Home battery permit cost by city and county: published fee schedules

A home battery permit fee is set by whoever issues the permit, which is usually a city, sometimes a county, and in Austin, Texas, the electric utility. There is no national figure, and our installation guide says so. What does exist is a set of published fee schedules, and some of them now price a battery, or a solar-plus-battery permit, as its own line.

Each jurisdiction in the table is there because its own schedule or permit page, read October 19, 2026, states a figure or formula for a residential battery or solar-plus-storage permit. Schedules that do not name batteries are listed separately. The rest covers the California laws that cap or automate these permits, and SolarAPP+. For the rest of the invoice, read our installation cost guide.

What a permit fee usually pays for

Most schedules below price the battery as electrical work: an inspection and, where required, a plan review. A wall or pad mount can add a structural check; San Jose lets a battery use its online permit only with a City-approved anchorage detail and an anchorage inspection (San Jose, Solar and Storage Battery Projects, read October 19, 2026). Some cities add a fire permit: Phoenix Fire issues one over the counter for residential batteries of 3 kWh to 27 kWh and on plan review above that, without a fee on that page (Phoenix Fire energy systems criteria, read October 19, 2026). The size limits come from fire code, which our UL 9540 and NFPA 855 guide explains.

Published battery permit fees by jurisdiction

San Diego. Information Bulletin 301 lists the battery line as "Hourly fee for plan reviews and inspections." Its no-plan-review SB 379 solar path can include "An energy storage system up to 38.4 kWh with each unit no greater than 20 kWh," and charges $275.80 for the first system inspection (San Diego IB 301, read October 19, 2026). It does not say whether the hourly battery charge also applies on that path. IB 501 sets the hourly rate at $176.84 for plan review and for inspection (San Diego IB 501, read October 19, 2026).

Riverside County. The county's printable fixed-fee sheet lists "EXPRESS RESIDENTIAL SOLAR AND STORAGE (BEL-ERSS) $450 UP TO 15 KW" as fixed and "ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM (BXX-ESS)" as a $964.84 deposit, with "Additional surcharges and mandated fees" by permit type (Riverside County Permit Fees, read October 19, 2026; no effective date printed). The fee page says a fixed fee includes up to two plan review cycles and one inspection per trade or phase.

Orange County. The Development Services schedule approved by the Board of Supervisors on May 21, 2024 lists "Energy Storage System (ESS)" under Electrical Permits at $353 for FY 2026-27, and its general provisions add an "Issuance charge of $45 for all permits," for $398 (OC Development Services Fee Schedule 2024-2027, read October 19, 2026).

San Mateo County. The permit page lists "Electric Storage System: $450.00 for the 1st storage unit, $50.00 for each additional unit," plus the $50 application fee, 2%, 4% and 5% surcharges on Planning and Building fees, and $25 for permits issued through its instant online tool (San Mateo County, Energy Storage System Permit, read October 19, 2026).

Santa Rosa. The fee schedule dated July 1, 2026 lists "Energy Storage System" at $187.85 among its electrical permit fees, a "Building Intake Fee (MPE permits only)" of $61.11 in the same mechanical, plumbing and electrical table, and a "Technology Surcharge: 5.69%" on building fees (Santa Rosa Fee Schedule, read October 19, 2026).

Oakland. The Master Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 lists, under Planning and Building inspection fees, "ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS 1. Residential a. Residential no more than 80kW Aggregate or 20kW Single 268.64 Per Permit," and $389.53 above 80 kW. Its permit application fees for all record types include online submission at $134.32 per permit and a $45.67 "Service Charge for Verification of Proof of License and Workers Compensation Information," which it marks as "Required by State Law for Approval of Permit Application," for $448.63; a 12.70% records management and technology enhancement fee applies on top. Under all other permits it lists a "SolarApp+ Filing Fee" of $21.49. The Fire Department's construction permits list "Battery System Installation" at $689.00 with the unit "P/H," which the schedule uses elsewhere as "P/H or fraction of," that is, per hour, and does not tie to residential systems (Oakland FY 2026-27 Master Fee Schedule, read October 19, 2026).

