The Complete Guide to Permit Pulling and Inspections
Permit pulling and inspections are one lifecycle, not two vendors. The permit is prepared and submitted, the jurisdiction issues it, the work is installed, any required energy testing is filed, the final inspection is passed, and the record is closed. Stop at issuance and you have an open permit. This guide walks the whole chain for residential HVAC and plumbing contractors, and names which parts you can hand off.
If you want the short beginner's version, start with a beginner's guide to permit help for contractors. This is the complete pass: what happens at each step, where jobs stall, and how pulling and closeout fit together on one file.
The lifecycle, end to end
- Decide the job needs a permit
- Build a complete application package
- Submit to the authority having jurisdiction
- Respond to corrections, if any
- Permit issues — now the install should happen
- Energy code verification, if the scope and state require it
- Final inspection
- Closeout — signed card filed, record closed
iPermit runs this as one service: permits, HERS / ECC testing in California, and final inspections, with status writing back to ServiceTitan. 100% of permits submitted within 24 hours. More than 1,000,000 permits pulled since 1976. 500,000+ HERS tests. 40+ states.
Step 1–2. Required, and complete
Whether a permit is required is local. HVAC changeouts, furnace replacements, condensers, water heaters, repipes, and similar residential service work typically need a mechanical or plumbing permit. Two neighboring cities can want different documents for the same job.
A complete package is what starts the city's clock. Depending on trade, jurisdiction, and the house, that package may include a site plan, load calculation, equipment cut sheets, proof of contractor licensing, and — in California — the CF-1R that tells the rater which measures apply later. Miss one item and the application is rejected or held. Either way, you have not started.
This is the most common delay, and the most fixable. A service that prepares the package catches missing items before the AHJ does. A portal waits for you to notice.
Step 3–4. Submittal and corrections
Submittal is the moment the jurisdiction has the file. iPermit's written commitment is 100% of complete packages submitted within 24 hours. Approval after that belongs to the city. No expediter controls approval, and any provider promising a 24-hour approval is describing something outside its control.
A correction notice resets you toward the back of the review queue. One loop is a week in a typical jurisdiction. Two loops and you are looking at a month. First-submission quality — local knowledge of that AHJ's usual flags — is what keeps the loop count down. When a correction does come, the team that filed the original should be the team that answers it. See how to reduce HVAC and plumbing permit delays for the diagnosis behind each stall.
Step 5. Issued — the install window
The permit number posting is the green light. Installing ahead of issuance is almost always a sequencing accident: the job was scheduled, the crew showed up, nobody checked. When permit status lives on the job record, that accident gets hard to make. Inside ServiceTitan, adding the iPermit tag is what starts the file; issued/not-issued writes back to the same job dispatch already works from.
For Home Depot service jobs, proof of permit is also what releases payment. iPermit pushes permit status into Home Depot's service provider platform so that hold is not a separate chase.
Step 6. Energy testing, when it applies
In California, most HVAC changeouts trigger field verification by a certified rater independent of the installing contractor. Duct leakage, refrigerant charge, and airflow are the measures that decide it. A passing result is filed as a CF-3R through a state-approved registry (iPermit files through CHEERS) before the building department will sign off a final.
Under the 2025 California Energy Code, effective January 1, 2026, HERS is now formally ECC, Energy Code Compliance. The field work is unchanged. iPermit's own certified raters run the test against the same job record as the permit, so a failed measure is a re-test on an existing file rather than a new vendor. More on this in HERS testing and how HERS testing helps HVAC contractors pass inspections.
Outside California, this step usually does not attach to a residential changeout. The permit and the final inspection still do.
Step 7–8. Final inspection and closeout
The install being complete and the permit being closed are two different events. Nothing alerts you in between. That is why open permits accumulate quietly and then surface at resale. Permits that are left open can come back to haunt you.
Final inspection management is: book with the AHJ, confirm the window with the homeowner, meet the inspector, capture the signed card, file it against the original permit number, handle re-inspections if it fails. Pricing is per project, no SaaS fee, no minimums. Details live on the final inspections page and the combined service page for permit pulling and final inspection services.
Until the record is closed, the job is not finished. Tracking the open set is covered in how to track permit compliance across service jobs.
What "one number to call" actually consolidates
| Step | In-house | On one iPermit file |
|---|---|---|
| Package | Office prepares | iPermit prepares |
| Submittal | Counter or city portal | 100% within 24 hours |
| Corrections | Office responds | iPermit responds |
| Status | Spreadsheet or inbox | Writes back to the job |
| HERS / ECC (CA) | Third-party rater | Own certified raters, CHEERS filing |
| Final inspection | Office + homeowner + city | AHJ, homeowner, on-site, signed card |
| Closeout | Remembered, or not | Record closed, status on the job |
Local experts know the people and the procedures. Nationwide coverage with a local touch is the operating model, not a slogan. More than 1,000 contractors use it. 1,000+ five-star reviews from homeowners sit on the closeout side of the same work — the inspection window, not the permit form.
How to run this from the software you already have
If you are on ServiceTitan, iPermit is the longest-standing permit-pulling Marketplace partner. Add the tag; do not open a second portal to start the file. If you are not, jobs go through iPermit Pro directly. Same people, same 24-hour submittal, same closeout.
Registration needs an image of your state contractor license, the license holder's driver's license, workers' compensation certificate, a signed letter of authorization, and a signed credit card authorization. iPermit sends the forms.
Does iPermit pull commercial construction permits?
The service is built for residential and light-commercial trade contractors — HVAC and plumbing service volume — not ground-up commercial construction or new-construction GCs. Those are a different permit workflow.
Can we use iPermit for permits but keep inspections in-house?
Yes. Scope is per project. Most shops that hand off pulling eventually hand off closeout too, because that is where open permits are born. It does not have to happen on day one.
How fast is approval?
Nobody honest will quote a universal approval time. Jurisdictions vary widely for identical work. What you can get in writing is submittal speed (100% within 24 hours of a complete package) and whether closeout is in scope.
Related service pages: permits, final inspections, HERS, ServiceTitan. Talk to iPermit with the jurisdiction list you actually file in — that list is more useful than a coverage map.
