Remote inspections your building department can check.
Your customer or technician follows the steps in an app: each photo and video with directions, an example picture and the checks your building department asks for. Your office reviews it, then sends the inspector one link with every file, the homeowner’s consent and a way to record the result.
Two ways companies use it
AB 1738 work on one- and two-family homes
Heat pump HVAC and heat pump water heaters with their supporting electrical work, reroofs, rooftop solar up to 15 kW AC with batteries, and smoke and CO alarms. Start from a template for each, match it to your building department’s protocol, and publish.
- Every AB 1738 template opens with a street-to-door video that shows the house number.
- The homeowner’s written consent is collected before the package goes out.
- The inspector gets one link and records the result on it.
Let customers show you anything
A template is just steps with directions. Write them for your own product or service, and your customer follows them in the app: a warranty claim, a setup check, a problem you want to see before you send a truck, or a site survey before you quote.
- Photos with an example of a good picture, a label or a measurement.
- Short videos, checklists and questions.
- Your office accepts each item or asks for it again.
How it works
- Office
Pick a template
Steps with directions: photos, videos and checklists. Start from an AB 1738 outline or write your own.
- Office
Send it
The customer gets an inspection ID and password for the Sentra Inspect app, or a technician does it in the crew app.
- On site
Capture on site
In-app camera, location on every file, labels and measurements where the step asks for them.
- Office
Office review
Accept each item or ask for it again with a reason. The customer is emailed what to retake.
- Inspector
Share with the inspector
A signed package and an expiring link. The inspector records the result and you’re emailed.
Steps your customer can follow
Each step says what to capture and shows an example picture.
- A photo step can ask for a label, like the model and serial number, or a measurement in inches, feet, amps or another unit.
- A video step has a minimum and maximum length.
- Checklists take pass, fail or N/A, and a fail can require a note.
- The Sentra Inspect app keeps their place, so they can stop and finish later.
The homeowner’s written consent
AB 1738 lets a contractor ask for a remote inspection only with the homeowner’s written consent, so a template can require it before the package is built.
- The homeowner signs in the Sentra Inspect app, on a link you email them, or on your technician’s phone.
- If you already have a signed form, record where it’s kept instead.
- The exact statement is saved with its SHA-256 hash, and the package and PDF carry the signature.
One link for the building department
The package lists every file with its SHA-256 hash and capture facts, signed by Sentra Scheduler, with a PDF of the whole inspection.
- The inspector opens an expiring link, watches the videos, downloads the PDF and presses Check files to confirm nothing changed since it was received.
- They record their decision on the same page: passed, fix it and send new photos, fix it and re-inspect in person, stop and inspect in person, or need more.
- You’re emailed right away.
- Reopen the inspection to collect what they asked for, or book the in-person visit.
Everything in the inspections module
Guided photo steps
Directions, an example picture, up to 20 photos, a required label or measurement.
Video steps
Minimum and maximum length, so a walk-around isn’t two seconds or ten minutes.
Checklists
Pass, fail or N/A per line; a fail can require a note.
Proof of the address
AB 1738 templates open with a video that starts at the street with the house number in view.
Location and time checks
GPS on each file, distance from the address, when it was taken and when it arrived, with anything odd flagged for the reviewer.
Camera only, full quality
No picking old pictures from the phone’s library, and a minimum photo and video resolution per template.
Homeowner consent
Signed in the app, on an emailed link or on the technician’s phone, or recorded as on file.
Office review
Accept each item or ask for it again with a reason before anything leaves the office.
Signed evidence package
A SHA-256 manifest signed with HMAC and a PDF. It shows the files haven’t changed since they were received.
Link with Check files
Expires after 30 days by default, can be turned off, and counts every view.
The inspector’s result
Recorded on the link, or typed in by your office after a call, with the history kept.
California jurisdictions
All 482 cities and 58 counties with their AB 1738 deadline, and any ban on remote inspections tracked.
What AB 1738 requires
AB 1738 (Carrillo) is Chapter 271 of the Statutes of 2026, signed September 18, 2026. It makes California cities and counties offer remote inspections for common home energy and safety work.
- July 1, 2027SB 222: heat pump work
SB 222, the Heat Pump Access Act, as passed by the Legislature: inspections without the contractor and inspector on site together, for heat pump water heaters and HVAC. Check its final status.
- January 1, 2028Most cities and counties
Cities over 50,000 people, and counties of 150,000 or more for their unincorporated areas, must offer remote inspections.
- July 1, 2028Cities of 50,000 or fewer
Smaller cities get six more months.
- ExemptThe smallest places
Cities under 5,000 people, and counties under 150,000 along with every city inside them.
- Who can ask
- A homeowner, or a contractor with the homeowner’s written consent, can request a remote inspection for all or part of the inspections a building permit requires on a single-family or two-family home. It adds Section 17970.9 to the Health and Safety Code and covers charter cities too.
