Scope. This guide covers the California statutes that require permitting information, applications, status, or issuance to be online, with their population thresholds and deadlines, and the AB 130 residential building standards pause. It is a companion to our California’s Permitting Overhaul, which covers the plan check clocks themselves. Statutory references and agency guidance are linked below.
At a glance
Information online, everyone (SB 489)
For each approval a housing development project needs, the agency's list of required information, the completeness criteria it applies, and the name of the approval must be published online.
Gov. Code § 65940(d), in effect since January 1, 2026
Applications and status online (§ 65913.3.5 and AB 920)
Agencies in counties of 250,000 or more must let applicants apply for, complete, retrieve, and track postentitlement permits online, with a January 1, 2028 base deadline for the later group, subject to extensions. Cities of 150,000 or more, and counties with 150,000 or more unincorporated residents, must offer a centralized housing application portal with status tracking by January 1, 2028.
Gov. Code §§ 65913.3.5, 65940.3; Health & Saf. Code § 53559.1
Permits issued by software (SB 379 and SB 222)
Covered jurisdictions must already offer real-time residential solar permitting through a platform such as SolarAPP+. By July 1, 2028 they must do the same for residential heat pump swapouts, and from July 1, 2027 every city and county must offer asynchronous or qualifying remote heat pump inspections.
Gov. Code §§ 65850.52, 51297.52, 51297.55
01 Which mandate applies to your jurisdiction
Each statute has its own test. An exemption from one says nothing about the others, and two of them measure a county by its unincorporated population while two measure it by total population.
| Statute | Who must comply | What must be online | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| SB 489 (Gov. Code § 65940(d)) | Every public agency | Required-information lists, completeness criteria, and the name of each housing approval | In effect (January 1, 2026) |
| Gov. Code § 65913.3.5 (AB 2234) | Large jurisdictions only: counties of 250,000 or more as of January 1, 2019, and the cities in them | Apply for, complete, and retrieve postentitlement permits online; show processing status; accept email applications until then | 2024 for the first tier (extendable to 2026); 2028 for the later tier, including counties with fewer than 75,000 unincorporated residents (extendable up to five years). See Section 03 |
| AB 920 (Gov. Code § 65940.3) | Cities of 150,000 or more; counties with 150,000 or more residents in unincorporated areas | A centralized application portal for housing development projects, with status tracking | January 1, 2028, extendable to January 1, 2030 |
| SB 379 (Gov. Code § 65850.52) | Every city and county except a city under 5,000 or a county under 150,000 and the cities in it | Real-time automated permitting for residential solar up to 38.4 kW AC and paired storage | September 30, 2023 (over 50,000) or September 30, 2024 (50,000 or fewer) |
| SB 222 (Gov. Code §§ 51297.52, 51297.55) | Asynchronous inspections: every city and county. Automated permitting: every city and county except a city under 5,000 or a county under 150,000 and the cities in it | Asynchronous or qualifying remote inspections; real-time permits for eligible heat pump swapouts | July 1, 2027 (inspections); July 1, 2028 (permits) |
| AB 1738 (Health & Saf. Code § 17970.9) | Every city and county except a city under 5,000 or a county under 150,000 and the cities in it | Remote inspection option for listed work in one- and two-family homes | January 1, 2028, or July 1, 2028 for cities of 50,000 or fewer |
02 SB 489: the application list goes online (Gov. Code § 65940(d))
Since January 1, 2026, for each type of approval a public agency issues in connection with a housing development project, the list of information it requires from applicants, the criteria it will apply to decide whether an application is complete, and the name of the type of approval must be published online (Gov. Code § 65940(d), added by SB 489, Chapter 518, Statutes of 2025). The duty attaches to every public agency, with no population threshold.
The list matters beyond transparency. Under the Permit Streamlining Act, an incompleteness notice may list only items on the agency's submittal checklist, and under section 65913.3 a postentitlement completeness notice may list only items on the posted list. A list that is not online, or that does not match what intake staff ask for, is a completeness dispute waiting to happen.
Sources: SB 489; Gov. Code § 65940.
03 Online postentitlement permitting for large jurisdictions (Gov. Code § 65913.3.5)
AB 2234 required local agencies to let applicants apply for, complete, and retrieve postentitlement phase permits on the agency's website, to show whether each permit is under agency review or awaiting the applicant, and, until the portal exists, to accept applications and documents by email and answer status inquiries by email (Gov. Code § 65913.3.5(b)). The section applies only to "large jurisdictions" as Health and Safety Code section 53559.1 defines them: a county with 250,000 or more residents as of January 1, 2019, and any city within it (§ 65913.3.5(c); Health & Saf. Code § 53559.1(g), (h)).
