Remote Video Inspections for Water Heater Permits in California (AB 1738)
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If you've ever replaced a water heater in California, you know the permit isn't just paperwork — a building inspector has to physically sign off on the seismic strapping, the venting, the T&P relief valve discharge line, before the job is legally finished. That usually means scheduling a visit, taking time off work, and hoping the inspector shows up in the window they gave you. A bill moving through Sacramento this year would make a video call a legal substitute for that visit in a lot more cities than currently allow it. It hasn't been signed yet, but it's close, and it's worth understanding before your next permitted water heater job.
What AB 1738 actually does
Assembly Bill 1738, titled the "Remote Virtual Inspection Act," would give homeowners and contractors the right to request a live video-call inspection — instead of an in-person visit — for a defined list of residential upgrades: solar panels, battery storage, heat pump HVAC systems, heat pump water heaters, and new roofing. The building department would still run the inspection and could require someone show up in person if the job needs a closer look for safety reasons; the bill doesn't take that judgment call away from local officials, it just requires them to offer the video option as a default for these categories. As of this writing, AB 1738 has passed both houses of the Legislature and is sitting on Governor Newsom's desk, who has until September 30, 2026 to sign or veto it. It is not yet law — treat the timeline below as what the bill proposes, not a done deal, and check back once the Governor acts.
Who would actually be required to offer it
The bill's mandate only reaches larger jurisdictions: cities with more than 50,000 residents and counties with at least 150,000 residents would have to offer a video inspection option for the covered project types by January 1, 2028. That threshold covers most of the state's population centers — Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento and Fresno are all well above the 50,000-resident line — but a smaller city or a rural county building department wouldn't be required to change anything under this bill specifically, even after 2028. If you live somewhere small, this legislation on its own won't guarantee you a video option; ask your local building department directly what they currently offer.
This isn't hypothetical — some cities already do it
What makes AB 1738 more of an expansion than a novelty is that remote inspection already exists in California in a patchwork way. Reporting on the bill cites at least 19 California jurisdictions currently offering some form of remote inspection, including San Diego, Santa Barbara, Berkeley, and Los Angeles County — and building officials in LA County have reported that 20-40% of all their inspections are already handled remotely, with water heaters and solar/battery installs named as the most common categories. What AB 1738 would do is turn that into a statewide floor rather than a city-by-city option, and give homeowners in jurisdictions that don't currently offer it a legal right to ask for it once the mandate takes effect.
What it would mean for a water heater permit specifically
For a standard water heater replacement, the inspection checklist doesn't change — seismic strapping, T&P valve and discharge line, venting, drain pan where required, gas or electrical connections — only the format does. A video inspection typically means the contractor or homeowner walks the inspector through the install on a live call, holding the camera on each item the inspector asks to see, sometimes supplemented with photos submitted ahead of time. It tends to work well for a straightforward like-for-like swap in an accessible location (garage, closet) and less well for anything the inspector needs to physically touch, measure, or access in a tight or hard-to-photograph space — which is exactly why the bill preserves the local department's authority to require an in-person visit instead. For a heat pump water heater specifically, which the bill names explicitly alongside heat pump HVAC, the same logic applies, and it dovetails with the state's broader push toward electric water heating covered in our heat pump water heater cost and rebates guide and our zero-NOx water heater rules guide — easier permitting is one more piece utilities and air districts are counting on to speed the transition away from gas storage tanks.
Where remote inspection genuinely struggles
Video inspections aren't a free upgrade with no tradeoffs, and it's worth knowing where the limits are before assuming a call will always be enough. A 2023 review in Automation in Construction, "Enabling technologies for remote and virtual inspection of building work", surveyed the sensors, platforms and data-processing methods used for remote building inspections across jurisdictions and found that video-based methods are the most mature and widely deployable option today, but that inspecting properties an inspector would normally touch, measure precisely, or assess by sound or feel — the kind of hands-on check that matters for a pressure test, a fitting torque, or a subtle leak — remains a real limitation of camera-only review compared with an in-person visit. That's consistent with why AB 1738 keeps discretion with local building officials rather than eliminating in-person inspections outright: the method fits routine, visually verifiable work well, and fits less well where an inspector's hands or instruments genuinely add information a camera can't capture.
What to do about it now
Nothing changes at your next permit appointment until the Governor acts and, if signed, until your city's department actually rolls out the video option — the January 2028 deadline in the bill gives larger cities real runway to build it out even after a signature. In the meantime, if you're pulling a permit for a water heater or heat pump water heater install, ask your city's building department directly whether they currently offer a remote inspection option; several already do, and it can save a missed half-day off work waiting for an inspector. Whichever way the inspection happens, the underlying work still has to be done right the first time — compare quotes from licensed plumbers in Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland and Sacramento on Plumber Comparator, and request a free quote for your next permitted water heater job.
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