What is Title 24 and what does it cost for a remodel?
Title 24 is California's Building Energy Efficiency Standard, and it costs you in two separate places. The compliance report itself — the CF1R form the city wants attached to your permit — runs about $195 to $395, commonly a flat $245 for a home under 3,000 square feet. The larger cost is actually meeting the standard — on a typical Los Angeles remodel, Title 24 adds roughly $1,500 to $8,000 or more once you count code-compliant windows, insulation, high-efficacy lighting, and any required HERS testing. It is not optional and it is not negotiable — since January 1, 2026, every residential permit application in California is checked against the 2025 Energy Code.
What Title 24 actually is
"Title 24" is shorthand for Part 6 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations — the state's Building Energy Efficiency Standards. It is the reason California homes need a specific energy-performance document before a permit is issued, and it is genuinely a California thing. Someone giving you remodel advice from Texas or Florida has never dealt with it.
The standard updates on a three-year cycle. The 2025 Energy Code took effect January 1, 2026, which means any permit application submitted on or after that date is reviewed against the newer, stricter rules — not whatever was in force when your neighbor remodeled in 2023.
What triggers it
The confusion for most homeowners is that Title 24 is not all-or-nothing. It attaches to specific scopes of work. Here is the practical version:
| What you are doing | Title 24 in play? |
|---|---|
| Cabinets, counters, paint, flooring, fixtures in the same spots | Usually no |
| Altering more than ~50% of the lighting | Yes — high-efficacy fixtures and controls |
| Replacing more than 50% of windows/doors | Yes — must hit Climate Zone 9 performance |
| Adding conditioned space (addition or ADU) | Yes — full compliance for the new area |
| New or replaced HVAC, ductwork, or water heater | Yes — plus HERS field verification |
| Re-roof or opening exterior walls | Often — insulation brought up to current code |
The takeaway: a cosmetic kitchen refresh may skate by, but the moment your project touches lighting, windows, mechanical systems, or square footage, Title 24 is part of the job.
What it costs
There are two costs, and people conflate them. The report is cheap. Compliance is where the money is.
| Line item | Typical LA range |
|---|---|
| Title 24 compliance report (CF1R) | $195 – $395 (often ~$245 flat under 3,000 sq ft) |
| HERS testing, when duct/HVAC work is involved | ~$300 – $700 |
| Meeting the standard on a typical remodel, all-in | $1,500 – $8,000+ |
These are typical Los Angeles market ranges, not a quote. The total swings on how much of the envelope and mechanical system your project touches — a lighting-only trigger sits at the bottom, a whole-house window replacement plus a new HVAC system sits at the top.
The part that surprises people
Homeowners hear "$245 for the report" and mentally file Title 24 as a paperwork fee. Then the report comes back and says the design needs better-performing windows, more attic insulation, high-efficacy LED lighting with the right controls, and a HERS test on the new ducts. Those are real materials and real labor, and none of them are on the granite-and-cabinets wish list that the budget was built around.
That is the actual cost of Title 24: not the form, but the upgrades the form requires. It is also why a bid that never mentions Title 24 is a small red flag — it usually means the number will grow later.
How to keep it from blowing up the budget
Run the energy scope during design, not at plan check. A good energy consultant will tell you early whether your window and lighting choices comply, and where a small design change (keeping window replacement just under the 50% threshold, for instance, or choosing a compliant fixture from the start) avoids a compliance trigger entirely. That conversation costs almost nothing up front and routinely saves thousands.
Title 24 also feeds directly into your permit timeline — it is one of the codes the plan checker reviews, so an incomplete energy package is one more reason plans get kicked back. We cover that in how long it takes to get a building permit in Burbank, and the broader reasons LA projects run higher in why remodels cost more in Los Angeles.
The short version
Title 24 is California's energy code, it is mandatory, and it hits your remodel twice: a modest report fee and a much larger bill for the upgrades that make the design comply. Since January 1, 2026, everything is measured against the 2025 standards. Price it during design so it is a planned line, not a plan-check surprise.
DN Builders Group Inc is a licensed, bonded general contractor based in Burbank (CA Lic. #1139710). We handle energy compliance as part of kitchen remodeling and whole-home renovation projects across Burbank and Greater Los Angeles. Figures are typical 2026 Los Angeles market ranges, not a quote, and this is general information rather than legal or financial advice — confirm current Title 24 requirements for your address with your city and a certified energy consultant.
Questions
Does a kitchen or bathroom remodel trigger Title 24?
Often, yes — but only partially. A purely cosmetic refresh (new cabinets, counters, paint, flooring, and fixtures in the same locations) usually does not. The moment you change lighting, add or move HVAC, replace windows, or open exterior walls, you cross into Title 24 territory for those elements. Most real kitchen remodels touch lighting, and most gut bathrooms touch ventilation, so plan on at least partial compliance rather than assuming you are exempt.
What is a HERS test and do I need one?
A HERS test is an independent, third-party field verification by a certified Home Energy Rating System rater — separate from your contractor and separate from the plan check. It is triggered mainly by new or altered ductwork and certain HVAC and water-heating work, where the state wants proof the installed system actually performs. Budget roughly $300 to $700 when it applies. If your remodel does not touch ducts or mechanical equipment, you generally will not need one.
Do I need a Title 24 report just to replace windows?
If you replace more than 50 percent of the windows and doors in the house, yes — and the replacements have to meet the current standard for your climate zone. For the Los Angeles Valley (Climate Zone 9, which covers Burbank, Toluca Lake, and most of the area we work in), that generally means a U-factor of about 0.30 and a Solar Heat Gain Coefficient around 0.23. Swapping a single broken window is a repair; re-glazing the whole house is a Title 24 event.
Who prepares the Title 24 report?
A Title 24 energy consultant or your design professional prepares it and stamps the CF1R form that goes to the city with your plans. Your contractor coordinates it but does not usually author it. On our projects the report is arranged during design and folded into the bid, so it is not a surprise line item that shows up at plan check.