California changed its building code on January 1, 2026. The 2025 Title 24 cycle now pushes heat pumps and solar onto more building types. Battery storage is part of that too. Wildfire construction rules also got a new home, in a brand-new Part 7. A separate state law has frozen most new residential code changes until June 2031. Public works adds a prevailing wage determination that the state reissues twice a year, and a school project swaps the city building department for the Division of the State Architect.
None of that sits in a national cost database. SMA Estimating LLC delivers California construction estimating services priced against the code edition, the enforcing agency, and the wage determination that apply to your specific job. Send the plan set and the project address. We confirm those three first, then return an itemized takeoff and estimate in 24 to 48 hours.
California Building Standards Code
California’s building code goes by the name Title 24, part of the California Code of Regulations. It gets updated every three years. The latest version, the 2025 edition, came out on July 1 that year and took effect this past January. For structure, it follows the 2024 International Building Code, while homes fall under the International Residential Code. On top of both, the state adds its own set of changes.
The permit application date decides which code you price
Projects whose permit application was submitted, and in many jurisdictions deemed complete, before January 1, 2026, are generally reviewed under the 2022 code. Anything submitted since runs on the 2025 edition. If a drawing set, a specification, or an earlier budget was built on 2022 assumptions and the application has not been filed, the difference needs pricing rather than assuming. We state the edition and the application-date assumption on every estimate cover sheet.
The California residential code freeze runs to June 2031
Governor signed AB 130 on June 30, 2025, and it put a freeze on new state and local building standards for residential units. That freeze runs from October 1, 2025, to June 1, 2031. Not everything falls under it, though. Emergency standards still get through, and so does wildfire home hardening. Local measures tied to certain older general plans are exempt as well. For residential estimating, that is useful stability. An assembly priced to the 2025 code today should remain the governing assembly for most of this decade.
Nonresidential work is not covered by the freeze, so local amendments to commercial and industrial requirements can still change during a project’s design period.
California Energy Code and CALGreen Lines National Estimates Miss
Title 24 Part 6 the Energy Code) and Part 11 CALGreen) add scope that has no equivalent in most states. California is divided into 16 building climate zones, and many energy measures change from one zone to the next, so we price based on the climate zone of the site rather than a statewide average.
| Requirement | Where it applies | What it adds to the estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Solar PV under Section 140.10 | New nonresidential buildings of listed types. The 2025 cycle added events and exhibits, religious worship, and sports and recreation | Array, racking, structural attachment, inverters, and interconnection. The solar access roof area method sizes at 14 W per sq ft on low-slope roofs and 18 W on steep-slope roofs |
| Battery energy storage | Listed nonresidential building types, with capacity tied to PV size | Battery system, electrical gear, fire separation, and commissioning |
| Heat pump baseline | Multizone space conditioning in new offices and schools under the prescriptive path, and heat pump water heaters in larger new schools in most climate zones | Equipment selection, electrical service sizing, refrigerant and condensate piping |
| End-of-life rooftop unit replacement | Replacement rooftop units on existing retail, school, office, and library buildings | Heat pump units, or high-efficiency AC with added measures, on alteration jobs |
| Field verification | HERS verification on residential work, certified acceptance testing on nonresidential mechanical systems and lighting controls | Third-party testing fees and schedule time before final |
| CALGreen EV charging | New construction with parking | Conduit, panel and transformer capacity, EV-capable and EV-ready spaces |
| CALGreen waste diversion | New construction | Sorting, hauling, and documentation to divert at least 65 percent of construction and demolition waste |
Tenant improvements are not exempt. A fit-out inside a space that was already occupied before still counts as an alteration under Section 141.0(b). That means any changes to lighting, HVAC, or the building envelope bring their own Energy Code requirements, even if the shell itself isn’t touched.
Wildfire Construction Under the New California WUI Code
Starting in 2026, California added a new part to Title 24 called the Wildland-Urban Interface Code. It’s based on the 2024 international version, but California made a lot of its own changes to it. This part now covers the exterior construction rules that used to live under CBC Chapter 7A and CRC Section R337.
Applicability is map-driven. The code reaches new buildings in Fire Hazard Severity Zones within State Responsibility Areas, and in High and Very High zones within Local Responsibility Areas. CAL FIRE’s 2024 and 2025 map updates expanded the mapped acreage, and cities adopted the new local maps on their own schedules. San Diego’s took effect August 30, 2025, for example. A parcel that sat outside any zone when design started can be inside one at permit.