Within that class, the schedule runs on 2020 census figures. A local agency in a county of 1.1 million or more, or a city of 75,000 or more anywhere, was due January 1, 2024, extendable by up to two years if by that date its legislative body found that compliance would require substantial fee increases and had started a procurement. A city of fewer than 75,000 in a county under 1.1 million, and a county with fewer than 75,000 unincorporated residents, is due January 1, 2028, extendable by up to five years on the same fee finding (§ 65913.3.5(a)).
Separately, section 65913.3 sets the plan check transmittal rule: a postentitlement determination must be emailed immediately and, where the portal exists, posted there (Gov. Code § 65913.3(c)(1)(B)).
Sources: Gov. Code § 65913.3.5; Health & Saf. Code § 53559.1.
04 AB 920: the centralized housing application portal (Gov. Code § 65940.3)
By January 1, 2028, a city of 150,000 or more, or a county with 150,000 or more residents in its unincorporated areas, must make a centralized application portal available on its website to applicants for housing development projects (Gov. Code § 65940.3(a), added by AB 920, Chapter 501, Statutes of 2025). A centralized application portal is a website or software the city or county uses to collect the information and materials it needs to consider a housing development project, and it must allow the applicant to track the application's status (§ 65940.3(c), (e)).
The deadline moves to January 1, 2030 only if, on or before January 1, 2028, the legislative body both makes a written finding that meeting the 2028 date would require a substantial increase in permitting fees and initiates a procurement process for the portal (§ 65940.3(b)). The city or county is not required to show the status of a permit or inspection that belongs to another local agency, a state agency, or a utility (§ 65940.3(d)).
AB 920 and section 65913.3.5 overlap but are not the same: one covers housing development applications, measured by total city population or unincorporated county population; the other covers postentitlement permits, measured by the county's 2019 population. A city of 100,000 in Sacramento County, for example, is subject to the second and not the first.
Sources: AB 920; Gov. Code § 65940.3.
05 Permits issued by software: SB 379 solar and SB 222 heat pumps
Solar (Gov. Code § 65850.52). Every city and county, except a city under 5,000 or a county under 150,000 and the cities in it, had to implement an online, automated permitting platform, such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's SolarAPP+, that verifies code compliance and issues permits in real time, or lets the agency issue them in real time, to a licensed contractor for a residential solar energy system of no more than 38.4 kW AC and a residential energy storage system paired with it. Jurisdictions over 50,000 were due September 30, 2023; cities of 50,000 or fewer, September 30, 2024. Each must report compliance to the Energy Commission and then report annually on the permits issued (§ 65850.52(b) to (e)).
Heat pumps (Gov. Code §§ 51297.50 to 51297.59, added by SB 222, Chapter 738, Statutes of 2026). The chapter applies to a single heat pump water heater or heat pump HVAC system serving one dwelling unit, and not to new residential construction (§§ 51297.51(c), 51297.59). Its duties arrive in stages:
- July 1, 2027: asynchronous inspections, everywhere. Every city and county must adopt and offer inspections of heat pump installations that do not require the contractor and the inspector to be present at the same time, or may offer remote inspections instead. The inspector may call or video-call the contractor during the inspection and may require a follow-up with the contractor present (§ 51297.52). This section has no population exemption.
- July 1, 2028: real-time permits for swapouts. Every city and county, except a city under 5,000 or a county under 150,000 and the cities in it, must implement an online, automated process that issues permits in real time to a licensed contractor for a heat pump water heater or HVAC installation that is a swapout, needs no new electrical panel or structural work, and, for HVAC, comes with the contractor's certification under penalty of perjury of a Manual J or equivalent load calculation. A swapout puts the new equipment in the prior equipment's location; it excludes more than 25 linear feet of new, modified, or replaced ductwork and package-to-split or split-to-package conversions. An automated platform or an online form that issues the permit on completion both qualify (§§ 51297.51(d), 51297.55).
- Fees and forms. Permit fees are generally capped at $150 for water heaters and $200 for HVAC, subject to statutory exemptions, cost findings, and the third-party technology-fee exclusion. Agencies may not add charges above their publicly listed fee (§ 51297.57). Covered agencies must publish their heat pump requirements, documentation, and fees online and accept electronic applications and signatures (§ 51297.56). Plug-in window heat pumps and air conditioners that meet the statute's criteria need no permit or inspection at all (§ 51297.54(b)).
