standards. For what the Energy Code asks of a project, see Title 24 requirements.
Common Title 24 Questions
- What is Title 24?
- Do I need a Title 24 report?
- How much does a Title 24 report cost?
- How long does a Title 24 report take?
- What is included in a Title 24 report?
- What plans do I need to upload?
Frequently Asked Questions
Part 6, its Reference Appendices and the compliance manuals are free PDFs from the Energy Commission. The other parts can be read free online through the publishers the Building Standards Commission links to; downloadable or printed copies are sold.
Not from the state. The Building Standards Commission points to each publisher for each part, and only Part 6 is published by the state as its own PDF.
The Energy Commission keeps a 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards page. It still matters for projects whose permit applications were submitted before 1 January 2026.
It is run by the California Statewide Codes and Standards Program and vetted by the Energy Commission. Use it to understand the code, and quote the CEC text when it matters.