Step 1

Application Submittal

Applicants must submit a building permit application in accordance with the standard submittal procedures. Please see the Building Permit webpage for more details.

Step 2

Estimated Review Timeframe

When the application is deemed complete, the applicant will receive a link to their Online Permitting Account, where estimated review due dates will be visible. The permit setup will establish the estimated dates by which the reviews will be completed.

Step 3

Project Review

DSD reviews will proceed in accordance with normal review procedures.

Step 4

30+ Business Days

Following the deemed complete date and payment of all required fees, a project may qualify for private plan check if either:

• The estimated review timeframe exceeds 30 business days for one of the following disciplines (Combined, Electrical, Fire Alarm, Fire Suppression, HazMat, Mechanical, Smoke Control, Structural); or
• None of the following review disciplines (Combined, Electrical, Fire Alarm, Fire Suppression, HazMat, Mechanical, Smoke Control, Structural) has provided comments or signed off within 30 business days.

Note: At the time of publication, review timeframes for eligible project types do not exceed 30 business days. Therefore, only eligible projects that do not receive any comments or sign-offs within 30 business days may qualify.

Step 5

Notification

The applicant must notify DSD that they will be using a private plan check provider within five (5) business days of either of the following events:

• Receiving an estimated review timeframe greater than 30 business days, or
• Reaching 30 business days with no applicable reviewer comments or sign-offs.

To notify DSD, email DSDMinisterialPM+AB253@sandiego.gov with the following:

1. Subject line: "AB 253 Notification PRJ XXXXXXX"
2. The applicable PRJ number for the building permit
3. A completed Form DS-253A AB 253 Notification and Eligibility Checklist

Step 6

Project Management and Fees

If the project meets the eligibility criteria, it will be assigned a Project Manager. The Project Manager will add applicable fees to the project for processing, based on the Express Fee schedule. Please see Information Bulletin 501 for more details.

Step 7

Private Plan Check Review

Private plan check providers may only review projects for compliance with State Housing Law and the local amendments to the California Building Code, California Residential Code, California Electrical Code, California Mechanical Code, California Plumbing Code, California Fire Code, California Green Building Standards Code, California Energy Code, and the California Existing Building Code, as amended in Chapters 12 and 14 of the Land Development Code. Therefore, private plan check shall be limited to the following review areas:

• Structural
• Mechanical
• Electrical
• Energy
• Plumbing
• Gas Systems
• Accessibility
• Life Safety
• Fire Suppression
• Fire Alarm
• Hazardous Materials
• Smoke Control

An application that seeks to utilize the provisions of AB 253 must use a private plan check provider for all of the above review areas, as applicable. All other review areas will continue to be processed by the City, concurrently with the private plan check. DSD reviewers will not be able to sign off on any aspect of their review that is dependent on one of the reviews being performed by the private plan check provider until after that review is complete.

Step 8

Private Plan Check Report

Upon completion of the private plan check, the applicant must notify their assigned Project Manager. The Project Manager will request the required documents through Accela, where the applicant must upload all components of the Private Plan Check Report at the conclusion of the active review cycle.

These items may be uploaded as separate documents.

1. DS-253B AB 253 Private Plan Check Affidavit. The affidavit includes the following:
   1. A statement that the plans do or do not comply with the requirements of State Housing Law and local building standards.
   2. A statement that the private plan check provider performed the plan checking function.
   3. A statement that the private plan check provider does not have a financial interest in the residential building permit or in preparing the plans and specifications.
   4. Proof of the private plan check provider's license and certification as a plan reviewer.
2. DS-253C AB 253 Indemnification Agreement.
3. Updated Plan Set with all of the following:
   1. A stamp by the private plan check provider on each sheet, verifying a comprehensive review.
   2. A list of any required holds, deferred submittals, and special inspections.
   3. If the plans do not comply with the requirements of State Housing Law and local building standards, comments on the plans describing any required modifications that are necessary to comply.

Step 9

DSD Review of Report

Once the applicant provides the Private Plan Check Report, applicable DSD divisions will review it within 10 business days and either provide comments or sign off.

Step 10

Resubmittal

If applicable DSD divisions provide comments based on the Private Plan Check Report, the applicant must resubmit its materials with corrections. Any resubmittals to address those comments will be reviewed within 10 business days.

Step 11

Issuance

Once all review disciplines have signed off, the application will proceed pursuant to standard issuance procedures. Please see Information Bulletin 153 for more details.

Step 12

Inspection

Projects that use a private plan check provider are required to have a pre-construction meeting (pre-con) prior to the commencement of work.

Even when a private plan check provider is used, all inspections will continue to be performed by the City. The use of a private plan check provider does not exempt the project from required inspections or from any modifications identified during the inspection process. (Due to the City not having had the opportunity to review the plans in detail during the review process, these issues may come to the City's attention for the first time during construction and will need to be corrected in order for the project to proceed.) Please see the Inspections webpage for more details.