Permit guide · independent publisher, not a contractor
AC installation permits in Los Angeles
Installing or replacing an AC or heat pump in Los Angeles needs a permit, and which office issues it depends on the property's jurisdiction, not its mailing address. In the City of Los Angeles it is LADBS; unincorporated areas use LA County Public Works; Burbank, Long Beach and most other cities have their own building departments.
Reviewed . Not legal advice; confirm with the office named.
Why AC work needs a permit
The California Energy Commission says replacing or altering an HVAC unit needs a permit, the contractor seals and tests the ducts, and a third-party rater verifies the work, including duct leakage. (CEC) Buildings whose permit applications are filed on or after 1 January 2026 fall under the 2025 Energy Code (CEC).
Because the job needs a permit, the contractor needs a CSLB license whatever the price.
Since 1 January 2025, work totaling $1,000 or more in labor and materials needs a CSLB license. Below that, an unlicensed person may do the job only if no building permit is needed and they hire no workers. An AC installation needs a permit, so it needs a license at any price. (CSLB)
Step 1: find out which jurisdiction your property is in
"Los Angeles" on an envelope covers the City of Los Angeles, dozens of separate cities and unincorporated county land. Three ways to check:
- Look the parcel up on the City of Los Angeles ZIMAS property map. If it returns the parcel's City planning data, LADBS issues the permit.
- Check the property tax bill or the city named on recent permits for the house.
- If you are outside every city, the permit comes from LA County Public Works.
The permit, start to finish
- Quote names the permit. The written quote says the contractor pulls it, from which office, and whether the fee is included.
- Contractor applies. A like-for-like change-out is often an online or express permit; adding a system, moving equipment or new ducts can need more review.
- Installation. Equipment, line set, electrical connection, and duct sealing where required.
- Title 24 field verification. The contractor tests the ducts; a third-party rater under the CEC's ECC program verifies leakage and refrigerant charge.
- Final inspection. The building inspector signs off and the permit is finalled.
- Keep the paperwork. The finalled permit and the test results, for rebates, warranty claims and a future sale.
LADBS permit steps for an AC or heat pump in the City of Los Angeles
Inside the City of Los Angeles, an AC change-out of the same size and type is an express permit: no plan check, issued online or at a counter. A new system, a moved condenser, new ducts or a bigger electrical service can push the job into plan check. LADBS describes both routes on its Express Permits and contractor step-by-step pages (official pages found through search on 2026-10-20; LADBS refuses our automated reads, so verify the details there).
| Your job | Likely LADBS route | Also expect |
|---|---|---|
| Same-size, same-type AC replacement on existing ducts | Express permit, no plan check (bulletin P/GI 2020-003 lists replacing A/C units of the same size and type) | Title 24 duct test and ECC rater visit; final inspection |
| AC plus gas furnace replaced by a heat pump | Mechanical permit; check express eligibility with LADBS because the fuel changes | Electrical permit if a circuit or panel is added; see the furnace-to-heat-pump guide |
| New ductless mini-split | Mechanical permit; electrical permit for the new circuit | HOA approval in condos (separate from LADBS) |
| Panel upgrade for a heat pump | Electrical permit from LADBS | LADWP meter spot; see the panel upgrade guide |
- Confirm the address is in the City. Check the parcel on ZIMAS (Step 1 above). If it is not, LADBS is the wrong office.
- Contractor checks express eligibility. LADBS publishes an eligibility checklist for its online e-Permit. A C-20 contractor can pull an HVAC permit online; homeowners of single-family houses may also apply, but a permit in your name makes you responsible for the work.
- Permit issued and fees paid before work starts. The fee is set by the LADBS fee schedule, which we could not read; we print no figure for it.
- Install, then the Title 24 tests. The contractor files the 2025 installation certificates and an ECC rater verifies them (see the HERS/ECC testing guide).
- Final inspection. An LADBS inspector signs off. LADWP's heat pump rebate needs this final approved permit (LADWP, read 2026-10-20).
No fee table, on purpose
LADBS's fee schedule refused our reads, and the fee figures on third-party sites do not cite it. Rather than print an unsourced number, we show what LA contractors charge for the whole permit line in what an AC permit costs.