Where the code applies, the exterior scope changes. Depending on the hazard level, that typically means:
- Class A roof assemblies and ember-resistant vents
- Ignition-resistant or noncombustible exterior wall coverings, eaves, and soffits
- Glazing such as multi-pane units with at least one tempered pane
- Decking and attached structures built from materials that pass the code’s fire tests
The rebuild after the January 2025 fires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena is the most visible market for this work, but the maps reach far beyond Los Angeles County. We check the Fire Hazard Severity Zone for the address before pricing the exterior, and we state it on the cover sheet.
California Prevailing Wage
California runs its own prevailing wage system through the Department of Industrial Relations. It’s separate from the federal Davis-Bacon system, and it reaches further than most states do.
The threshold is $1,000. Under Labor Code Section 1771, workers on any public works project over $1,000 must be paid prevailing wages. Awarding bodies that run an approved labor compliance program can exempt projects of $25,000 or less for construction, or $15,000 or less for maintenance. Public funding of any share of a project can make it a public work.
Rates are set by county and craft, twice a year. DIR issues general determinations on February 22 and August 22, effective ten days later. The determination in force on the bid advertisement date generally governs, but some determinations carry predetermined increases, marked with a double asterisk, that take effect during the job. A bid priced on today’s base rate for a project that runs past the next increase is short on every covered hour after that date.
Registration comes before the bid. The prime and every subcontractor must be registered with DIR as public works contractors before bidding, apart from small projects under $25,000 for construction or $15,000 for maintenance. An unregistered low subcontractor is not a usable number.
Apprenticeship and training costs belong in the labor build-up. Apprentice requests, ratio requirements, and training fund contributions by craft are real costs on covered work, not overhead.
Federal money adds Davis-Bacon. Where federal funding is involved, the federal determination runs alongside the DIR rate, and the higher applicable rate generally governs classification by classification.
Send the bid advertisement date, the county, and the funding source with the drawings. We price covered work off the DIR determination in force for that date, including predetermined increases across your schedule, and private work off current market rates by trade and region.
California Contractor Licensing Starts at $1,000
The Contractors State License Board requires a license for any job worth $1,000 or more. Even below that amount, a license is still needed. This threshold used to be $500, but it went up on January 1, 2025.
For an estimate, this matters in one place: every trade partner carried in a California number needs a CSLB license in the right classification, and on public work, DIR registration as well.
DSA, HCAI, and the Coastal Commission: When the City Is Not the California Reviewer
A California permit is not always a city permit, and the reviewing agency changes both the schedule and the cost.
Public schools and community colleges go through DSA. The Division of the State Architect provides design and construction oversight for public K–12 schools, community colleges, and certain state essential services buildings. Every DSA project needs a certified Project Inspector on site, with DSA-accepted testing and special inspection, and seismic bracing of suspended ductwork, piping, and conduit gets close review. Plan review on significant new construction is commonly measured in months, which lengthens general conditions and escalation exposure. Private schools and privately funded charter schools generally follow the local building department instead.
Hospitals go through HCAI. The Department of Health Care Access and Information, formerly OSHPD, runs its own plan review and its own inspector certification. A healthcare scope priced like a medical office building misses both.
Coastal zone projects need a Coastal Development Permit. Along the coast, the Coastal Act requires an extra approval before the building permit can be issued. That approval comes either from the Coastal Commission or from the city or county through its certified Local Coastal Program. The conditions it sets can touch on drainage and landscaping, and sometimes even how construction staging is handled.
We identify the reviewing agency before pricing, because it sets the inspection cost, the approval timeline, and the general conditions duration.
California Sales and Use Tax on Construction Materials
California starts with a 7.25% base sales tax rate, and local voter-approved taxes are added on top of that. Depending on where you are, the combined rate can reach 11.25% in Lancaster and Palmdale.
| Rate at the job site | Tax on a $1,000,000 material package |
|---|---|
| 7.25% (statewide base, no district tax) | $72,500 |
| 9.75% (City of Los Angeles) | $97,500 |
| 11.25% (Lancaster, Palmdale) | $112,500 |
That is a $40,000 spread on the same material list, decided by the job site address. Under California’s rules for construction contractors, the contractor is generally the consumer of the materials it furnishes and installs, so the tax is your cost rather than a pass-through. Fixtures are generally treated differently. We apply the rate for the job site address, confirmed against the CDTFA rate lookup, and flag materials-versus-fixtures calls on equipment-heavy scopes.
District rates change quarterly, so we recheck them for the bid date. We estimate; we do not advise on tax. Confirm treatment with your CPA before the contract is signed.
California Seismic and Site Conditions That Change the Takeoff
Most of urban California falls under Seismic Design Category D, and sites close to major faults can land in Category E. That difference shows up in quantities across the whole structure. Shear wall and holdown schedules grow. So do collectors and drag struts. Special inspection requirements increase too, and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems all need seismic bracing.
