Everything You Need to Know About Title 24
Title 24 is California's building code. Its energy chapter, Part 6, is why most permits ask for a Title 24 report. This page explains what the report is, what you receive, which projects need one, what it costs and where it applies, and sends you to the page that goes deeper on each point.
- Choose your report
- Upload your plans
- Pay securely
- Permit-ready report by email
What a Title 24 report is
A Title 24 report is the energy compliance certificate your building department asks for before it issues a permit. It shows, using California Energy Commission approved software, that your design meets the California Energy Code (Title 24, Part 6) for its building type, scope and climate zone. The 2025 Energy Code is in force now: it applies to every permit application submitted on or after 1 January 2026.
Three documents carry the name in practice:
- CF1R Certificate of Compliance: the certificate for single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses, additions, alterations and ADUs. Its pages cover project data, compliance results, envelope, HVAC, water heating and the mandatory measures.
- LMCC for multifamily buildings: the Low-rise Multifamily Certificate of Compliance covers buildings of three or more dwelling units up to three habitable stories. Taller multifamily buildings use the nonresidential NRCC set, as commercial buildings do.
- CHEERS registration: where compliance relies on field verification, the certificate you submit must be a registered copy from a CEC-approved ECC provider data registry such as CHEERS. We register it for you where your project requires it.
What the report is built from
An analyst takes your plans, confirms the climate zone from the project address, chooses the compliance path and models the design in CEC-approved software. The prescriptive path is a checklist of requirements. The performance path compares your proposed building with a standard design that meets the code, which allows trade-offs such as more glazing in one place and better insulation in another. The result is the certificate your plans examiner checks against your drawings. Title 24 calculations explains what is modelled and what we need to run it, and Title 24 compliance covers how to comply.
What you receive from Title24.Pro
- A permit-ready PDF by email, 2–3 business days after we have everything we need, or within 24 hours with the $95 rush
- The CF1R or LMCC for your scope, with the compliance results and the mandatory measures summary
- CHEERS registration where your project requires it
- Unlimited revisions until your project complies, including each round of plan-check comments
- A direct line to the analyst preparing your report
What is not part of the report
Two later documents belong to other people. The CF2R certificate of installation is completed by the contractor who installs the equipment, and the CF3R certificate of verification is completed by an ECC-Rater after field testing. ECC-Raters are independent of us: on 1 January 2026 HERS raters became ECC-Raters, and field verification and diagnostic testing moved into the Energy Code Compliance (ECC) Program. Title 24 forms shows how the set fits together, and the Title 24 report guide covers the rest, including what to expect after delivery. You can also read an example Title 24 report before you order.
Which projects need a Title 24 report
If your project needs a building permit and affects the envelope, HVAC, water heating, lighting or electrical systems, a Title 24 report is normally part of the plan-check submittal. Your building department makes the final call for your project.
ADU Title 24 reports
Detached ADUs, attached ADUs, garage conversions and JADUs. The Energy Code has no ADU category, so how the unit is built decides whether it is treated as new construction, an addition or an alteration. From $199.
Residential Title 24 reports
New homes, additions, kitchen and bathroom remodels, re-roofs, and window, HVAC and water heater replacements. Whether the work is an addition or an alteration changes what the code asks for. From $245.
Multi-family Title 24 reports
Duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes and larger low-rise buildings. A duplex uses the single-family CF1R, while three or more units up to three stories use the LMCC. From $345, with larger developments quoted individually.
Commercial Title 24 reports
Tenant improvements and new buildings, from offices, retail and restaurants to warehouses, medical, industrial, hospitality and school projects. Quoted per project after we review your plans.
Project pages: detached ADU, attached ADU, ADU above a garage, new home, kitchen remodel, bathroom remodel, re-roof, townhome, tenant improvement and Title 24 by building type.
What usually does not need one
Purely cosmetic work such as flooring, paint and cabinetry generally does not alter a regulated component, so it generally does not trigger the Energy Code. Work that needs no building permit does not need a report either. The edition that applies is set by your permit application date, not by when construction starts. Do I need a Title 24 report for my project? walks through the cases, and who needs Title 24 covers each role in the project.
Who orders from us
Homeowners planning an ADU or an addition, architects and designers closing out a permit set, contractors facing a plan-check correction, and builders and developers working through several projects all order the same way. There are also pages for homeowners, engineers, HVAC contractors, window installers, solar installers and property managers.
What a Title 24 report costs
ADU reports start at $199 and include up to 1,000 sq ft, with every additional 100 sq ft at +$9. Residential reports start at $245 and include up to 3,500 sq ft, with every additional 500 sq ft at +$49. Multi-family reports start at $345 and include up to 4 units and 4,000 sq ft, with +$95 per additional unit and +$25 per additional 500 sq ft. A 24-hour rush is +$95. The total is shown before you pay, and there is no sales tax. Commercial projects are quoted after we review your plans. How much does a Title 24 report cost? compares what drives the price, and how long a Title 24 report takes explains the schedule.