Austin. Austin Energy issues the electrical permit here. Its Solar Permitting Manual, published May 2026, says energy storage systems in its territory "require an Auxiliary Power Electrical Permit," that solar and batteries can share one residential permit, and that its plan review applies when "The proposed DG project includes an Energy Storage System" (Austin Energy Solar Permitting Manual, read October 19, 2026). The FY 2026-27 fee schedule lists the permit base fee at $169.83, the battery inspection at $84.92 for an inverter nameplate under 15 kW and $169.83 for 15 to 30 kW, and "Residential ESS Fees" under plan review at $254.75 (Austin Energy Fee Schedule FY 2026-2027, read October 19, 2026).

San Antonio. The FY 2027 Development Fee Schedule, revised September 2026, lists an "Electrical - Permit Base Fee" of $57.50 for existing residential work and a "UPS/Generator/Distributed Generation/Storage Batteries" item at $1.84 for 1 to 5 kW and $3.74 for 6 to 50 kW, without saying whether that is per unit or per kW. It lists a $115 electrical plan review fee without saying when it applies, and states that "Unless noted, all fees are subject to a 4% Technological Improvement and a 4% Development Services surcharge" (San Antonio FY 2027 Development Fee Schedule, read October 19, 2026).

Fort Collins. The city's Building Permits page lists a permit for a solar PV energy storage system (ESS) with a "Flat Building Permit Fee: $65" plus sales tax "Calculated based on the total valuation of your project (materials and labor)." It adds that Poudre Fire Authority requires its own permit above 20 kWh for an individual unit, 40 kWh in utility closets and basements, or 80 kWh in garages, on exterior walls or outdoors (Fort Collins Building Permits, read October 19, 2026).

The range of what we found

The "lowest published total" column adds only the lines each schedule says apply, at the smallest system size, before percentage surcharges and taxes. A schedule can carry general charges in sections we did not read closely, so confirm the full amount with the jurisdiction before you budget. On that basis the lowest is San Antonio at $59.34 and the highest is Austin at $509.50. San Diego (hourly, no minimum printed) and Riverside County's battery-only permit (a deposit) have no total to compare. These nine jurisdictions, six of them in California, were chosen because they publish a battery figure. They are not a sample of the country, and we have not averaged them.

Schedules we read that do not price a battery

These were read October 19, 2026 and dropped from the table because the schedule does not name a battery or say which line a battery falls under.

• Los Angeles (LADBS). The electrical permit fee schedule, identified PC/ELEC/FeeSch1-2016, prices solar modules, combiner boxes and inverters by the item, with no battery line (LADBS electrical fee schedule).
• San Jose. The Building and Structure Permits Fee Schedule, effective August 10, 2026, prices a single-family photovoltaic system as 60 minutes of inspection time at $315 per hour, and has no battery line.
• Denver. A "$50 flat fee" for solar "only applies to the solar panel portion of the project when additional scope is part of the project" (Denver Building and Land Development Fees), and a battery is not named.
• Las Vegas. The city's solar bulletin says installations with a battery "will be required to submit for a full plan review and are not eligible for same day issuance," but prints no fee (Las Vegas Residential Photovoltaic Permits).
• Seattle, Portland and San Francisco publish solar or renewable energy lines without a battery line. Seattle's 2026 Fee Subtitle, for example, prices "Renewable Energy Systems" below 12 kW at $438.00 (Seattle 2026 Fee Subtitle, Portland electrical fee schedule effective July 10, 2026, San Francisco Table 1A-E). Miami waives city permit fees for the installation of solar panels and does not mention batteries (Miami Building Permit Fee Schedule). Phoenix requires the separate fire permit described above.

California's $450 cap and the battery question

Government Code 66015 limits a city or county's residential permit fee for a photovoltaic system to "four hundred fifty dollars ($450) plus fifteen dollars ($15) per kilowatt for each kilowatt above 15kW." A jurisdiction may charge more if it adopts a written finding and resolution or ordinance with "substantial evidence of the reasonable cost to issue the permit." The residential permit fee is "the sum of all charges levied" for a solar energy system on a single- or two-family dwelling, and the section is set to be repealed January 1, 2034 (Gov. Code 66015, read October 19, 2026).