Sources: Gov. Code § 65850.52; SB 222, Chapter 738, Statutes of 2026.
06 The residential building standards pause (AB 130)
From October 1, 2025 through June 1, 2031, inclusive, AB 130 (Chapter 22, Statutes of 2025) limits new building standards affecting residential units. Local amendments and state standards have separate exceptions.
Local amendments. Exceptions include amendments substantially equivalent to those previously filed and in effect on September 30, 2025; emergency standards the Commission deems necessary; home hardening; and qualifying amendments implementing a general plan approved by June 10, 2025 that permits mixed-fuel construction while incentivizing all-electric construction (Health & Saf. Code § 17958(b)(1) to (5)).
State standards. Section 18930(g) allows, among other exceptions, emergency standards, State Fire Marshal amendments within the Wildland-Urban Interface Code, updated model codes and necessary related state amendments in triennial editions, model-code errata or emergency updates, and alignment with minimum federal accessibility requirements. The pause did not displace the 2025 California Building Standards Code, effective January 1, 2026, and does not freeze that edition through 2031.
Permitting platforms. Qualifying local administrative changes proposed during the intervening period may modernize or adopt permitting platforms and software, reduce permit turnaround times, or make other changes listed in section 17958(b)(6). The exception has statutory conditions; an administrative label alone does not exempt a substantive building standard.
Before describing a requirement as frozen, identify the applicable code edition, standard, effective date, and statutory exception. The pause does not suspend housing law, zoning, permit deadlines, or online permitting duties. Review proposed residential amendments against the applicable statute and the Commission's guidance.
Sources: AB 130; BSC Information Bulletin 25-03; BSC CALCode Quarterly, Summer 2025; Health & Saf. Code § 17958; § 18930; CBSC code-adoption exceptions.
07 Implementation checklist for building departments
- Write down which test you meet. Record the jurisdiction's population under each statute's measure and date: total population, unincorporated population, and the county's January 1, 2019 figure. One memo answers five questions.
- Put the lists online first. SB 489 has no population threshold and helps reduce completeness disputes under both the Permit Streamlining Act and section 65913.3.
- Plan any extension before the applicable deadline. AB 920 requires the fee finding and procurement initiation by January 1, 2028. Document any § 65913.3.5 extension before the base deadline too, although that provision states no equivalent finding deadline.
- Treat solar as the model. Solar automation offers a starting point for heat pumps. SB 222 requires compliance self-certification when seeking Energy Commission funding (§ 51297.58), separately from SB 379's annual reporting.
- Keep the code pause out of the plan check rules. The pause limits what standards can change; it does not change the clocks, the lists, or the rounds.
Frequently asked questions
Which California cities must have an online permit portal?
It depends on the statute. Every agency must publish its housing application lists online (SB 489). Agencies in counties of 250,000 or more must offer online postentitlement permitting under Gov. Code § 65913.3.5, with a January 1, 2028 base deadline for the later group, subject to extensions. Cities of 150,000 or more, and counties with 150,000 or more unincorporated residents, must offer a centralized housing application portal by January 1, 2028 under AB 920.
Can a city extend the AB 920 portal deadline?
Yes, to January 1, 2030, but only if by January 1, 2028 its legislative body both finds in writing that meeting the 2028 date would require a substantial increase in permitting fees and initiates a procurement process (Gov. Code § 65940.3(b)).
Does SolarAPP+ apply to every California city?
Every city and county, except a city under 5,000 or a county under 150,000 and the cities in it, must issue residential solar permits of up to 38.4 kW AC through a real-time automated platform such as SolarAPP+ (Gov. Code § 65850.52). Smaller jurisdictions are exempt.
When does California require automated heat pump permitting?
By July 1, 2028, for heat pump water heater and HVAC swapouts that need no new panel or structural work, everywhere except cities under 5,000 and counties under 150,000 with their cities. Asynchronous or qualifying remote heat pump inspections are required everywhere from July 1, 2027 (Gov. Code §§ 51297.52, 51297.55).
Did AB 130 freeze California's building code?
No. From October 1, 2025 through June 1, 2031, AB 130 limits new residential building standards with separate local and state exceptions. Those exceptions allow updated model codes in triennial editions, certain safety and accessibility changes, and qualifying local permitting-system changes. The 2025 code took effect January 1, 2026; it is not frozen through 2031 (Section 06).
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 jurisdiction's obligations or any project's deadline, and it is not legal advice. Confirm the current text, and consult counsel, before relying on it.