State Seismic Hazard Zone maps flag areas with liquefaction or landslide potential, where a site-specific geotechnical investigation is required before a permit. The results commonly drive over-excavation and recompaction, grade beams, mat foundations, or deep foundations. Until the geotechnical report exists, we carry foundation assumptions as a stated allowance instead of burying them.
Sites disturbing one acre or more fall under the State Water Board’s Construction General Permit, which requires a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan prepared by a Qualified SWPPP Developer and implemented by a Qualified SWPPP Practitioner. Erosion control, sampling, and rain-event inspections are line items on every qualifying California site.
California Markets and What Moves the Estimate in Each
| Market | What moves the estimate |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles and the South Bay | 9.75 percent City of Los Angeles sales tax, dense urban logistics and staging, multifamily and ADU volume, and WUI construction plus fire rebuild work in the foothill and canyon zones |
| Antelope Valley (Lancaster, Palmdale) | The highest combined sales tax in the state at 11.25 percent, high desert climate loads, and aerospace and utility-scale solar work |
| Orange County | Coastal Development Permits along the shoreline, hillside and fire zone sites inland, and a strong tenant improvement and medical office market |
| San Diego County | Coastal zone approvals, newly adopted local fire hazard maps, and heavy military and federal volume that brings Davis-Bacon with it |
| San Francisco Bay Area | Among the highest construction labor rates in the country, bay mud and deep foundation conditions, and mandatory soft-story retrofit programs in several cities |
| Inland Empire (Riverside, San Bernardino) | Large tilt-up warehouse and distribution volume, long-span roof framing, and big impervious sites under the Construction General Permit |
| Sacramento Region | State government and institutional work, so DIR prevailing wage is routine, plus urban flood protection requirements in parts of the valley |
| Central Valley (Fresno, Bakersfield, Stockton, Modesto) | Food and agricultural processing, cold storage, hot-summer cooling loads, and a labor base priced below the coastal metros |
| Sierra and Lake Tahoe | Heavy snow design loads, a short building season, TRPA environmental rules around the lake, and long material hauls |
How California Code Splits Residential, Commercial, and Industrial Estimates
The same square footage prices differently depending on which code volume, reviewing agency, and wage framework govern it. We scope the three separately.
Residential Estimating Under the California Residential Code
Single-family, townhome, ADU, and low-rise multifamily work is priced against the 2025 California Residential Code as enforced by the local building department. The lines that move a California residential number are the seismic load path (shear walls, holdowns, and hardware), solar PV on new single-family homes, climate zone energy measures with HERS verification before final, and WUI construction wherever the parcel is mapped.
Contract structure matters for remodelers too. California limits the down payment on a home improvement contract to $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, so we break residential estimates into scope and schedule-of-values lines that map cleanly to progress payments.
Get a Residential EstimateCommercial Estimating Under the California Building Code
Retail, office, hospitality, medical office, education, and mixed-use work is priced against the 2025 California Building Code, based on the 2024 IBC. Three California specifics dominate.
Accessibility follows California's own Chapter 11B, which changes restroom, parking, and path-of-travel scope against a federal-only assumption. On alterations, Section 11B-202.4 requires path-of-travel upgrades, and below the valuation threshold that DSA updates each year, that spend is capped at 20 percent of the adjusted construction cost. We carry it as a line item rather than leaving it for plan check to find.
The Energy Code adds PV, battery, heat pump, and acceptance testing lines by building type and climate zone. And the reviewing agency may be DSA, HCAI, or a coastal authority rather than the city, which changes the inspection and schedule cost before a single quantity is taken off.
Get a Commercial EstimateIndustrial Estimating Across California's Seismic and Logistics Corridors
Warehouse, distribution, manufacturing, food processing, cold storage, and process work. Tilt-up and long-span systems dominate the Inland Empire and the Central Valley, and California seismic design governs connections, diaphragms, and the anchorage of racking and heavy equipment. Large sites add Construction General Permit compliance, and industrial projects receiving public funding can fall under DIR prevailing wage.
Our California industrial work includes the auxiliary building and industrial piping for the CalPlant 1 MDF plant in Willows, estimated with 60 CORs.
Get an Industrial EstimateTrade Scopes Where California Conditions Change the Takeoff
What Comes With a California Estimate
Every California estimate states its basis rather than assuming it:
If an assumption is wrong for your project, you see it on the cover sheet and can correct it before the bid goes out. That is the point of stating it.
Delivered as: Excel with formulas intact, a marked-up PDF plan set, and a CSI-organized summary.