Title 24 HERS Testing, Permits & Final Inspections in the Inland Empire
The Inland Empire — the valley cities of western Riverside and San Bernardino counties — is the eastern edge of our Southern California service area. CHEERS-certified HERS / ECC Rating, mechanical/electrical/plumbing permit expediting, and final inspections from Chino Hills and Ontario east to Redlands and Yucaipa, and from Eastvale and Riverside south to Temecula. Same-day field results, on scheduled weekly routes along the I-10 and I-15 corridors.
Two counties, one service region
Title 24 — California’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards, Part 6 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations — applies the same way in Riverside as it does in Redondo Beach: when permitted work touches energy systems, the code requires field verification and diagnostic testing by a certified third-party rater. That testing is HERS (Home Energy Rating System) testing; as of January 1, 2026 the California Energy Commission calls the compliance program ECC — Energy Code Compliance — so you’ll see “HERS rater” and “ECC rater” used interchangeably. Same program, same forms, new name.
What changes city to city is the permit process. The Inland Empire is a patchwork of more than two dozen incorporated cities plus large unincorporated areas handled by the two county building departments. We work across all of it — one rater, one schedule, every jurisdiction.
Where we work in the Inland Empire
Western Riverside County — the 91 and I-15 / I-215 corridors
Riverside, Corona, Moreno Valley, and Temecula anchor this side of the region, along with Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Norco, Perris, Menifee, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, Hemet, San Jacinto, Banning, and Calimesa.
Western San Bernardino County — the I-10 / I-210 corridor
Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, and Fontana anchor the valley here, along with Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Upland, Rialto, Colton, San Bernardino, Highland, Grand Terrace, Loma Linda, Redlands, and Yucaipa.
Where we stop
Our coverage runs west of Beaumont. We don’t cover the high desert (Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley, Adelanto), the mountain communities (Big Bear Lake, Lake Arrowhead), or the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indio) — those are too far east of our routes, and you’ll get faster service from a rater based out there. Near the edge? Ask us — we travel for the right project.
Southern California’s new-construction engine
More new homes go vertical in the Inland Empire than almost anywhere else in Southern California. Ontario Ranch alone is an 8,000-plus-acre master-planned community — the largest in Southern California, per the City of Ontario — with national production builders delivering homes in phases, and the I-15 corridor through Menifee, Murrieta, and Temecula keeps adding subdivisions and ADUs (accessory dwelling units).
Every one of those new homes needs the full Title 24 verification chain: a CF1R (Certificate of Compliance) at plan check, a CF2R (Certificate of Installation) from the installing contractors, and a CF3R (Certificate of Verification) from a certified HERS / ECC rater after field testing — typically duct leakage, refrigerant charge, cooling-coil airflow, and fan efficacy. New homes in Climate Zone 10 also require QII — Quality Insulation Installation — a multi-visit insulation and air-barrier verification before drywall, per Energy Code Ace. For production builders and contractors running multiple lots, we coordinate phase schedules so one mobilization covers as many units as possible.
Working with Inland Empire building departments
Every incorporated city runs its own building department with its own portal and inspector pool. The two county departments cover unincorporated land — which in the Inland Empire is a lot of territory, from Mead Valley to Muscoy. The anchors:
- City of Riverside: Building & Safety Division, 3900 Main Street, Riverside, CA 92522 — (951) 826-5800 — online submittals via the Public Permit Portal
- City of Ontario: Building Department, 303 East B Street, Ontario, CA 91764 — (909) 395-2023 — online Permit Portal
- Riverside County (unincorporated): TLMA Building & Safety, 4080 Lemon Street, 9th Floor, Riverside, CA 92502 — (951) 955-1800 — submittals via PLUS Online
- San Bernardino County (unincorporated): Land Use Services, Building & Safety, 385 N. Arrowhead Avenue, 1st Floor, San Bernardino, CA 92415 — submittals via EZ Online Permitting (EZOP)
Corona, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Temecula, and the rest each run their own counters and portals — we know which jurisdictions want online-only submittals and which still take plans at the counter, and we route each permit accordingly. Always confirm current hours and submittal requirements on the jurisdiction’s own site before showing up in person.
