What Else Do You Pay For Besides the Title 24 Report?
Three other payees can appear: an ECC-Rater who tests on site, each installer who signs a certificate of installation, and your building department, which sets its own plan-check and permit fees. Registration is included in our report price where the project requires it. Only the first depends on the credits and equipment you choose.
- Choose your report
- Upload your plans
- Pay securely
- Permit-ready report by email
Start with who does the work
A report is prepared once, at the desk. Everything else on a Title 24 job is done by someone different, on site or at the counter, and each of those people bills separately. That is why the report price never matches the total.
The ECC-Rater
Every new home with central HVAC must have duct leakage, duct airflow, fan watt draw and the exhaust fans checked by an ECC-Rater (called a HERS rater until 1 January 2026). Refrigerant charge verification and quality insulation installation are part of the prescriptive package, and a credit for high-efficiency cooling equipment adds its own test. The Energy Code does not set the rater's fee. Each ECC-Provider assigns pricing to its raters, and from June 2027 it must include that pricing, quality assurance fees among it, in a confidential annual report to the Commission. A provider may add a quality assurance fee to its rater contracts, spent only on quality assurance. One test price is on what rater testing costs.
The installers
The licensed person in charge of each installation signs a certificate of installation. Windows, insulation, ducts, ventilation, water heating and lighting each have one, so the paperwork is usually priced inside each trade's bid. Ask every trade whether registered certificates are included. Who completes each CF2R lists the signers.
The building department
The city or county checks the documents at plan check and inspects at final. Its fees are set locally, so ask your department for its schedule.
A budget list by project type
- New house: report, rater tests, trade certificates, plan check and permit.
- Addition: the same list, plus an optional rater visit before construction to verify existing conditions, which changes how the existing parts are scored.
- HVAC change-out: refrigerant charge verification applies to altered heat pumps in every zone and to air conditioners in zones 2 and 8 to 15.
Design choices decide the test count, which the construction budget guide weighs, and preparing for the rater avoids repeat visits. Orders begin on the residential report page.
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
No. Rater testing, installer certificates and permit fees belong to other people, whoever prepares your report. Registration is included where the project requires it.
Sometimes. Credits that rely on better equipment need verification. A design that meets the prescriptive package without those credits avoids the credit tests, though the package's own checks, ducts and fans are still tested.
Explore Report Cost and Pricing
- Which Square Footage Counts for a Title 24 Report and Its Price?
- How Title 24 Decisions Shape a Construction Budget
- How Much Does a Residential Title 24 Report Cost?
- Are Title 24 Revisions Included? What Counts as a Revision and What Is a New Project
- Does the Price of a Title 24 Report Depend on My City or Climate Zone?
View all Report Cost and Pricing guides → · Reports and Calculations · Title 24 guide