California Will Let You Request a Video Inspection Instead of Waiting Home

You take the day off. You cancel a meeting, you sit at home, and the inspector shows up sometime inside a four hour window. That is the part of a remodel nobody warns homeowners about, and I hear about it constantly from people in Monterey, Salinas, and Carmel Valley who just want the project to keep moving.

That routine is changing. Governor Newsom signed AB 1738, the Remote Virtual Inspection Act, on September 18, 2026, and it gives homeowners and their contractors the right to request a remote inspection instead of an in person visit for certain permitted work.

But the start date is January 1, 2028, and that single fact changes how you should plan a 2027 project. Below is what the law covers, what it does not, and how inspection timing actually affects a kitchen or bath remodel on the Peninsula.

What the AB 1738 remote video building inspection law actually requires

AB 1738 was authored by Assemblymember Juan Carrillo and became Chapter 271, Statutes of 2026. It sets a statewide floor, which means Monterey County, the City of Salinas, Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Carmel all have to offer the option once it takes effect.

Starting January 1, 2028, jurisdictions must offer remote inspections by live video or recorded photos and video for specified work in one and two family homes. The categories named in the law include:

• Heat pump systems
• Reroofs
• Rooftop solar and storage
• Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

Reporting on the bill also points to heat pump water heaters and certain minor electrical and plumbing work falling inside the same framework. You can read the bill text yourself through California’s legislative information site.

Two details matter more than the list. First, the request can come from the homeowner or the contractor. Second, the law preserves the authority and professional judgment of the local building official, so the inspector still decides whether the work passes.

Why January 1, 2028 is the number to write down

The signing date got the headlines. The effective date is what should drive your decisions.

If you pull a permit in 2026 or 2027, this law does nothing for you. Your inspections run the way they always have, with a person driving out to your house. I would not push a kitchen or bath project out a year to wait for a rule that may or may not match your scope.

A few jurisdictions are moving earlier on their own. A pilot program launched with five California jurisdictions in August 2026, where contractors submit photos and video on their own schedule and inspectors review them, request corrections, or approve. None of the Peninsula cities are in that pilot as far as I know, so treat early access as a bonus, not a plan.

What I tell homeowners who are mapping out a 2027 remodel:

• Call your building department and ask what they already allow. Some accept photo documentation for reinspections today.
• Ask who is responsible for scheduling. On most jobs, your contractor handles it, and you should confirm that in writing.
• Do not reshuffle your whole project around a rule that starts in 2028.

What changes and what stays the same

Here is the short version of before and after, based on the categories the law names.

The AB 1738 timeline at a glance

This walks through the dates, the covered work, and who still has the final say.

Where inspections actually hold up a Monterey County remodel

I work on the finish side of remodels, so I see exactly where an inspection delay lands. It almost always lands on the schedule, not the budget.

On a bathroom project, the wall stays open until the rough inspection passes. No drywall, no mud, no primer, no paint. One missed inspection window can push the finish work a week, because the next available slot rarely lands on the day you want it.

On the Peninsula that week matters more than it would inland. Our interior painting windows depend on humidity and airflow, and during a foggy stretch in Pacific Grove or Seaside a delay can push wall prep into conditions that slow the coats down. I wrote more about that in painting indoors during a wet Monterey winter.

The same chain reaction hits exterior work. If a reroof inspection slips, the trim and fascia repaint slips with it, and now you are chasing dry days in November instead of October.

So when AB 1738 takes effect, the real benefit is not convenience. It is that a passed inspection on Tuesday afternoon can mean drywall on Wednesday morning, instead of waiting until the following week.

What I would do if you are planning a 2027 project

Most of the Monterey County homeowners who reach out to us are planning six to twelve months ahead. Here is how I would handle permits and inspections in that window.

• Build inspection days into the schedule, not around it. Ask your contractor to show you where rough and final inspections sit on the timeline before work starts.
• Find out who waits at the house. On our jobs, someone from the crew is usually on site anyway. You should never be guessing about this.
• Ask what happens if an inspection fails. A correction and reinspection is normal. What matters is how fast it gets rescheduled.
• Check the age of your home first. For anything built before 1978, EPA lead-safe work practices apply to the prep, and that affects containment and cleanup well before any inspector shows up. More on that in the lead paint question on older Peninsula homes.
• Get the permit and inspection responsibilities in your contract. California has tightened up what has to be in writing, and it is worth reading what your contractor owes you in writing.

A customer in Carmel Valley once described a remodel as the project where everyone needed a different day of her time. That is the part remote inspections start to fix. If you are mapping out a bigger project, how to plan a home renovation in Monterey covers the sequencing side in more detail.

Frequently Asked Questions About AB 1738 and Remote Inspections