Climate Zone 10 — what it means for your test
The two counties technically span four of California’s 16 building climate zones — Climate Zone 10 in the valley, 14 in the high desert, 15 in the low desert, and 16 in the mountains — but nearly every city we serve in the Inland Empire sits in Climate Zone 10: Riverside, Corona, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Moreno Valley, San Bernardino, Redlands, and Temecula among them. CZ 10 summers are hot and cooling-dominated, which is why refrigerant charge verification applies to air-conditioner alterations here (it’s required in Climate Zones 2 and 8–15), on top of the heat-pump verification that the 2025 Energy Code requires in every zone. The exact zone is set by the California Energy Commission’s climate zone tool based on the project address — we confirm it for your specific address before quoting.
One date worth knowing: the 2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards took effect January 1, 2026 and apply to permit applications submitted on or after that date. If your permit application went in earlier, your project stays on the 2022 code — we test to whichever code cycle your permit is under.
What we do in the Inland Empire
- Title 24 HERS / ECC Rating testing — duct leakage, refrigerant charge, cooling coil airflow, fan efficacy. CF1R / CF2R / CF3R prepared and registered with CHEERS, at no additional charge.
- QII verification — insulation and air-barrier inspection before drywall on new homes and large additions, scheduled around your framing and insulation phases.
- Permit expediting — mechanical, electrical, plumbing. City portal, county portal, or counter — whichever the jurisdiction wants for the scope, with plan-check corrections handled.
- Final inspections & closeout — we set up the final with the building department and the homeowner, confirm both are available, brief the homeowner on what the inspector will want to see, and hand off the HERS test and permit packet. When roof or attic access is needed, we drop a single-story ladder in the morning and pick it up that afternoon.
Frequently asked — Inland Empire
How far east does ERE’s Inland Empire coverage go?
We cover the valley cities of western Riverside and San Bernardino counties, west of Beaumont — the I-10 corridor through Ontario, Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino, Redlands, and Yucaipa, and the I-15 / I-215 corridor through Corona, Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Riverside, Moreno Valley, Perris, Menifee, Murrieta, and Temecula. We don’t cover the high desert (Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley, Adelanto), the mountain communities (Big Bear Lake, Lake Arrowhead), or the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indio). If your project sits near the edge, ask — we travel for the right project.
What climate zone is the Inland Empire in for Title 24?
Almost all of the Inland Empire valley — Riverside, Corona, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Moreno Valley, San Bernardino, and Temecula — is California Climate Zone 10. The broader two-county region also includes Climate Zone 14 (high desert) and Climate Zone 15 (low desert), plus Climate Zone 16 in the mountains, but those areas are outside our coverage. The zone matters because it sets which prescriptive measures and HERS verifications apply — in CZ 10, refrigerant charge verification applies to air-conditioner alterations as well as heat pumps. We confirm the exact zone for your address with the California Energy Commission’s climate zone tool before quoting.
How quickly can ERE schedule a HERS test in Riverside or San Bernardino County?
We run scheduled weekly routes through the Inland Empire — east on the I-10 corridor and down the I-15 / I-215 corridor — so booking lead time is typically about a week. Field results are same-day: you get them the day of the test, and the CF3R (Certificate of Verification) is registered with CHEERS at no additional charge. If a permit deadline or closing date is pressing, call us — we can often fit an Inland Empire stop onto an earlier route.
Which Inland Empire building departments does ERE work with?
Every incorporated city in the Inland Empire runs its own building department — Riverside, Corona, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Moreno Valley, and Temecula each have their own portal, plan-check queue, and inspector pool. Unincorporated areas go through Riverside County Building & Safety (PLUS Online portal) or San Bernardino County Land Use Services (EZ Online Permitting). We pull permits, register the HERS paperwork, and coordinate finals with whichever authority having jurisdiction covers your address.
Does the 2025 Energy Code change what gets tested in the Inland Empire?
Yes, for newer permits. The 2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards took effect January 1, 2026 and apply to projects whose permit applications were submitted on or after that date — earlier applications stay on the 2022 code. The changes that matter most in the Inland Empire: heat pumps are now the prescriptive baseline for space heating in every climate zone, refrigerant charge verification is required for heat pumps in all zones (and for air conditioners in CZ 10), and heat pump water heaters are effectively the prescriptive baseline for water heating. None of this changes who tests it — a certified HERS / ECC rater still performs the field verification.