CALGreen Compliance
CALGreen is California’s first green building code and first in the nation state-mandated green building code. It is formally known as the California Green Building Standards Code, Title 24, Part 11, of the California Code of Regulations .
The purpose of CALGreen is to improve public health, safety, and general welfare through enhanced design and construction of buildings using concepts which reduce negative impacts and promote those principles which have a positive environmental impact and encourage sustainable construction practices.
CALGreen was adopted to address the five divisions of building construction:
- Planning and design
- Energy efficiency
- Water efficiency and conservation
- Material conservation and resource efficiency
- Environmental quality
Application
CALGreen applies to the planning, design, operation, construction, use, and occupancy of every newly-constructed building or structure on a statewide basis unless otherwise indicated. Additions and alterations to existing buildings which increase the building’s conditioned area, interior volume, or size are also covered by the scope of CALGreen.
CALGreen also specifies requirements for applications regulated by the California Building Standards Commission (BSC), California Energy Commission (CEC), Division of the State Architect (DSA), Department of Public Health (CDPH), Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD), and the Department of Water Resources (DWR). Consistent with other parts of Title 24, the Matrix Adoption Tables at the front of each chapter are to assist the code user to determine which sections or chapters are applicable to buildings under the authority of a specific State agency; however, they are for information only and are not considered regulatory.
Scope
CALGreen provisions under the jurisdiction of the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) are for newly constructed residential structures, as well as additions and alterations to existing buildings which increase the building’s “conditioned area, interior volume or size. Therefore, for the purposes of HCD, CALGreen applies to the following types of residential structures:
- Hotels, motels, lodging houses
- Apartment houses, condominiums
- One and two-family dwellings, townhouses, factory-built housing
- Dormitories, shelters for homeless persons, congregate residences, employee housing
- Other types of dwellings containing sleeping accommodations with or without common toilets or cooking facilities
CALGreen Resources
- 2018 Report to the Legislature: Status of the California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen) (PDF)
- Guide to the 2016 California Green Building Standards Code: Residential
- Guide to the 2013 California Green Building Standards Code: Residential (PDF)
- Low-Rise Residential Mandatory Measures (2010 CALGreen Effective July 1, 2012) (PDF)
- 2016 CALGreen Residential Mandatory Measures – Effective January 1, 2017 (PDF)
- 2013 CALGreen Residential Mandatory Measures – Effective January 1, 2014 (PDF)
- 2013 CALGreen Intervening Code Changes Effective July 1, 2015 (PDF)
View Past Regulatory Activity (including past triennial and annual code adoption).
Compliance Forms and Worksheets
HCD developed the forms and worksheets to support users in meeting CALGreen documentation requirements. The forms and worksheets are offered only as aids, which may be used to show compliance with CALGreen, and are not State mandated. You may download and modify the forms to fit the needs of an individual or local enforcing agency. Before using the compliance forms, you should always check with the local enforcing agency to verify whether any jurisdiction-specific forms are required.