Scope. This guide covers the three statutes that give commercial tenant improvement applicants a certification or private plan check route in California: AB 671 (restaurants), AB 1693 (retail), and AB 2418 (small office buildings), plus the nonresidential inspection and fee schedule rules AB 2418 added. It is a companion to our California’s Permitting Overhaul, which covers housing plan check under AB 2234, AB 253, and AB 1621. Statutory references and agency guidance are linked below.
At a glance
Restaurants: AB 671, since January 1, 2026
Eligible restaurant plans can be professionally certified. The building department has 20 business days after receiving the complete application and affidavits; deemed approval requires all fees and documents. Resubmittals get 10 business days. Work subject to Retail Food Code plan review is excluded from this building route and follows the separate health-review rules.
Gov. Code §§ 66345 to 66345.4; Health & Saf. Code § 114380(f)
Retail: AB 1693, from January 1, 2027
The same certification model for retail tenant improvements, with the same certifier qualifications, the same 20 and 10 business-day decision periods, and the same weekly audits, but no deemed approval. Food establishments and fast food restaurants are not retailers under the chapter.
Gov. Code §§ 66350 to 66350.6
Offices: AB 2418, from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2032
For Group B tenant improvements in buildings of one to three stories with an occupant load of 49 or fewer, the agency must give an estimate at completeness. On excessive delay, it must arrange temporary contract plan check at the applicant's request; only if no one is available may the applicant hire a certified private provider. The agency acts on the provider's report within 10 business days. No deemed approval.
Health & Saf. Code § 19837, as amended; §§ 19838, 19839
01 Which route applies
The route depends on the use, and the three routes differ at every step that matters: who reviews, what triggers the review, what the agency must do, and what happens if it does nothing.
| Route | Eligible work | Reviewer | Agency deadline | If the agency misses it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB 671 restaurants | Tenant improvement (a change to the interior of an existing building) for a retail food establishment that is not a fast food restaurant, and not subject to Retail Food Code plan review | Qualified professional certifier chosen by the applicant | 20 business days from a complete application with affidavits; 10 business days per resubmittal | Certified plan deemed approved for permitting purposes, if all fees and documents are in |
| AB 1693 retail | Tenant improvement for a person making retail sales to the public, other than a food establishment or fast food restaurant | Qualified professional certifier chosen by the applicant | 20 business days; 10 business days per resubmittal | Nothing stated |
| AB 2418 offices | Tenant improvement in a Group B building of one to three stories, no occupied floor above 40 feet, occupant load of 49 or fewer, not a health facility or public building | First the agency's temporary contract plan checker; then, only if none is available, the applicant's certified private provider | 10 business days from the private provider's report | Nothing stated |
A city or county may not refuse these routes, but it may regulate them: all three let the agency require certifiers or providers to register, complete training, and pay fees that do not exceed the cost of the program, and AB 1693 and AB 2418 let it set a size limit and specify eligible business types, as long as the requirements do not prohibit or effectively prohibit the route.
02 AB 671: restaurant tenant improvements (Gov. Code §§ 66345 to 66345.4)
A restaurant applicant may have a qualified professional certifier, a California-licensed architect or professional engineer with at least five years of commercial building design or plan review experience and at least $2 million in professional liability insurance per occurrence, certify at the applicant's expense that the tenant improvement complies with all applicable building, health, and safety codes, including Title 24 and local building standards in effect when the application is filed (Gov. Code §§ 66345.1, 66345.2(a)). AB 671 (Chapter 470, Statutes of 2025) took effect January 1, 2026.
The package contains two affidavits under penalty of perjury: the certifier's, that the plans and specifications comply; and the certifier's or applicant's, that the business is a restaurant as the chapter defines it (§ 66345.2(b)(1)). The building department must approve or deny within 20 business days of receiving the complete application with both affidavits. If it does neither, the certified plan is deemed approved for permitting purposes, provided all fees and required documents have been submitted (§ 66345.2(b)(2), (3)). If it denies, the applicant may resubmit corrected plans, the department's review is limited to the deficiencies first identified, and each resubmittal is decided within 10 business days (§ 66345.2(b)(4)).
Certification does not end the department's role. It must audit at random at least 20 percent of the tenant improvements submitted for certification each week, start each audit within five business days of permit issuance, and issue a plan check correction notice within 10 business days of starting an audit that reveals material noncompliance (§ 66345.2(c)). Fire, health, structural, and other inspections still apply, and the department may still charge permit fees (§§ 66345.2(d)(1), 66345.3). The certifier is liable for negligent plan review, the applicant indemnifies the agency for construction under the certified plans, and the agency and its employees are immune for issuing or denying the permit (§ 66345.4). A false certification is grounds for discipline by the Architects Board or the engineers' board (§ 66345.2(e)).
