Title 24 reports for Vista and San Marcos permits.
Vista is Climate Zone 7 and San Marcos is Climate Zone 10, so the same plan does not model the same on both sides of the line — and only San Marcos publishes its zone, with a note telling you to go confirm it.
A city line that changes the energy model
Vista still takes permits at a counter: applications must be submitted in person at the Development Services Counter, and only qualifying SolarApp+ photovoltaic projects can go in online. The new-dwelling checklist asks for three paper sets, two copies of the energy compliance information, and says the energy forms shall be made part of the plans. Its room-addition handout carries a 75 percent cliff — addition plus two years of remodel work above 75 percent of the existing structure’s valuation, and the project shall meet the requirements for a new single-family residence, sprinklers included. That handout still names CF-1R-ADD-02-E and CF1R-ALT-02-E, footered Updated 07/2023 — its own text, not the forms a 2025-cycle project files.
San Marcos is the mirror image — all permitting is managed through the online system, with a published target of about 15 business days. It also publishes its own climate zone and tells you to go check it: primarily Climate Zone 10, confirm by checking the energy.ca.gov website, as climate zones can change. That warning earns its place, because Vista is Climate Zone 7 and San Marcos is Climate Zone 10. On the pre-approved ADU side the split repeats. Vista waives plan-check fees on four plans — 499, 745, 749 and 1,149 sf — and still lists a site-specific Title 24 energy compliance report (CF1R) as a submittal item. San Marcos’s PRADU plans may not be altered at all, and its complete-application list names no energy item. Neither city amends the Energy Code: VMC 16.26.010 and SMMC 17.04.010 each adopt it without amendment.
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.
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.
Vista & San Marcos plan-check questions
If yours isn’t here, see the full FAQ or call and ask.
How does a set of plans actually get filed in each city?
San Marcos says to go confirm its climate zone. Why?
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.
What do you need from me to start?
A PDF of the architecturals and the project address. Floor plans, elevations and a window schedule is plenty.
You don’t need the HVAC or water heater picked. If the plans don’t call them out, I model what I’d normally specify for that job — and I list every assumption in the email so nothing is buried. Swap any of it and I rerun; that doesn’t count against your free revisions.
The design doesn’t have to be finished either. Early is often better, because that’s when a compliance problem is still cheap to fix.
Send your Vista or San Marcos plans.
Say which city in the notes — that one word sets Zone 7 or Zone 10, and the CF1R comes back ready to print into Vista’s paper sets or upload to the San Marcos portal.