In the Field · Part 4
Permits: when one is required, what is exempt, pulling it online, the inspection sequence, what inspectors look for, and handling corrections
The permit is where the field meets the license record. Section 104.1 of the California Plumbing Code makes it unlawful to install, alter, repair, replace, or remodel a plumbing system without a permit, and section 104.2 exempts exactly two things: stopping leaks without replacing pipe, and clearing stoppages or repairing leaks without replacing or rearranging anything. A water heater replacement, a repipe, a sewer lateral, a new gas line, a moved fixture: all permits. This lesson lays out the line between exempt and permitted work, how the big cities issue residential plumbing permits online, the rough-to-final inspection sequence, what inspectors check on the jobs a C-36 does most, and how to handle a correction notice without losing the customer or the day.
What the full lesson covers
- Permit required (CPC 104.1) for any installation, alteration, repair, replacement, or remodel of a plumbing system. Exempt (104.2): stopping a leak in a drain or vent without replacing the pipe; clearing a stoppage, including pulling and resetting a toilet; repairing a leak in a pipe, valve, or fixture without replacing or rearranging any pipe, valve, or fixture. Everything else, including the water heater, is a permit.
- Willful disregard of permit laws is cause for discipline under B&P 7110, and it is the most common CSLB complaint that starts with a happy customer and ends with an unhappy one at resale.
- Most California cities issue routine residential plumbing permits (water heater, repipe, sewer, gas line) online to a licensed contractor in minutes; the permit fee goes into the estimate as a pass-through and the inspection visit into the labor units.
- The sequence is underground, rough (with a water test on DWV and an air or water test on supply and gas), and final; the inspector looks at slope, cleanouts, vents, trap arms, strapping, T&P discharge, expansion tank, sediment trap, bonding, and pressure test results.
- A correction notice is a list, not a verdict: fix the items, call for reinspection, keep the customer informed, and never argue on site.
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More lessons in The Field: Method, Code, and Cases
- 1The diagnostic method: verify, isolate, cheapest test first, cause not symptom, the options ladder, document
- 2Permits: when one is required, what is exempt, pulling it online, the inspection sequence, what inspectors look for, and handling correctionsYou are here
- 3Daily-use code: drainage slope, venting, water sizing, cleanouts, trap arms, and fixture units, with the section for each
- 4Gas piping in practice: sizing, CSST bonding, the pressure test, appliance connectors and shutoffs, sediment traps, and seismic shutoff valves
- 5Water heaters I: tank. Seismic strapping, the T&P discharge line, expansion tanks, sediment traps, pans, venting, and the garage rules
- 6Water heaters II: tankless and heat pump. Gas sizing, venting, condensate, the 2025 Energy Code direction, and where the gas-ban ordinances stand
- 7Sewer and drain I: the camera, the locator, hydro-jetting vs. cabling, and when each is the right tool
- 8Sewer and drain II: trenchless vs. open trench, whose lateral it is (it varies by city), backwater valves, and point-of-sale lateral ordinances
- 9Case: the hissing line. The meter test, the supply leak that fed the roots, the lateral to the city tap, and the contract and permit trail
- 10Leak detection: slab leaks, acoustic and pressure methods, thermal imaging, and repipe vs. reroute
- 11Low pressure: the PRV, galvanized pipe, and the sequence that finds which one it is
- 12Sewer gas: trap seals, trap primers, vents, and the sequence that finds the smell
- 13Water treatment: where softeners are restricted in California, filtration, pressure regulators, and thermal expansion
- 14Fixtures and conservation: CALGreen flow rates, SB 407 retrofit-on-alteration and disclosure-on-sale, 1.28 gpf, and the ADA basics a plumber needs
- 15Materials and methods: PEX vs. copper vs. CPVC, ABS vs. PVC (it is regional), cast iron, and the transitions that fail
- 16Commercial basics: grease interceptors, the backflow program, and the tester certification that opens a second line of work
- 17Cal/OSHA for a small shop: the IIPP every employer must have, heat illness prevention, trenching and the 5-foot permit, confined space, silica, and ladders
- 18Environmental rules: EPA lead-safe certification for any pre-1978 home, asbestos and transite pipe, and stormwater
- 19Job-site craft: sequencing with the other trades, protecting the home, and the punch list that ends the job
- 20Case: the water heater that failed inspection twice
- 21Case: the gas leak call. The protocol, and the walk-away
- 22Case: the "customer doesn't want a permit" job
- 23Template: the job-site checklist, from the truck to the walk-through
- 24Template: the pre-inspection checklist by stage. Underground, rough, water heater final, gas, and trim
- 25Template: the Injury and Illness Prevention Program starter for a plumbing shop of one to five
- 26Template: the Heat Illness Prevention Plan for a plumbing shop, outdoor and indoor
- 27Template: the customer options sheet (good / better / best) with the cost band, the permit path, and the code trail on each rung