Permit offices for the cities this site covers
Each row says how far we got in confirming it. Where we could not confirm the office on its own site, we say so rather than guess.
| Where the property is | Who issues the permit | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| City of Los Angeles | Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) | LADBS express-permit bulletin P/GI 2020-003 lists replacing an AC unit of the same size and type as an express permit, with no plan check. (Official document found; verify, 2026-10-18.) |
| Unincorporated LA County (Altadena, East LA and others) | LA County Public Works, Building and Safety | Express permits list air-conditioning or heating unit replacement; applications run through EPIC-LA. The county also serves some contract cities. (Checked on the authority's page, 2026-10-18.) |
| Pasadena | City of Pasadena Permit Center | The city says residential HVAC permits can be issued online through its Express Permit Portal. (Official document found; verify, 2026-10-18.) |
| Glendale | City of Glendale Building and Safety | HVAC change-outs are listed among simple permits issued online through GlendalePermits; attach a CF1R energy form. (Official document found; verify, 2026-10-18.) |
| Burbank | City of Burbank Building and Safety | The city portal takes online applications for simple mechanical permits. (Official document found; verify, 2026-10-18.) |
| Long Beach | Long Beach Community Development, Permit Center | A mechanical permit is required to install or replace cooling equipment; the city publishes an express mechanical permit application. (Official document found; verify, 2026-10-18.) |
| West Hollywood | West Hollywood Building and Safety | Heating and cooling systems up to 100,000 Btu/h need no plan check, but still need a permit. (Official document found; verify, 2026-10-18.) |
| Calabasas | City of Calabasas Building and Safety | City guidance asks for documents on an HVAC change-out and a 2025 CF1R energy form where the Energy Code applies. (Official document found; verify, 2026-10-18.) |
| Whittier | City of Whittier Building and Safety | Runs an online permit portal. (Official document found; verify, 2026-10-18.) |
| Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Agoura Hills, Arcadia, Downey, Norwalk, Bellflower, Cerritos | Each city's own building department, or a contracted provider | We have not yet confirmed the HVAC permit page for these cities on their own sites. Call the city hall building counter before you rely on any office named by a contractor or a third-party site. (Not yet confirmed, 2026-10-18.) |
How sure are we?
Checked on the authority's page means we read it there. Official document found; verify means an official page or file exists but we could not read it in full. Not yet confirmed means call the city. We never turn an unverified office into a definite one.
Some cities contract their building services to LA County Public Works or to private firms, and those arrangements change. The county publishes no list we could confirm, so ask the city first. LADBS: LADBS, "Mechanical HVAC Permits" and Express Permits bulletin P/GI 2020-003 (LADBS refused our automated read) (verify).
Step 2: know what the permit brings
- Duct sealing and testing. Under Title 24 Part 6, replacing the condensing unit, air handler or coil is an alteration that triggers duct sealing. Adding more than 25 feet of new duct means the whole system must test at 10 percent leakage or less. Refrigerant charge checks apply to heat pumps everywhere and to ACs in zones 2 and 8–15. (Energy Code Ace, verify against the 2025 code)
- Third-party verification. From 1 January 2026 the CEC's Energy Code Compliance (ECC) program took over field verification from the HERS program, so the third-party rater on a 2026 change-out works under ECC. (CEC)
- Climate zone. Los Angeles County spans building climate zones 6, 8, 9, 14 and 16. The coast (Santa Monica, Long Beach) is zone 6 and the San Fernando Valley zone 9, so the same change-out can carry different tests a few miles apart. Look up an address with the CEC climate zone tool. (CEC climate zones, verify)
- Electrical. A heat pump that needs a new circuit or a panel upgrade can need an electrical permit as well as the mechanical one.
- Final inspection. The permit is closed only when the inspector signs off. LADWP's heat pump rebate asks for that final approved permit (LADWP).
The code behind these tests is explained in plain terms in what Title 24 means for an AC replacement.
The duct test is why a "simple swap" quote can grow: if old ducts fail, they must be sealed or replaced. Published LA prices for that work are on the cost guide.
What an AC permit costs
Two Los Angeles HVAC companies price the permit and Title 24 paperwork as a line item at $250–$800. That is what they charge homeowners for the line, not the city's fee schedule, which depends on the office and the job.
Fee figures you see online
Permit fees quoted on cost sites vary widely and rarely cite the office's fee schedule. Ask the contractor what the permit line covers: the city fee, their time, and the rater.
