01Key facts / TL;DR
It depends which tenant-improvement systems change and which nonresidential design documents the AHJ requests.
Yes, commercial TI report pricing uses the same commercial square-footage tiers—not an invented lighting-only menu.
No, a design-phase NRCC package does not include installer certification, acceptance testing or permit fees.
Representative stock photography. Not our projects, staff or offices.
Published schedule
Flat prices for report preparation
Commercial
By floor area in the confirmed documentation scope.
- Up to 5,000 sq ft
- $399
- 5,001 to 15,000 sq ft
- $599
- Over 15,000 sq ft
- Custom quote
Revisions
- Plan-check correction caused by our modeling or report error
- Free
- Architectural or design revision after the report
- $75 flat
- Full remodel of the energy model or larger resubmittal
- Custom quoteintake required
Rush
+$149 commercial. Next-business-day production after complete inputs are received. Not a permit-approval or unconditional 24-hour promise.
Not included
- ECC field verification (formerly called HERS testing in older documents)
- Nonresidential acceptance testing
- Registry or document registration fees
- CALGreen documentation
- Building department (AHJ) plan check and permit fees
No payment is taken online. Price and scope are confirmed with you before work begins. Full pricing page
Use the shared price estimator
Upload plans / Get a Quote02Define the TI before requesting an NRCC price
A tenant improvement can involve lighting only, mechanical alterations, envelope work, multiple changed systems or a broader change of use. The documentation follows the actual scope and building classification. “Commercial Title 24” is not a complete deliverable description, and it does not automatically require modeling the entire landlord building.
Identify the tenant boundary, affected areas and retained systems. The architect and responsible designers should show what changes and which package is being submitted. Ask the AHJ which edition-specific compliance evidence belongs with that permit instead of copying an unrelated tenant’s forms.
For applicable nonresidential design compliance, NRCC is the certificate family. Installation, verification and acceptance families have different responsibilities. The price question should separate report preparation from electrical/mechanical design and construction-stage tasks before comparing the total project budget.
Do I need Title 24 for commercial work?Tenant-improvement scope guide
03The commercial table is the menu
Published preparation pricing is $399 through 5,000 square feet, $599 for 5,001–15,000 square feet, and custom above 15,000. Use floor area in the confirmed documentation scope. A suite’s rentable-area label is not automatically a complete description of affected conditioned and unconditioned spaces.
Commercial pricing does not use the residential additional-dwelling-unit supplement. For mixed-use or multifamily work, establish classification and which areas belong to which documentation package instead of combining unrelated inputs to obtain a single favorable figure.
Complexity helps define scope and missing information; this guide does not invent an extra complexity fee or a special lighting discount. Describe the systems, existing reports and requested stage, then confirm deliverables through intake. The commercial over-size band remains custom rather than an extrapolated fixed rate.
04Lighting-only requests still need a clear boundary
For a lighting alteration, provide the reflected ceiling plan, affected room/area schedule, luminaire quantities and supported wattages, and controls drawings/narrative. A lower wattage total alone is not evidence that all applicable control requirements have been addressed.
The current CEC forms catalog is the starting point for relevant indoor lighting design certificates. Maintenance lamp work, replacement luminaires and a changed lighting/control layout are not automatically the same regulated scope. Do not assume that “LED upgrade” means either no documentation or a full-building model.
If HVAC or envelope work is also proposed, identify it instead of hiding it behind the lighting-only label. The quoted package should describe the affected systems and handoffs. Installation and acceptance-testing records are not created merely by placing a design certificate in the permit set.
Lighting-only TI decision guideNonresidential form responsibilities
05Illustrative commercial estimate with rush
ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY: a confirmed 4,200-square-foot commercial report scope with rush selected produces a shared-menu estimate of $548: the applicable commercial band plus the published rush supplement. This is not a new TI price tier, a completed scope review or a compliance result.
If the actual scope includes additional affected space or a different package, the applicant must correct the inputs. A commercial request exceeding 15,000 square feet is custom, not the highest fixed band with an invented area supplement.
The rush condition remains next-business-day production after complete inputs. Missing controls information or unresolved mechanical selections must be addressed; rush does not make unsupported assumptions acceptable or accelerate the city’s review queue.
06What to send for scope confirmation
Upload the architectural scope and tenant plan, area/use schedule, relevant lighting and controls sheets, mechanical/envelope information where affected, and any previous compliance documents. Provide the full comment letter for resubmittals, not an isolated screenshot with the project boundary omitted.
State the AHJ and recorded permit-application date. The 2025 Energy Code applies to permit applications on or after January 1, 2026. Match the forms and any approved modeling software to the applicable cycle; verify amendments or a new application with the AHJ.
Specify whether you need a preliminary option comparison, permit design documents or correction support. The site’s private quote intake accepts PDF/DWG/ZIP plans after sign-in. Submitting is not payment or acceptance of a production commitment; it starts scope review.
Prepare your energy-report intakeCommercial compliance service
07Revision and excluded-testing costs stay separate
Our modeling/report error in city plan check is corrected Free. Architectural/design changes after the report are $75 flat. A full remodeled model or larger resubmittal requiring a rebuild is custom with intake required. Those tiers are not replaced by a special commercial-revision menu.
Commercial rush is +$149, subject to complete inputs. Nonresidential acceptance testing, field verification/testing, registry/document-registration fees, CALGreen and AHJ plan-check/permit fees are excluded from report pricing.
Coordinate contractor installation records and qualified acceptance-testing participants where applicable. ECC is current residential field-verification terminology, with HERS retained in older-cycle contexts; commercial acceptance testing should not simply be described as renamed HERS testing. A design report is not proof of installation or passed tests.
08Four commercial-TI cost questions
Is there a lower lighting-only TI price menu?
No separate lighting menu is published here. Use the commercial area tiers for the confirmed documentation scope and ask what design certificates are included.
What happens above 15,000 square feet?
The published commercial schedule requires a custom quote. Do not extrapolate a fixed fee or apply the residential overflow formula to commercial work.
Does the NRCC price include controls acceptance testing?
No. Design documentation and construction-stage installation/acceptance tasks are separate. Acceptance testing and the other published exclusions must be budgeted and coordinated separately.
Do I enter the suite area or the whole building?
Identify the actual permit and documentation boundaries with the responsible team. Supply affected-area schedules; neither the suite label nor the landlord’s total area automatically determines every package.
Report-cost hubRemodel cost distinctionsAddition cost distinctions
09Turn the estimate into a scoped project request
Use the published menu to budget, then send the actual plans and open questions. Sign-in protects submission and private uploads. No payment is taken online; submitting is not order acceptance, a production commitment or permit approval. Title 24 Lab is a provisional brand. This educational guide is not legal or engineering advice; the AHJ determines applicable requirements.
Upload plans with your quote requestGet a QuotePublished pricing and estimatorPrepare your intake packetOrder Title 24: what to expect