If Long Beach rejects a residential solar or battery permit and tells you to provide professional plans, the first question is not “Which plan company should I hire?”

The first question is:

Was the project eligible for Long Beach’s Express PV/ESS route, and if not, exactly which requirement moved it into full plan review?

That distinction matters because the City currently has a streamlined route for qualifying residential rooftop PV and energy-storage projects, while more complex projects can require additional review and professional construction documents.

What Long Beach currently allows through the Express route

The City’s current Online Permitting page says the simplified online PV/ESS option is limited to simple/minor projects on one- and two-family dwellings and accessory buildings or structures, with PV and ESS within the stated 38.4 kW / 38.4 kWh limits. See City of Long Beach Online Permitting.

The City’s FORM-016 Express Checklist says the residential checklist applies to qualifying flush rooftop-mounted PV up to 38.4 kW on wood-framed one- and two-family dwellings and may include a residential ESS up to 38.4 kWh. If the project meets all checklist criteria, the City says detailed engineering analysis or formal plan review may be avoided. See FORM-016.

The City’s Solar PV Process page similarly says a rooftop system that meets IB-023 and the checklist can avoid detailed engineering analysis and formal plan review. See Long Beach Solar Photovoltaic Process.

Express does not mean “no plans”

Long Beach’s IB-023 still requires a complete set of electrical plans for the express path. The City lists items including:

• main service / utility disconnect locations;
• module and string counts;
• inverter/combiner make and model;
• a single-line diagram;
• grounding/bonding information;
• conductor and conduit details.

See IB-023.

So a permit can be “express” and still require a technically complete drawing package.

What can push a project out of the Express path?

Do not guess from one rejection email. Check the project against the current FORM-016 checklist and ask the reviewer which specific criterion was not satisfied.

Examples of facts that can change the route include:

• rooftop vs ground-mounted array;
• one-/two-family vs another building type;
• combined new + existing PV size;
• ESS size and configuration;
• historic-property status;
• line-side/source connection method;
• whether the electrical configuration satisfies the checklist;
• scope beyond the Express checklist.

The exact reason should come from the correction notice or City reviewer, not from a forum anecdote.

Does Long Beach require a civil engineer stamp?

GridPermit cannot confirm that every rejected residential solar/ESS project in Long Beach requires a civil-engineer stamp.

If the City has moved the project to full plan review, the required licensed design professional can depend on the actual scope and the sheets/calculations being reviewed. Ask the reviewer to identify the required discipline rather than paying for the wrong professional.

Use these exact questions:

1. Which FORM-016 / IB-023 criterion made this project ineligible for the Express route?
2. Which drawings or calculations are deficient?
3. Which sheets/calculations must be signed or stamped?
4. What California professional license/discipline is required for those documents?
5. Can the existing application be revised, or is a new submittal required?
6. Does the correction affect the Southern California Edison interconnection package too?

Long Beach’s Solar PV Process page provides Permit Center contact information and a named contact for questions about an existing solar application.

Facts to collect before hiring a plan provider

Have these ready:

• exact City correction notice;
• project address / AHJ confirmation;
• rooftop or ground mount;
• new and existing PV kW;
• battery kWh and battery/inverter models;
• existing solar or storage on site;
• MPU/main-breaker/service changes;
• line-side/GMA/load-side interconnection method;
• current plan set and SLD;
• SCE application/interconnection status;
• whether the City explicitly named a required professional discipline.

With those facts, you can shop for the specific missing design service instead of buying a generic “permit plan package” and hoping it satisfies the correction.

GridPermit is an educational permitting/interconnection guide, not the City of Long Beach or SCE. The City can change forms and eligibility criteria, and the exact correction controls a specific application. The first-party pages above were reviewed September 9, 2026; confirm the live checklist and correction requirements before resubmitting.