Special cases
| Job | Permit? | What else to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Same-size AC change-out | Yes | Duct sealing and testing; often an express permit in the City of LA (verify) |
| Outdoor unit only | Yes | Still a Title 24 alteration that triggers duct sealing |
| Heat pump replacing AC and furnace | Yes, mechanical; often electrical too | A new circuit or panel work; refrigerant charge check in every climate zone |
| Ductless mini-split | Yes | Electrical circuit; HOA or landlord approval for the outdoor unit |
| More than 25 feet of new duct | Yes | Whole system must test at 10 percent leakage or less |
| Replacing an unpermitted system | Yes | The new permit documents the current installation |
Title 24 detail per Energy Code Ace (2022 text; verify against the 2025 code).
Step 3: what to have ready before you call the permit office
- The property address and parcel number (APN).
- What is being replaced or added: the existing system type and size, and the new one.
- Whether the ducts, the fuel (gas to electric) or the equipment location change.
- Whether electrical work is involved.
- The contractor's CSLB license number.
Step 4: questions to ask the contractor
- Will you pull the permit in your name, and from which office?
- Is the permit fee in the quote?
- Who books the Title 24 rater, and is that cost included?
- If the ducts fail the leakage test, what happens and what does it cost?
- Will you be present for the final inspection, and when do I get the finalled permit?
These map to the permit and testing lines of the quote comparison tool.
Check the license before the permit
Look the contractor up on the CSLB license check: active, classification C-20, bond and workers' compensation current, and the same name as on the quote.
California licenses HVAC contractors through the Contractors State License Board. The C-20 classification (Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning) covers installing, servicing and repairing heating systems, air-conditioning systems complete with the unit, and the ducts, registers, controls and filters connected to them.
Questions about AC permits in Los Angeles
Do I need a permit to replace my AC in Los Angeles?
Yes, in practice. California's energy code treats replacing an outdoor unit, coil or air handler as an alteration, which needs a permit and brings duct and refrigerant tests. In the City of Los Angeles the permit comes from LADBS; elsewhere it comes from your own city or, in unincorporated areas, LA County Public Works.
Who should pull the permit, me or the contractor?
The contractor, in their own name, under their CSLB license. A permit pulled by the homeowner for work done by a contractor shifts responsibility onto you. Put "permit pulled by contractor" in the written quote.
How do I know if my address is in the City of Los Angeles?
A Los Angeles mailing address does not mean the City of Los Angeles; Altadena, East Los Angeles and others are unincorporated county, and cities such as Burbank, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood run their own permits. Look the parcel up in the City's ZIMAS property map or on your property tax bill.
Does the permit matter for rebates?
Yes. LADWP's heat pump rebate application asks for the final approved Building and Safety permit. No permit, no rebate.
Do I need a permit for a same-size AC replacement?
Yes. Under Title 24 a like-for-like change-out is still an alteration. In the City of Los Angeles it is usually sold as an express permit with no plan check, but it is still a permit, with a final inspection and the duct and refrigerant tests.
What if only the outdoor unit is being replaced?
Replacing the condensing unit alone is still an alteration that triggers duct sealing and testing under Title 24, so it still needs a permit. Ask the contractor to state the permit on the quote even for a condenser-only job.
Does a ductless mini-split need a permit?
Yes. A mini-split is mechanical work with refrigerant lines and, usually, a new electrical circuit, so expect a mechanical permit and possibly an electrical one. Condo and HOA approval for the outdoor unit is a separate step.
My old system was installed without a permit. What now?
Have the replacement permitted properly now. The new permit and final inspection document the current system, which is what a buyer, an insurer or a rebate program will ask for. Tell the contractor what you know about the old installation.
What does the inspector check?
The final inspection confirms the work matches the permit: equipment, electrical connection and disconnect, condensate drain, clearances. The Title 24 field verification of duct leakage and refrigerant charge is done by a third-party rater under the CEC program.
What is a permit versus an inspection?
The permit is permission to do the work, issued before it starts. The inspection, plus the Title 24 field verification by a third-party rater, happens after, and closes the permit. A permit that is never finalled can surface when you sell the house.
Next step
Found an office or rule that has changed? Tell us through the corrections process in our editorial policy.
Free quote request
Get a quote to check against these numbers
- Tell us about the job. Service, ZIP, property and timing. The form says right away if your ZIP is outside the area.
- We check the license first. Requests go only to contractors whose CSLB C-20 license we have matched on the state register. If none covers your ZIP yet, we email you and say so.
- Compare what comes back. Line the written quote up against the published ranges and the quote checklist.
No cost and no obligation. We are a publisher, not a contractor; contractors pay us for introductions. How that works.
Request AC installation quotes
Licensed Los Angeles HVAC contractors. Free, no obligation.