The process to obtain a Los Angeles City Mechanical Research Report consists of the following steps:

1. Submit an “Application for Testing or Evaluating Mechanical Equipment” to the LADBS-MTL and pay the fees.
2. Attach product literature that shows materials and dimensions, and describes the intended use, installation and maintenance instructions. Also, you may include pictures or other materials that will help to evaluate the product. A product sample or a field visit maybe required.
3. Provide substantiating data such as test reports from an approved third party testing agency and/or engineering analysis in support of the requested approval.
4. Attach a typed list of sizes and models, as applicable, of the product to be approved.
5. After reviewing the submitted documents, an approval letter or a correction notice will be issued by an LADBS-MTL engineer and sent to the applicant.
6. Upon approval of a Mechanical Research Report, the approval letter will be posted on the Los Angeles City Department of Building and Safety web site. The approval letter will contain conditions of approval specifying the proper use and installation of the product.
7. The application package (PC-MECH.App14) can be found here or on the "Mechanical Test Lab (MTL)" page.