01First confirm the building and form family
CF1R, CF2R and CF3R answer three different questions: does the proposed design comply, what was installed, and was a required measure independently verified? They are not three interchangeable names for an energy report. An applicant who identifies the missing stage can ask the right participant for evidence instead of ordering another design report when an installation or verification record is needed.
Start with the permit edition and building classification. The 2025 California Energy Code applies to building permit applications on or after January 1, 2026; an older active application needs its own edition confirmation. Title 24 Part 6 is the Energy Code, while CALGreen is Part 11. Changing a drawing date or reaching construction in a new year does not alone establish a new compliance edition.
Energy Code Ace identifies its single-family forms for single-family, townhome and duplex projects and separates multifamily/mixed-use documentation into the applicable LMCC, LMCI and LMCV family. Do not choose forms solely because a building contains dwellings. Confirm the classification and scope using the CEC’s applicable forms/manuals. Commercial NRCC readers need the nonresidential pathway, not a residential certificate relabeled for another occupancy.
Energy Code Ace: single-family forms and classification guidanceWhich Energy Code applies to your application?Commercial compliance and NRCC documentation
02Three stages, three responsibilities
Use this responsibility map for an applicable single-family project. A person who prepares a model is not automatically the responsible signer for every design, installation and verification item. Discuss the required signatures and provider permissions with the actual participants; do not assume that purchasing one report appoints everyone else.
- +CF1R — Certificate of Compliance: records the proposed design and applicable energy measures for permit review. The energy preparer develops the documentation from supported design inputs; the responsible design party and preparer complete the applicable declarations. It is a design-stage record, not proof that construction occurred.
- +CF2R — Certificate of Installation: records the applicable installed features and compliance with installation requirements. The installing contractor completes the relevant installation certifications for their scope. A supplier quote, paid invoice or copied model output cannot stand in for the responsible installer’s evidence and declarations.
- +CF3R — Certificate of Verification: records required field verification and diagnostic testing by a qualified ECC-Rater. The rater verifies the applicable measures and documents the results; a design preparer cannot create a genuine passed test by copying CF1R assumptions. Not every project requires this stage for every feature.
CEC single-family certificates and registered-form requirementsCF1R preparation service: scope and handoff support
03Registration connects records; it does not replace the responsible people
The CEC’s single-family forms page distinguishes registered documents for projects requiring field verification and diagnostic testing from applicable nonregistered pathways. When the scope requires ECC verification, use the appropriate ECC-Provider registry process and the registered documents required for submittal. A blank sample PDF or an unregistered preview is not the registered project copy.
Agree who prepares the data, who handles the registry steps and which responsible parties must complete declarations. Do not assume the energy consultant operates a registry or that a homeowner may sign for a trade. The provider administers the record and its procedures; the installer and rater remain accountable for their own work. The CEC does not register individual project documents or retrieve a homeowner’s certificates from a public archive.
Retain the project/provider identifier, edition and document revision so subsequent records connect to the right design. A form with a similar address but a different permit scope, equipment schedule or revision is not automatically usable. The AHJ and provider can clarify an unusual history; this guide does not prescribe one registry workflow for every project.
04Which form am I missing for my permit stage?
Read the complete review or inspection comment before choosing a service. Use this decision checklist to identify a likely next action, then confirm the actual certificate and edition with the reviewer and responsible participant.
- +Before permit review: if the comment asks how the proposed design complies, start with the applicable CF1R and supporting plans. Check signatures, selected measures and required registration. Do not book a field test to solve a missing design schedule.
- +During installation or inspection: if the issue is documenting installed windows, insulation, systems or other affected features, identify the relevant installer and CF2R. Compare actual work with the accepted design before someone certifies installation.
- +When a required verification is missing: read the CF1R’s verification requirements, locate the relevant installation records and coordinate a qualified ECC-Rater for the applicable CF3R. The precise measure and protocol matter more than a generic request for “a Title 24 visit.”
- +At closeout: organize the applicable design, installation and verification records by measure. Ask which specific item remains outstanding; having one CF3R does not establish that every installer certificate or every other required verification is complete.
- +If the forms do not fit the building: stop and confirm classification, permit scope and edition. Multifamily, mixed-use and commercial projects may use a different family. Do not fabricate a residential certificate merely because the reviewer requested energy documentation.
Respond to plan-check comments with a coordinated packageCEC nonresidential forms, including NRCC
05Worked example: a substituted heat pump
Illustrative example, not a client case or completed compliance run: a 450 sq ft single-family addition is part of a valid 2025-cycle application. Its selected design includes a heat-pump system and a measure requiring ECC verification. The floor area is example geometry; it does not establish a universal testing requirement. The applicant keeps the existing and added areas distinct in the intake.
At design stage, the preparer uses the coordinated plans and equipment schedule to prepare the applicable CF1R. The responsible parties complete their declarations and required registration is addressed for permit submittal. The applicant retains that controlling package rather than treating an early option-study PDF as the final certificate. The window schedule, assembly descriptions and equipment assumptions must remain consistent with the drawings.
During construction, the contractor proposes heat pump B instead of scheduled heat pump A. Before treating it as an accepted substitution, the contractor sends the exact proposed equipment data to the designer and energy preparer. They assess the changed efficiencies, system configuration and other affected assumptions, then determine whether revised drawings and compliance output are needed. This example assigns no pass/fail result or invented equipment rating.
