CF1R for Water Heater Replacement: Which Form Do I Need?
A water heater swap rarely needs ECC-Rater testing, so the paperwork question is whether the department wants a certificate at all. Section 10-103 lets it require none, or a simplified one. Where it wants the standard sheets, Appendix A offers CF1R-ALT-05-E, with the installer's CF2R-ALT-05-E, for alterations without field verification.
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Is a certificate asked for?
Section 10-103(a)1C uses "water heater and window replacements" as its example of alterations without field verification, where an enforcement agency may require no Certificate of Compliance or a simplified one. Section 10-103(a)3D gives the same discretion for the installer's certificate. Both end with the same warning: the allowance never authorizes work that breaks the code. The counter tells you which applies.
The sheets, when the standard ones are wanted
- Design stage: CF1R-ALT-05-E, listed in Table A-1 as "Prescriptive Alterations - That Do Not Require Field Verification".
- Installation stage: CF2R-ALT-05-E, with the same description in Table A-2. The licensed contractor who installs the unit signs it and posts a copy at the site.
- If the new unit is a type the prescriptive list does not allow, the manual says compliance goes through the performance approach, which means CF1R-PRF-01-E.
What the replacement itself must be
Section 150.2(b)1H accepts a gas or propane water heater, a single heat pump water heater (tank not outdoors, on an R-10 rigid insulated surface, with a communication interface) or one meeting NEEA Tier 3. If the existing unit is electric resistance, a consumer electric water heater is also accepted. Newly installed and accessible existing piping gets insulated, and a recirculation system may be added only as a demand type with manual on-off control.
When the form gets bigger
If the same permit replaces the furnace or air conditioner, the HVAC work brings field verification and the registered form described on the HVAC replacement page. Ask the department whether the water heater is documented on that certificate or on a sheet of its own.
Unit types are covered in water heater requirements and heat pump water heater installation. Recirculation limits are in hot water recirculation, and the permit angle in HVAC and water heater permits. Our residential service handles the forms when your department asks.
Common Title 24 Questions
- What is a CF1R certificate of compliance?
- What is a CF2R certificate of installation?
- What is a CF3R certificate of verification?
- What is an NRCC form?
- What is an NRCA certificate of acceptance?
- What is an LMCC form?
Frequently Asked Questions
Normally not. The Standards themselves cite water heater replacement as an alteration without field verification. Combined HVAC work can change that.
The licensed contractor responsible for the installation signs it and posts a copy at the job site, unless the building department waives or simplifies it.
Explore CF1R: Certificate of Compliance
- CF1R for Window Replacement: Which Form Do I Need?
- CF1R-NCB-01-E: The Prescriptive Certificate for New Homes and Large Additions
- CF1R Prescriptive vs Performance Report: What Is the Difference?
- What Is a CF1R Certificate of Compliance?
- How to Read ECC Measures on a CF1R
View all CF1R: Certificate of Compliance guides → · Forms and Certificates · Title 24 guide