- The inspector decides
- The inspector chooses live video or recorded photos and video, can stop a remote inspection and require an in-person one, and after a failed remote inspection decides how the remaining inspections happen.
- No extra cost or delay
- Agencies must offer remote inspections at no greater cost and with no greater delay than in-person ones.
- Technical rules
- Agencies may set protocols for field of view, image quality, camera coverage, connectivity and proof of the permitted address, such as a recording that starts at the street and shows the address on the building.
- Records
- Agencies may keep a digital record of the inspection for review, training and compliance.
- Misrepresentation
- Anyone who willfully misrepresents the work can be barred from remote inspections for up to 6 months the first time and 12 months after that. Agencies may agree to honor each other’s bans.
- Liability
- The same public-entity immunities that cover in-person inspections apply (Government Code sections 818.4, 818.6 and 821.2).
The law, and what Sentra Scheduler does about each part
| AB 1738 | In Sentra Scheduler | Stays with you or the agency |
|---|---|---|
| Homeowner’s written consent | Collected in the app, on an emailed link, on the technician’s phone or recorded as on file; required before packaging when the template says so. | Your consent wording, if you want your own. |
| Agency protocols and proof of address | Templates with your department’s steps, a street-to-door video, location checks and minimum resolution. | Matching each template to your department’s published protocol. Starters can’t be published until someone ticks that they match. |
| Inspector chooses live or recorded | Both: recorded photos and video, or a live video call the inspector joins from a link, recorded into the same package. | Telling us which your department accepts, and setting each template to Recorded, Live video or Either. |
| Inspector can stop and require in person | The inspector records “Stopped: needs an in-person inspection” or “re-inspect in person” on the link; you’re emailed. | Booking the in-person inspection with the department. |
| Digital records | A signed manifest and PDF per package, every package kept, views and results logged. | The agency keeps its own record if it wants one. |
| Misrepresentation bans | Record a ban by city or county; while it runs, inspections there can’t be shared. | Whether a ban applies is the agency’s call. |
What it doesn’t do
- Sentra Scheduler doesn’t file anything in a building department’s own permit system. The inspector opens your link.
- The package shows the files haven’t changed since they reached us. Where and when they were taken comes from the phone, so those facts are shown for the inspector to judge.
- The Sentra Inspect app is on its way to the App Store and Google Play. Technicians can already do inspections in the crew app.
This page is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Requirements come from the chaptered text of AB 1738 and SB 222 on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, and from each building department’s own remote inspection protocol. Some older summaries describe a July 1, 2027 deadline for AB 1738, a yearly report to HCD and onsite audits; those were in earlier versions of the bill and are not in the final law. Population figures are California Department of Finance estimates for January 1, 2026.
Common questions
What is AB 1738?
A 2026 California law (Chapter 271, signed September 18, 2026) that makes cities and counties let homeowners, or contractors with the homeowner’s written consent, request remote inspections for heat pump HVAC and water heaters, reroofs, solar up to 15 kW AC with storage, and smoke and CO alarms on one- and two-family homes.
When does my city have to offer remote inspections?
By January 1, 2028 for most cities and counties, and July 1, 2028 for cities of 50,000 or fewer. Cities under 5,000 and counties under 150,000, with the cities in them, are exempt. Sentra Scheduler shows the date for each California city and county, using state population estimates; your building department has the final word.
Is a main panel upgrade covered?
No. New or upgraded main electrical services are left out of AB 1738, though a department may still inspect them remotely if it chooses. Electrical work that supports a heat pump, solar or battery job is covered.
Does my customer need an app?
For a customer inspection, yes: the Sentra Inspect app, which they sign in to with an inspection ID and password you email them. Technicians use the crew app. The homeowner can sign consent on a web link without any app.
Can I use this for things that aren’t permits?
Yes. Any template is steps with directions, so you can have customers show you a product for a warranty claim, check a setup, or send photos before you schedule a visit. Templates outside AB 1738 skip the protocol check.
Does Sentra Scheduler do live video inspections?
Yes. The law lets the inspector choose live video or recorded photos and video, and Sentra Scheduler does both. For a live call, the inspector joins from a link in their email, asks for closer looks and records the result, and the recording goes into the signed package. See live video inspections.
What does the inspector see?
A page with the permit, address, homeowner’s consent, each photo and video with where and when it was taken, the checklist answers, the PDF, a Check files button and a form to record the result. Office-only notes never leave your office.
What is SB 222?
The Heat Pump Access Act by Senator Wiener, a separate bill the Legislature passed in August 2026. As passed, it asks cities and counties to offer inspections that don’t need the contractor and inspector on site at the same time for heat pump water heaters and heat pump HVAC from July 1, 2027, earlier than AB 1738. Check its final status on leginfo and how it applies with your building department.