LAMC requires that notices are sent to other property owners that may be affected by the request when an appeal request is submitted to the BBSC. You may attend the hearing and are allowed to speak on any case on the agenda, by completing a speaker card on the day of the hearing. 

Members of the public may address the BBSC during the appropriate time scheduled on the agenda (usually at the end of the hearing); however, the BBSC will not take any action on an item that is not on the current agenda.

Whenever an application for import/export is approved by the BBSC, any interested party may appeal the decision to the City Council within ten calendar days of the Board’s action. The appeal must be filed at the Office of City Clerk any time prior to 5:00 p.m. on the final day of the ten day appeal period. 

An import/export approval is valid for twelve months from the date of the Board’s action. The BBSC does not grant extensions on import/export applications. If you fail to obtain your grading permit within the twelve-month period, the application will expire and a new application must be submitted to the Commission Office to be heard before the BBSC. 

The evaluation time frame is based on the complexity of the product.  Contact the Building Research Section for the current status.

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

1. Determine if a LARR is required or not, using the Information Bulletin P/BC 2020-119
2. Submit the following information to the Los Angeles City Department of Building and Safety Building Research Section:
   1. Product literature describing how your product is to be used
   2. Substantiating data (i.e. test reports by approved 3rd party testing agency, engineering analysis)
   3. A completed application form for new LARR (PC-STR.App18)
   4. A check in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank.
3. Once this information is received, your application package will be reviewed for completeness. If any deficiencies are determined, a letter will be sent to the applicant stating the deficiencies requiring correction or completeness.
4. After determining the application package is complete, the application will be logged in and assigned a log number and placed in line for review.
5. The substantiating data submitted will be evaluated to determine if it is at least the equivalent of the prescribed device, material, or method of construction specified by the Los Angeles City Building Code in terms of quality, effective time period of fire resistance, strength, effectiveness, durability, and safety.
6. After reviewing the substantiating data, the research engineer assigned to the application will write a letter stating their comments and the information needed to complete the evaluation, if necessary.
7. Upon resolution of all comments, a draft copy of the Los Angeles City Research Report will be written. The draft copy of the Research Report will be e-mailed to the applicant for their review and comments. In addition, a supplemental fee will be sent to the applicant to bill the additional reviewing hours for the report approval beyond the first 6 hours. 
8. After all comments from the applicant have been resolved and the supplemental fee has been paid by the applicant, the Research Report will be submitted to the Chief of the Building Research Section for final review and approval. A signed copy of the Los Angeles City Research Report will be mailed to the applicant and will also be posted on the LADBS website under "LA Research Reports".

The Code Date stated on a Research Report (upper right corner on 1st page of Research Report) identifies which Los Angeles Building Code (LABC) edition the product specified in the research report is approved for. Building projects and LARR approved products shall have the same Code Date. For example, projects submitted to plan check between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2013 must use products approved under the 2011 LABC.

Our goal is to assign an application in approximately 5 weeks to one of our engineers and an additional 3-7 weeks (depending on the complexity of the submittal) for the evaluation to be completed, a draft copy of the research report to be written, and the final copy of the research report signed. If the substantiating data is incomplete, such as missing test reports, testing not conducted by an approved testing agency, incomplete or missing engineering calculations, etc., the time to obtain a Los Angeles City Research Report may take longer. 

Expedite report review is available pursuant to section 98.0422 of the Los Angeles City Municipal Code. The amount of the fee for this service is in addition to the normal review fee and is equal to one-half of the review fee.

The intent of the expedite service is to reduce the time to assign your application from approximately 5-weeks to 2- weeks. 

For an estimate of the current assignment time for the expediting service you may call the Building Research Section at (213) 202-9812.

Complete the "Application for Renewal and Clerical Modification of General Approval form (PC-STR.App19)". Refer to "Instructions for Completing Application Forms for Research Reports (LARR) and Research Report Fees" for instructions.

The fee is listed on the application based on the type of product approval previously obtained. The renewal application extends the expiration date of the approval form the previous reevaluation due date listed on the current approval.

Los Angeles Research Reports may be issued to an entity/company with the legal right to the product and the accompanying Technical Test Reports and Engineering Assessment.  Test Reports shall bear the name of the applicant, unless a release letter accompanies the test report(s).

Your products are approved for the Code version only listed on both the Evaluation Report and the LARR approval letter.  If either product approval document does not list the current version of the Building Code, you will need to have these updated.  Any revision to the report must be submitted to this Department for review with appropriate fee to continue the approval of the report.

The LARR may be used only for projects permitted under the Code version specified on the LARR.  To update the LARR to the Current LABC, when there are no changes to the existing products nor to any code requirements regarding your product, you may file an "Application for Renewal/Clerical Modification" (PC-STR.App19).  For Product Approvals that expire within 12 months, submit the fee for a Renewal and the approval will be updated during as it is renewed.  For Products that do not expire within 12 months of the time of application, pay the clerical modification fee and check the respective box.

For LARR’s based on a Model Code Agency Evaluation Report: the LARR cannot be updated unless the Evaluation Report specifies the corresponding Code Edition; ensure the Evaluation Report is Updated before filing to update your LARR.  If additional products are added to the approval, or changes to the existing products have been made, or if additional testing or analysis is required due to code changes, you must file an "Application for Technical Modification" (PC-STR.App18). A Separate Renewal Application will need to be submitted if the LARR is scheduled to expire soon.

Section III of Alternate Building Materials Products Approval Requirements (IB-P-BC2014-119) specifies the qualifications that Nationally Recognized Model Code Agency must meet for their Evaluation Report to be used as a basis for a Los Angeles City Research Report.

Currently, Evaluation Reports from the International Code Council Evaluation Services (ICC-ES) and, the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials Uniform Evaluation Service (IAPMO UES) may be used as a basis for a Los Angeles City Research Reportttt.

Alternate Building Materials Products Approval Requirements (IB-P-BC2014-119)
 

Two forms must be completed together:

• Application for New General Approval or Technical Modification (PC-STR.App18)
• Application for Renewal and Clerical Modification of General Approval (PC-STR.App19)
• Each form shall be processed separately with each its respective fee, specified on each application.  One check may be made for the total or separate checks may be sent with each application..

No, provided the equipment or fixture is listed by an approved listing agency to meet the applicable standards listed in the code.

One-time Approval. This approval is granted for fixtures and equipment that are custom made or installed at a specific job site. The evaluation and testing can often be performed at the location where the fixture/equipment is installed. Application for this type of approval may be filed by the building owner, installer, vendor, or manufacturer. The approval is for one time and for a specific location, and it cannot be used for another installation.

General Approval/Laboratory Approval. This approval is granted for fixtures and equipment to be used anytime and anywhere within the City. The testing and physical evaluation are usually done in an approved laboratory, unless a suitable site visit is prearranged. Application for this type of approval shall be filed by the manufacturer.

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.

The application form can be found on the website here or on our "Mechanical Test Lab (MTL)" page.

It depends on the backlog at the time the application is submitted. The backlog information is provided to applicants at the time of submittal. The backlog is the time it takes to assign an application and report to an LADBS-MTL engineer to be processed from the submittal date. If there are any corrections, it will be up to the applicant to address the corrections in a timely manner.

For a general approval/laboratory approval, a company who has the legal rights to the product's test reports being submitted and the legal rights to the product. Test reports being submitted shall bear the name of the applicant, unless documentation is provided authorizing the applicant to use such reports.

For One-Time approval, application may be filed by the building owner, installer, vendor, or manufacturer.