Two exclusions limit the route. Fast food restaurants, as defined in Labor Code section 1474, are not restaurants under the chapter (§ 66345.1(b)). And the chapter does not apply to tenant improvements subject to plan review under the Retail Food Code (§ 66345.2(d)(3)), which requires plan approval before any new construction or remodel of a food facility (Health & Saf. Code § 114380(a)). Confirm whether the proposed work requires Retail Food Code plan review before relying on the building-certification route.
AB 671 also changed the health department's side. A restaurant tenant improvement plan the enforcement agency has not approved or denied within 20 business days of receiving a complete plan is deemed approved for permitting purposes, if fees and documents are in, and resubmittals are decided within 10 business days (Health & Saf. Code § 114380(f)). The general rule for other food facilities remains 20 working days with deemed approval (§ 114380(e)).
In practice. Identify the applicable route first. Work subject to Retail Food Code plan review is excluded from the building-certification chapter. For the building route, log receipt of the complete package with both affidavits; for food review, log receipt of the complete plan.
Sources: AB 671, Chapter 470, Statutes of 2025; Gov. Code § 66345.2; Health & Saf. Code § 114380.
03 AB 1693: retail tenant improvements (Gov. Code §§ 66350 to 66350.6)
From January 1, 2027, a retailer may use the same certification model for a tenant improvement, with the same certifier qualifications, the same two affidavits, the same 20-business-day decision and 10-business-day resubmittal periods, the same weekly 20 percent audits, the same liability allocation, and the same local authority to require registration, training, and fees (Gov. Code §§ 66350.1 to 66350.4, added by AB 1693, Chapter 827, Statutes of 2026). The chapter yields to the restaurant chapter where both could apply (§ 66350.2(a)(1)).
Two differences matter. There is no deemed approval: the statute requires a decision within 20 business days and says nothing about what happens if the department does not act. And the definition of retailer excludes any retail food establishment that prepares, serves, and vends food directly to the consumer, and any fast food restaurant (§ 66350.1(b)), so a label on the business license does not settle eligibility.
A city or county may, by requirements that do not prohibit or effectively prohibit the route, "limit the size of an eligible structure to no less than 10,000 square feet" and "specify the types of businesses or occupancies that are eligible" (§ 66350.2(g)). Do not treat this clause as a statewide minimum project size; check any size limit in the agency's adopted requirements. The chapter also bars using certifiers to displace or leave unfilled budgeted building department positions, and, where there is an excessive delay under the office statute, limits the agency's own use of a certifier to the time needed to finish the review (§§ 66350.5, 66350.6).
Sources: AB 1693, Chapter 827, Statutes of 2026.
04 AB 2418: small office tenant improvements (Health & Saf. Code § 19837, as amended)
From January 1, 2027, an applicant for a building permit for a tenant improvement in a small Group B building may reach a private plan checker, but only after the agency has had its chance. AB 2418 (Chapter 828, Statutes of 2026) rewrote Health and Safety Code section 19837 for five years; on January 1, 2032 the current version of the section returns.
Eligibility. A nonresidential building permit under the section is a permit for a nonresidential tenant improvement to a building that is one to three stories with no floor used for human occupancy more than 40 feet above ground level, is a Group B (Business) occupancy under the California Building Code with an occupant load not exceeding 49 persons, and is not a health facility or a public building (§ 19837(j)(7)).
The sequence.
- An estimate at completeness. On receipt of a complete application, the city or county must give the applicant an estimated timeframe for determining compliance (§ 19837(d)(1)).
- Excessive delay, taken or estimated. Excessive delay means more than 30 business days after submittal of a complete application to complete the structural building safety plan check, or, counting those days, more than 60 days to complete the checking of corrected plans after the agency returned them for correction. The test is met by time the agency has taken or estimates it will take (§ 19837(j)(4)). The second test uses 'days' while counting the business days spent on the initial check; confirm the counting method before relying on that trigger.
- The agency's contract reviewer first. On excessive delay, the agency must, at the applicant's request, contract with or employ a private entity on a temporary basis to perform the plan check (§ 19837(d)(1)(A), (B)). It need not do so if it determines that no qualified entity or person is available (§ 19837(b)).
- Then the applicant's provider. Only if the agency makes that unavailability determination may the applicant retain, at its own expense, a private professional provider: a California-licensed engineer or architect currently certified as a nonresidential plans examiner by the International Code Council, as a plans examiner by IAPMO, or by an association the agency recognizes, with no financial interest in the permit or the plans. The provider comes from the agency's list if it keeps one (§ 19837(d)(2), (j)(8)). The applicant must give notice of intent within five business days after the estimate or after the delay period runs (§ 19837(e)).
