NRCC, NRCI, NRCV & NRCA: Commercial Title 24 Forms Guide

01Start with the permit stage and affected systems

California nonresidential energy documents answer different questions at design, installation, verification and acceptance. NRCC, NRCI, NRCV and NRCA are not four versions of one report, nor a sequence that applies in full to every tenant improvement. Identify the missing evidence and the affected system before ordering another model or asking a contractor to sign an unrelated certificate.

The 2025 California Energy Code applies to permit applications on or after January 1, 2026. Confirm the AHJ-recorded application date, building classification and actual scope before selecting forms. Part 6 is the Energy Code; CALGreen is Part 11 and is separate. A residential address, a commercial tenant name or an old shell report does not alone establish the correct document family.

CEC Energy Code hubCEC current nonresidential forms catalogConfirm your application’s code edition

02NRCC: design compliance before construction

NRCC certificates describe how the proposed design demonstrates compliance for applicable systems. The architect, energy consultant and mechanical/electrical designers typically coordinate the required records using the selected approach and project evidence. The applicable declarations identify the responsible preparer and design parties; preparing a calculation does not automatically authorize someone to sign every discipline’s statement.

The design package should agree with the architectural boundary, equipment schedules, lighting quantities, controls and affected envelope features. A missing NRCC page may be a submission problem, while a wrong equipment value may require a coordinated design-document revision. Neither is solved by attaching an installer’s certificate that describes a different stage. Confirm which documents and signatures the reviewer actually requests.

Commercial NRCC preparation scope and deliverables

03NRCI: the installer certifies the installed work

NRCI certificates record the applicable installation compliance. The responsible installing trade supplies the evidence and declarations for its scope. The energy modeler’s design assumptions, a paid invoice and a supplier’s product sheet are not interchangeable with an installation certification. Coordinate installer responsibility before construction closeout rather than assuming the design consultant will create all final records.

If the installed fixture, equipment or control sequence differs from the accepted design, identify the substitution and obtain the appropriate design review. Installation paperwork should describe the actual coordinated work, not preserve an obsolete schedule for convenience. Keep identifiers and drawing revisions aligned so the inspector and testing party can trace the design to what was installed.

04NRCV: applicable verification, not a universal extra report

NRCV addresses applicable verification requirements and is distinct from installation certification and acceptance testing. The CEC’s current nonresidential forms guidance identifies ECC-Provider registration for NRCV documents and qualified ECC-Rater involvement where applicable. Read the actual measures and document instructions; the existence of a form in the catalog does not mean every TI requires that test.

Use Energy Code Compliance, or ECC, as current terminology. Older-cycle records and legacy searches may say HERS; that wording does not turn commercial lighting acceptance into residential testing or change the permit edition. Ask which measure, participant and provider process apply instead of requesting a generic “HERS report” for every outstanding energy item.

CEC ECC Program and provider responsibilitiesHERS to ECC: older records and current roles

05NRCA: acceptance of applicable systems and controls

NRCA certificates document required acceptance work for applicable systems, such as certain lighting controls or mechanical functions. This is not merely a final signature on the design model: the responsible participant must perform the required functional checks using the applicable procedure. Identify these obligations during design so equipment access, control sequences and specialist availability can be coordinated.

The CEC Support Center distinguishes NRCA forms ending in -A, completed by certified Acceptance Test Technicians through an approved certification-provider process, from -F forms completed through a field-technician pathway. Do not assign one universal qualification rule to every acceptance document. Confirm the current certificate, scope and responsible participant. Title 24 Lab’s report preparation does not claim to perform this testing.

CEC forms hub: NRCA and other construction-stage responsibilities

06TI versus full-building scope: use a system matrix

A limited tenant improvement and a whole-building project need different scope decisions. A shell design may supply useful existing information but does not automatically cover later changes to rooms, lighting, mechanical service or storefront glazing. Likewise, a lighting-only request should not automatically become a model of every landlord system. Establish what the permit changes and what evidence the selected approach needs.

• +Lighting: identify new, replaced, relocated and retained fixtures, their input power, room/use areas and controls. Consult the current indoor-lighting instructions, including NRCC-LTI where applicable; do not infer alteration exemptions from the word LED.
• +Mechanical: record equipment and areas served, ventilation, controls and any affected base-building systems. Name the designer and landlord participant who can confirm retained-system information instead of inventing missing values.
• +Envelope: identify altered openings, assemblies and conditioned boundaries. A glazing replacement and an untouched interior partition are different scopes; the actual work determines which compliance provisions and documents apply.
• +Construction handoff: identify applicable NRCI, NRCA and NRCV records by system and responsible participant. A row marked “not affected” should have a reason; leaving the row blank conceals rather than resolves a scope question.

Tenant-improvement NRCC and lighting checklistCEC 2025 indoor-lighting manual

07Responsibility checklist for the project team

Agree these handoffs before treating design documentation as complete:

• +Architect/applicant: establish the application record, classification, tenant boundary and coordinated drawing set; obtain AHJ direction on uncertain submission requirements and retain it with the project.
• +Energy consultant: prepare the agreed design-compliance documentation from supported inputs, identify provisional assumptions and reconcile output with the controlling plan revision. A preparer is not automatically every responsible signer.
• +Discipline designers: confirm assemblies, equipment, lighting and control sequences for their work; assess substitutions before the original compliance package is relied upon for a changed design.
• +Contractors/installers: document actual installed work and complete applicable installation declarations. Report mismatches and coordinate access instead of treating an old model as proof of installation.
• +Acceptance/verification participants: confirm the applicable procedures, qualifications, registration and access; perform and document the required work. Name who obtains the completed records and assembles the final handoff.

08Worked mini-example: an office lighting TI

ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY — not a completed compliance calculation or a client case. An office tenant changes fixtures and lighting controls while retaining the existing mechanical system. The applicant supplies the scope boundary, room/use areas, fixture schedule and control narrative. The designer and preparer determine the applicable indoor-lighting approach and NRCC-LTI design documentation; the retained mechanical scope is identified rather than silently ignored.

During installation, the contractor confirms the actual fixtures and control installation and completes applicable NRCI records. Where the selected work requires acceptance testing, the appropriate participant performs it and supplies the applicable NRCA. NRCV is added only if the project has an applicable verification requirement—not because this example lists all four families.

If a fixture substitution changes input power or control compatibility, the team reviews the design consequences and updates the coordinated package where needed. A completed NRCC does not prove installation or a passed acceptance test. A missing testing record goes to the responsible testing participant; a missing design page goes to the design-document team.

09Common review and field pitfalls

Check for omitted pages, missing declarations, mismatched permit scope and superseded schedules before resubmittal. Provide the actual reviewed package and complete comment list, not just a screenshot saying “Title 24 missing.” At construction handoff, distinguish an absent installation record from an unperformed test. Never recreate a test result or sign for work outside the responsible participant’s role.

Report preparation excludes field testing, acceptance testing, registry fees, CALGreen and AHJ permit fees. It is not mechanical/electrical design, commissioning or a permit guarantee. Use the existing published pricing and revision scopes for design-document requests; a major rebuild is not automatically an ordinary architectural revision.

What to send with a report or correction requestSee Pricing and exclusionsGet a Quote and upload plans

10Six nonresidential form questions

Educational guidance, not legal advice. The AHJ determines permit requirements and local amendments; use current CEC instructions for the actual classification and scope.