At installation stage, the responsible contractor records the actual installed work on the applicable CF2R; the paperwork should not keep describing system A if the coordinated project now uses system B. At verification stage, the qualified ECC-Rater performs the required verification against the applicable documentation and records the relevant CF3R. A design revision does not itself prove that the installed system passed a required test.
For the final handoff, the applicant organizes the accepted design/revision, installer certificates and applicable verification records together. A missing installer signature goes back to the responsible installer; a missing verification record goes to the appropriate rater/provider process. If the substitution created a plan-check correction, the response identifies the changed sheets and energy documents rather than attaching an unexplained stack of PDFs.
Energy modeling: review changed assumptions before final outputAddition-alone versus existing-plus-addition scope
06Construction handoff checklist
Build a measure-by-measure handoff from the accepted documents. An owner or general contractor can coordinate the list without claiming authority to certify every item. Ask about access and construction sequencing early rather than assuming every observation can wait until final inspection.
- +List each applicable measure, its plan reference, installation certificate, verification certificate if required, and responsible participant. Keep the provider/project reference and controlling revision with the list.
- +Ask the qualified ECC-Rater which features need access before they are concealed. Follow the applicable CEC/provider protocols; a photo is not automatically an approved substitute for observation or testing.
- +Record proposed equipment and material substitutions before they become unexplained mismatches. Ask the designer and preparer whether the compliance package must change; ask the installer to certify the actual accepted installation.
- +Agree who obtains completed copies and resolves missing signatures or rejected records. The CEC does not retrieve project certificates for owners; start with the original participants and provider.
- +Before requesting closeout, reconcile the applicable records and reviewer comments. A folder named “final” is not evidence that the form family, revision, declarations and required verification are complete.
Assemble a useful energy-consultant intake packetADU and garage-conversion documentation boundaries
07Older records may say HERS; keep the edition visible
For current-cycle residential verification, use ECC, Energy Code Compliance. Older documents and comments may say HERS. The CEC explains that current ECC administration supports older-code projects while terminology replacement on software/forms applies to 2025-based documents. Preserve the original record and confirm the actual edition and provider process rather than relabeling every certificate.
A valid 2022-cycle permit finishing in 2026 does not automatically become a 2025 project. Conversely, an old report cannot establish compliance for a genuinely new application simply because the building looks similar. If the application history, reapplication or amended scope is uncertain, ask the AHJ for direction and retain the response with the document set.
HERS to ECC: legacy comments, older permits and current roles
08What report preparation does not include
A design-report engagement is not automatically installation certification, field testing, acceptance testing, registry operation, mechanical design or permit approval. Title 24 Lab’s CF1R service explains design-document preparation and coordination; this journal guide helps applicants understand what evidence to request from each participant. It does not claim that one consultant performs every role.
Review the published pricing and separate-scope exclusions: field testing, acceptance testing, registry fees, CALGreen and AHJ permit fees are not the energy report itself. For revisions, provide the prior report and change summary so the scope can be reviewed under the existing menu. No new rate or response-time promise is created here.
09Six practical certificate questions
Use these distinctions to request the correct record rather than treating all energy paperwork as one deliverable.
Can my CF1R substitute for CF2R or CF3R?
No. It documents the proposed design, not the completed installation or a passed verification. Obtain the applicable installation record from the responsible installer and required verification from the qualified ECC-Rater. Confirm the measure and building classification instead of assuming all three documents are required for every feature.
Does every single-family project require CF3R?
No. The selected measures, scope, edition and compliance approach determine required field verification. The CEC publishes both registered and nonregistered pathways for applicable single-family work. Read the project’s actual requirements and confirm uncertain items; a generic checklist cannot establish that your specific project has no verification obligations.
Who registers the documents and signs them?
Agree the provider workflow with the preparer, responsible design party, installing contractors and rater. Each completes the declarations applicable to their role; a preparer is not automatically every signer. When registration is required, use the appropriate ECC-Provider record. The CEC does not register individual project certificates for applicants.
Can an ADU use the main house’s existing certificates?
Do not assume so. Identify each dwelling, application, affected system and proposed change. Existing records may support intake, but they do not automatically document a new dwelling or altered scope. Ask the preparer and AHJ which classification and documentation apply, especially where separate applications or shared systems are involved.
What if the equipment changes after the report?
Send the proposed substitution and current plans to the designer and energy preparer before relying on the original assumptions. Determine whether revised compliance documents and schedules are needed. The installer then certifies the actual coordinated work, and required verification addresses that work. A supplier’s statement alone does not update the permit package.
What should I send when a reviewer says a certificate is missing?
Send the full comment, application record, accepted report, current drawings and available installer/verification records. Identify the referenced certificate and revision if possible. The design preparer can assess design-document issues; an installer or rater must address their own missing evidence. Ask the reviewer to clarify ambiguous requests instead of ordering an unrelated report.
10Turn the missing-document question into a clear request
Use the intake checklist to identify the project, permit stage and missing evidence before requesting help. Get a Quote supports plan uploads for scope review; the published Pricing page explains the existing residential/commercial menu and exclusions. An upload is not payment, field-test scheduling or production acceptance.
Educational information, not legal advice. The AHJ determines the applicable permit requirements and local amendments; the provider and qualified project participants follow the relevant CEC procedures. This guide does not waive a certificate, authorize a signature or guarantee permit approval.
Get a Quote for project-specific report supportSee Pricing and report-scope exclusionsWhat to send your energy consultant