Title 24 across California
Your climate zone is set by the project location, and it changes what the Energy Code asks of your building. We prepare reports for all 16 climate zones, so a project in any California city or county can be ordered online. Everything happens online: you enter the project address, upload your plans as PDFs and pay securely, and the finished report comes back by email. We confirm the climate zone from the address, and some ZIP codes span more than one zone, which your jurisdiction resolves.
Start from a city: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, Oakland, Long Beach, Bakersfield, Anaheim or Riverside, or see all California locations. By county: Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Clara, Alameda and Sacramento, or Title 24 by county. The climate zone pages explain what each of the 16 zones changes, you can find your climate zone from your ZIP code, and the Title 24 consultant near me page explains why distance matters less than you might expect for remote work.
Browse by topic
The Title 24 map groups every detailed answer into eight sections. Each section opens into subsections, and each subsection lists its answers.
- Title 24 Guide: what is title 24?, who needs title 24?, 2025 energy code and 2026 permits
- Reports and Calculations: title 24 reports, energy calculations, performance calculations, report cost and pricing
- Forms and Certificates: cf1r: certificate of compliance, cf2r: certificate of installation, cf3r: certificate of verification, certificates of compliance
- CHEERS and ECC: cheers registration, cheers help, ecc providers, ecc-raters
- HVAC and Water Heating: heat pumps, air conditioners, furnaces, mini-splits
- Windows and Building Envelope: windows and doors, u-factor and shgc, insulation, roofs
- Permits and Compliance: building permit questions, plan check problems, title 24 revisions, failed compliance
- Commercial Title 24: commercial lighting, commercial hvac, tenant improvements, building types
Browse by project type
If you start from the project instead of the topic, these maps group the same answers by what you are building.
- Permit and Report Problems: do i need title 24 for this?, unpermitted work, older homes and older permits, plan check and design changes
- ADU and JADU: checklists by adu type, how the code classifies your adu, solar and battery
- Additions, Remodels and Conversions: addition size, types of additions, enclosures and conversions
- Windows, Envelope, HVAC and Water Heating: window and door replacement, labels, glass and shading, roofs, attics and ceilings
- Forms, ECC and Inspections: which cf1r form do i need?, reading your cf1r, ecc-raters and registration
- Commercial and Tenant Improvements: tenant improvement scopes, remodels by business type, warehouse, industrial and change of use
- Multi-Family: duplex, triplex and fourplex, additions and unit remodels, common areas
Keep reading
Plain-language answers to the Title 24 questions we are asked most.
- What is Title 24 in California?
- Title 24 requirements in California under the 2025 Energy Code
- What changed in the 2025 Energy Code?
- Title 24 compliance: how to comply in California
- Title 24 calculations: what they are and what we need to run them
- Who can prepare a Title 24 report?
- How to choose a Title 24 consultant
- Title 24 checklist: what to have ready before you order
- All Title 24 guides
Frequently Asked Questions
A Title 24 report is the energy compliance certificate your building department needs before it issues a permit. For single-family homes it is the CF1R, for low-rise multifamily buildings it is the LMCC, and for nonresidential buildings it is the NRCC. Read the full guide.
The CF1R is the Certificate of Compliance for single-family homes, additions, alterations and ADUs. It records the project data, the compliance results, the mandatory measures and any features that need field verification. See the CF1R page.
An ADU is documented on a CF1R. How the unit is built decides the rules: a detached ADU is new construction, an attached ADU or a garage conversion is an addition, and a JADU inside the house is an alteration. ADU reports start at $199. See ADU reports.
If the remodel alters a regulated component, such as HVAC, water heating, windows, insulation or regulated lighting, normally yes. Purely cosmetic work generally does not trigger the Energy Code, and your building department has the final say. Read the remodel answer.
The 2025 California Energy Code is in force now. It applies to permit applications submitted on or after 1 January 2026, and the edition is set by your permit application date, not by when construction starts. See what changed in 2025.
Our analysts model your design and prepare the certificate. Field verification, where your project needs it, is done later by an independent ECC-Rater. HERS raters became ECC-Raters on 1 January 2026, so ECC-Rater is the current term. Learn about the ECC Program.
ADU reports start at $199 for up to 1,000 sq ft, residential reports at $245 for up to 3,500 sq ft, and multi-family reports at $345 for up to 4 units and 4,000 sq ft. Additional square footage and units are itemised in the order form, so the total is shown before you pay. A 24-hour rush is $95. Compare what drives the price.
Yes. We work across California and cover all 16 climate zones. You order online by uploading your plans as PDFs, wherever the project is, and the city and county pages explain local details. Browse all locations.