Title 24 reports for Downey permits.
Downey stopped taking paper and went to a four-day week in the same summer, and its pre-approved ADU library is still empty — so every Downey ADU is a custom energy job.
An empty ADU library, and no published clock
Downey takes everything through Accela Citizen Access now — effective July 1, 2026 the city no longer accepts paper plans for submission. The counter runs Monday through Thursday and closes Fridays, with a 5:00 p.m. cutoff. Once fees are paid, plans route to the Building plan checker, Planning, the Downey Fire Department and Engineering for concurrent reviews, each billed as a one-hour site-specific fee. What the city does not publish is a turnaround figure — there is no first-review or recheck number on its permit, plan-check, code or FAQ pages, so I will not invent one.
The ADU side is unusually honest: as of July 28, 2026 Downey has no pre-approved plans available, and says that even once the library fills, the plans are “only about 80% complete and will always require property-specific modifications.” The energy report is one of those pieces. The submittal requirements name it outright — two 8½×11 sets of Title 24 energy calculations, made part of the plans — then ask you to detail any special condition from the energy analysis on the cover sheet, HERS testing and cool roof included. New detached ADUs need PV, sited on the ADU or the primary dwelling (more on that); conversions and additions are exempt. Downey is climate zone 8, with no local energy reach code beyond the state code.
One thing that doesn’t change by city: my price and turnaround are flat statewide — $99 first report, $150 flat after, 24–48 hours on your first job. What differs city to city is what happens on the plan-check side before and after the CF1R lands in your permit set, which is what this page covers.
Prices
Flat fees, in writing before I start. No hourly, no bid package, no change-order games — the number on the quote is the number on the invoice.
Your first report with me
One per client, homes under 3,000 square feet. Full energy model, CF1R and CHEERS registration. It’s a test run — send one job and see how it goes.
Every model after the first
The standard rate once you’re a client — the second building, ADU plus main house, the next project that walks in. Back in 3 business days.
Over 3,000 square feet
Quoted from the plans before any work starts, same day.
24×36 plan-sheet set
Your CF1R laid out full size, matched to your drawing set. Comes back as a PDF you drop straight in.
Revisions
Two revisions included, plus questions any time. Past two I quote first, before I touch it.
Commercial / tenant improvement
Send the plans and you’ll have a flat quote back the same day. No deposit, no minimum.
One honest note
I’m not a licensed engineer or architect, and I don’t stamp drawings. On the CF1R I’m the documentation author — you stay the responsible designer. Nothing about your role on the job changes.
That’s on purpose. I’m not after your scope or your clients. I do one piece of the permit set — the piece that usually holds it up — and I do it fast.
Downey plan-check questions
If yours isn’t here, see the full FAQ or call and ask.
Does Downey publish a plan-check turnaround time?
Can I use a pre-approved ADU plan in Downey?
Does my ADU or addition actually need one?
Almost certainly. New conditioned floor area — ADUs, JADUs, garage conversions, additions — triggers Title 24. So do alterations that touch the envelope, the ductwork, or the HVAC equipment, including a straight change-out. A remodel that only moves non-structural interior partitions usually doesn’t.
Send it either way. If it doesn’t need a report I’ll say so and there’s no charge for the look.
Does the project need HERS field verification?
Sometimes — typically for duct leakage, refrigerant charge, or certain heat-pump and quality-insulation measures. The CF1R lists exactly which measures need it, and I’ll flag it in the email so it isn’t a surprise at inspection. The field testing itself is done by a third-party HERS rater the owner or contractor hires; that’s outside what I do.
Send your Downey plans.
You get the CF1R as its own set plus the cover-sheet items called out — HERS and cool roof included — the way Downey's submittal requirements ask for them.