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California's remote inspection law: what AB 1738 means for contractors

California will let homeowners and contractors request video inspections for solar, storage, heat pumps and reroofs. Here is what the law covers and when.

Every contractor knows the four-hour inspection window. The inspector will arrive between 8 and noon, which in practice means 11:54, or 1:30 with an apology, or not at all. Your tech spends the morning in a driveway, producing nothing, while the homeowner asks whether they can leave for work yet.

California has now put a law on the books that is aimed squarely at that morning. On September 18, 2026, Governor Newsom signed AB 1738 (Chapter 271, Statutes of 2026), which requires most cities and counties to offer remote inspections for a specific list of residential work.

It does not take effect tomorrow, and it does not cover everything. Here is what it actually says, and what is worth doing before the deadlines arrive.

What the law requires

The core requirement is short. A local agency must offer a homeowner, or a contractor with the homeowner's written consent, the option of requesting a remote inspection for covered work on one- and two-family homes.

A remote inspection is conducted offsite using one of two methods, chosen at the inspector's discretion:

  • Videoconferencing, with someone on site holding the camera
  • Recorded photos and videos, submitted for review

The agency must offer the remote option "at no greater cost and with no greater delay than in-person inspection." In other words, a city cannot comply on paper by making the remote option slower or more expensive than sending a truck.

What work is covered

The law applies to inspections on these scopes:

  • Heat pump water heaters, including the electrical alterations that go with them
  • Heat pump HVAC systems, including the electrical alterations that go with them
  • Residential reroofs
  • Photovoltaic systems rated at 15 kW AC or less, and energy storage systems
  • Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

Two notes on the edges of that list.

Main service upgrades are carved out. Agencies are not required to inspect new or upgraded main electrical services remotely, even when the upgrade is part of a heat pump job. An agency may choose to do it for heat pump HVAC installs, but it does not have to. If a change-out turns into a service upgrade, plan on that part being inspected in person.

Several common trades are not on the list. EV chargers, standby generators, and window and door replacements are not covered by the mandate. That does not stop a jurisdiction from offering remote inspection for them voluntarily. Sacramento, for example, already includes EV chargers in its virtual inspection program.

When it applies, and where

The deadlines depend on the size of the jurisdiction:

  • January 1, 2028 for most cities and counties
  • July 1, 2028 for cities with a population of 50,000 or fewer

Some jurisdictions are exempt entirely. The law does not apply to cities with fewer than 5,000 residents, or to counties with fewer than 150,000 residents, including every city within those counties. A contractor working in rural parts of the state should expect a mix of remote and in-person requirements for some time.

Until those dates, remote inspection remains up to each jurisdiction. The Assembly committee analysis from April counted roughly 19 of about 540 California jurisdictions offering remote inspections at that point, including Sacramento, Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa, Placer County, Berkeley and San Diego.

The rules that come with it

The law gives building departments real tools to keep remote inspections honest, and contractors should read these as the conditions of using the option.

  • Protocols. An agency may adopt reasonable rules on the technical side: field of view, image quality and camera coverage, proof that the work shown is at the permitted address, and adequate connectivity.
  • Termination. If the inspector cannot verify compliance on the call, they can end the remote inspection and require an in-person visit.
  • Failed inspections. After a failed remote inspection, the inspector may decide that the remaining inspections on that permit will be in person.
  • Misrepresentation. If a homeowner or contractor willfully misrepresents the work, the agency may bar them from remote inspections for up to 6 months on a first offense and up to 12 months after that.

That last item deserves attention from anyone running crews. The ban applies to the contractor, not just the job, so one crew member who angles the camera away from a problem can cost the whole company the remote option in that city.

What is already happening

Building departments have a head start if they want one. On September 28, the SolarAPP Foundation announced remote inspection software that it will offer free to every California jurisdiction for AB 1738 compliance. According to the announcement, the pilot began in August with five California jurisdictions, and general availability is planned for early 2027.

Sacramento offers a useful preview of the experience. The city uses VuSpex software, contractors and homeowners can join from any device with a camera and an internet connection, and the city reports more than 3,500 virtual inspections completed since launching in late 2025.

What to do before 2028

None of this needs to be solved this week, but a few things are easy to set up early and will save trouble later.

  1. Add written consent to your contract. The contractor can only request a remote inspection with the homeowner's written consent. A single line in the customer agreement covers it, and it avoids chasing a signature the day before the inspection.
  2. Decide who runs the camera. A remote inspection still needs someone on site who knows what the inspector needs to see. That is usually the installer, not the salesperson and not the homeowner.
  3. Check connectivity where the work is. Attics, crawl spaces, garages and the far side of a roof are exactly where a phone signal disappears. If the video drops, the inspector can end the call and send you back to an in-person slot.
  4. Build a shot list per scope. The address and permit card first, then the equipment labels, then the connections and clearances the inspector would check in person. A consistent routine is what keeps inspectors comfortable with the option.
  5. Keep the in-person cases in view. Main service upgrades, exempt jurisdictions, and any permit where a remote inspection has already failed will still need a truck and a window.

What does not change

A remote inspection still has to be requested and scheduled with the jurisdiction. It still has to be matched to the right permit and the right inspection type. A failed remote inspection still means corrections and a reinspection. And the permit still has to be finaled, or it sits open on the property record.

The law removes the drive time. It does not remove the coordination.

How TaskHatch helps

Our inspection coordination ($100 per project) covers every inspection through final: we schedule with the jurisdiction, confirm the homeowner, coordinate the license holder, and make sure the right documentation is on site. Filing starts at $150 per project, and plan check comments are included.

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