Whether that cap reaches a battery is not settled by the text. Section 66015 borrows its definition of solar energy system from Civil Code 801.5, which describes a solar energy device "whose primary purpose is to provide for the collection, storage, and distribution of solar energy" (Civ. Code 801.5, read October 19, 2026). Neither section uses the words battery or energy storage system. The schedules above show California jurisdictions pricing storage as its own permit, while Riverside County's express solar-and-storage permit sits at exactly $450. The statute does not answer the question for you.

SB 379 and automated permits in California

SB 379, signed September 16, 2022, added Government Code 65850.52 (SB 379 bill text, read October 19, 2026). The section requires each city and county to run an online, automated permitting platform "such as SolarAPP+" that issues permits in real time for a residential solar energy system up to 38.4 kW AC "and a residential energy storage system paired with a residential solar energy system" of that size (Gov. Code 65850.52, read October 19, 2026).

Four details matter for a battery buyer:

• Storage counts only when paired with solar. The law defines a residential energy storage system and then requires automation only for one "paired with" residential solar. A battery-only install is outside it.
• Deadlines have passed. Jurisdictions over 50,000 people had until September 30, 2023, and cities of 50,000 or fewer until September 30, 2024.
• Small places are exempt. Cities under 5,000 and counties under 150,000, including every city within such a county, do not have to comply.
• It sets no fee. The section is about issuing permits in real time, not about what they cost.

What SolarAPP+ processes

California's statute calls SolarAPP+ a portal "developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory," which the lab's own history page says DOE renamed the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR history, read October 19, 2026). It now runs at gosolarapp.org; solarapp.nrel.gov did not resolve on October 19, 2026.

Its knowledge base lists eligibility limits of a service rating up to 400A, systems up to 38.4 kW, "≤ 20 kwh limit for an individual battery," and up to 80 kWh of aggregate storage depending on location (SolarAPP+ eligible systems, read October 19, 2026). Solar with storage installed together is covered by standard review. A separate Storage Only permit type covers "Battery installations with no solar" and "A battery added to an existing solar system, including NEM 2.0 retrofits," and is available to any jurisdiction already on the platform that turns it on. The page names 19 that have, 14 in California. It also states that jurisdictions "set your storage permit fees" (SolarAPP+ Storage Only, read October 19, 2026).

Being on SolarAPP+ does not mean a city runs batteries through it. Phoenix accepts SolarAPP+ for solar but lists "No battery storage" among its eligibility rules (Phoenix SolarAPP/Photovoltaic Projects, read October 19, 2026).

The platform charges the installer separately: $35 for a solar permit, $30 for an add-on energy storage permit and $30 for storage only, and it states that contractors pay this "in addition to any permitting fees established by the AHJ" (SolarAPP+ installer pricing, read October 19, 2026). Do not assume it is faster for batteries either. The lab's review of 2022 data found that across seven jurisdictions, median durations for PV-plus-storage permits "were higher among SolarAPP+ projects: 64 days compared to 55 days," and cautions that "these durations are affected by many factors unrelated to SolarAPP+" (read October 19, 2026). Our installation guide covers that review.

How to check the permit line on your quote

• Find out who issues the permit at your address. The county schedules above apply to unincorporated addresses, and in Austin the permit comes from Austin Energy.
• Ask the installer which permit type they will file, by name, and whether a fire permit is also needed.
• Look up that line in the published schedule, and note whether it is flat, hourly, banded by kW, or a deposit.
• Ask whether the fee is passed through at cost or built into the price.

Then fold the result into your own numbers in the Worth It calculator. The permit fee does not change the federal picture: the Section 25D credit ended December 31, 2025, so a 2026 cash buyer gets no federal credit on the permit or anything else, and Section 48E reaches a homeowner only through a lease or power purchase agreement where the owner claims it.