- A sworn report and a 10-business-day response. The provider's affidavit states that the plans do or do not comply and that the provider performed the plan check. Within 10 business days of receiving the report, the agency must issue the permit or notify the applicant in writing what would make the plans comply. Corrected plans run on the same timeline (§ 19837(f), (g)). The statute states no consequence if the agency does neither.
The agency must audit at random at least 20 percent of the permits it issues each year on private providers' reports and give notice within 10 business days of an audit that finds material noncompliance (§ 19837(f)(3)(A)). The applicant must agree to defend and indemnify the agency, the agency is immune for issuing or denying the permit, and the use of private providers must be temporary and may not displace or leave unfilled budgeted civil service positions (§ 19837(f)(4), (5), (k)). An agency may also run its own self-certification program on different terms (§ 19837(i)), and may limit the size of an eligible building "to no less than 10,000 square feet" or specify eligible business types, if the limits do not prohibit or effectively prohibit the route (§ 19837(h)).
Two rules that reach beyond small offices. A city or county that prescribes fees for nonresidential building permits must post the fee schedule on its website (§ 19838). For a nonresidential building or structure in occupancy group A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4, A-5, B, E, F-1, F-2, M, S-1, S-2, or U, the building department must inspect within 10 business days of receiving notice that the permitted work is complete (§ 19839). The inspection rule states no consequence for a miss, and its coverage is far broader than the private plan check route.
In practice. Give nonresidential tenant improvements their own intake screen: occupancy group, occupant load, stories, height, and restaurant, retail, or office use. Date the estimate, keep a provider list or decide not to, and write the unavailability determination as a dated document, because it is what unlocks the applicant's own reviewer.
Sources: AB 2418, Chapter 828, Statutes of 2026.
05 Implementing the commercial permit rules
AB 671 applies from January 1, 2026; AB 1693 and AB 2418 apply from January 1, 2027. Use this checklist to implement the routes and audit ongoing practice.
- Classify at intake. Occupancy group, occupant load, stories, height, and use decide the route. The AB 253 residential checklist does not apply to any of them.
- Establish the local requirements. Registration, training, fees, and any size or business-type limits require an ordinance or adopted requirements, and they cannot effectively prohibit the route.
- Build the audit sample. AB 671 and AB 1693 audits are weekly and start within five business days of issuance; AB 2418 audits are annual. Decide who draws the sample and who writes the correction notice.
- Date everything. Record complete applications, affidavits, estimates, unavailability findings, and provider reports. They establish eligibility and timing; an unavailability finding does not replace the statutory notice trigger.
- Post the nonresidential fee schedule and set up the 10-business-day inspection for the AB 2418 occupancy groups, which include most assembly, business, school, factory, mercantile, storage, and utility buildings.
Frequently asked questions
Can a restaurant in California self-certify its building permit?
Not the applicant, but a qualified professional certifier can. Since January 1, 2026, a licensed architect or engineer with five years of commercial experience and $2 million in liability coverage may certify that a restaurant tenant improvement complies with all applicable codes. Deemed approval requires a complete application and affidavits, all fees and documents, and no approval or denial within 20 business days (Gov. Code § 66345.2). Fast food restaurants and work subject to Retail Food Code plan review are excluded.
Is a certified retail tenant improvement deemed approved after 20 business days?
No. AB 1693 requires the building department to approve or deny within 20 business days, but, unlike the restaurant statute, it says nothing about what happens if the department does not act (Gov. Code § 66350.2(b)).
Can an office tenant hire its own plan checker under AB 2418?
Only as a last resort. If the agency's estimate or actual time exceeds the excessive-delay thresholds, the applicant may ask the agency to bring in a temporary contract plan checker. The applicant may hire its own certified provider only if the agency determines that no qualified provider is available (Health & Saf. Code § 19837(d)).
What counts as excessive delay under AB 2418?
More than 30 business days after a complete application to finish the structural building safety plan check, or more than 60 days, counting those business days, to finish checking corrected plans after the agency returned them. Either actual time or the agency's estimate can meet the test (Health & Saf. Code § 19837(j)(4)). The statute uses 'days' for the second test; confirm the counting method before relying on it.
Do the commercial routes replace inspections?
No. All three statutes preserve fire, health, structural, and other construction inspections, and AB 2418 adds a 10-business-day inspection deadline for buildings or structures in the occupancy groups listed in section 19839 (Health & Saf. Code § 19839).
Explore SwiftGov for application intake and plan review.
About this guide. This is general information about selected California statutes, researched through October 28, 2026. Source links appear in each section. It does not establish any project's eligibility or deadline, and it is not legal advice. Confirm the current text and local requirements, and consult counsel, before relying on it for a specific permit.
