Glassell Park, CA · March 2025 · LADWP / LADBS

Glassell Park: the final inspection was a fifteen-minute video call.

It returned a correction on the Friday. What closed it was a photograph, not another appointment.

Written by the Cali Energy project team · California contractor license 1032379 · Updated September 2026

Los Angeles runs a Virtual Inspection Program: instead of an inspector on site, the final is a booked video call, usually about fifteen minutes, and the contractor signs a participation waiver beforehand. It is a real inspection with a real result, and it can return a correction like any other. What is less obvious is how that correction closes. On this Glassell Park project the item was the AC disconnect; Cali Energy sent photographs of the installed device, and the inspector finalled the permit and released power from his route the next day, with no second appointment.

At a glance

Final inspection

Held by video call

Length of the slot

Fifteen minutes

Required beforehand

A signed virtual inspection waiver

Result on the day

A correction

How it closed

Photographs, no second visit

Utility / AHJ

LADWP / LADBS

The story

The request went in on a Thursday for a final the next morning. What came back was not an inspection window but a calendar invitation: a video call, ten-thirty to ten-forty-five, with a link and a phone number.

This is the city's Virtual Inspection Program, and it is worth understanding before it turns up on your project, because it changes what the day looks like.

First, there is paperwork before the paperwork. The contractor signs a participation waiver and returns it to the inspector ahead of the call. Without it the call does not happen, and on a Friday-morning slot that means the whole request falls over.

Second, the slot is a slot. Not a morning, not an eight-to-twelve window — a quarter of an hour at a stated time. Somebody has to be on the roof with a phone, with signal, at that minute. That is easier than waiting half a day and less forgiving if the household has gone out.

Third, and this is the part people get wrong: it is a real inspection. Same permit, same inspector, same outcomes. It can pass and it can fail, and on this project it returned a correction the same day.

So what happens then?

The instinct is to book another inspection, and the automatic notices encourage it — they arrive telling you to schedule a re-inspection, and they keep arriving.

What we did instead was ask. The correction concerned the AC disconnect, which is a device either installed or not, visible in a photograph from two steps away. We installed it, photographed it, sent the photographs to the inspector and asked the question plainly: can you finalize the project from this, or do we need to schedule a new inspection and go on site.

The answer came back the same day, and it is worth quoting in substance: he would put the address on his route for the following day, final it and release power, and we were to disregard any re-inspection notifications we received — none was needed.

Two things follow from that, and both are useful to an owner.

A correction is not automatically a repeat visit. It depends entirely on what the item is. Something visible and binary — a device fitted, a label applied, a cover replaced — can often be closed on evidence. Something that has to be measured, opened, or seen in context cannot, and the visit happens.

And the automatic notices are not the decision. They are generated by the system when a correction is recorded, and they go on being generated after a human has already agreed to close the item. The decision lives in the correspondence with the inspector, which is exactly why it is worth having in writing.

Cali Energy carried this permit to a passed final in Glassell Park, Los Angeles.

How it ran

Four days from a correction to a passed final, and nobody drove out a second time.

What we did

• Returned the signed virtual inspection waiver the same day the call was booked.
• Had somebody on the roof, with signal, for the fifteen minutes that were booked.
• Answered the correction with photographs of the finished work rather than queuing for a second appointment.
• Got the decision in writing before treating the permit as closed.

System specifications

Is your project like this one?

• Your inspection has been scheduled as a video call and nobody explained what that involves.
• Your virtual inspection came back with a correction.
• You are being told to book a re-inspection and are not sure it is necessary.
• You want to know what an inspector can and cannot judge over video.

Cali Energy in Glassell Park

Frequently asked questions

What is a virtual solar inspection in Los Angeles?

A final inspection held as a booked video call instead of a site visit, under the city's Virtual Inspection Program. The contractor signs a participation waiver beforehand, the inspector sends a calendar invitation with a video link, and the slot is short and fixed — on this project a quarter of an hour.

Is a video inspection a real inspection?

Yes. Same permit, same inspector, same outcomes recorded against the file. It can pass and it can return a correction, and the correction counts exactly as it would from a site visit. Treating it as a formality is the mistake.

What happens if a virtual inspection returns a correction?

It depends on the item. Something visible and binary — a device installed, a label applied — can often be closed on photographs sent to the inspector. Something that has to be measured or opened cannot, and a visit follows. Ask rather than assume.

Do I have to book a re-inspection after a correction?

Not always. The automatic notices are misleading here: they keep arriving after an inspector has already agreed to close the item from evidence. The decision is the one in the correspondence, which is why it is worth getting in writing before the permit is treated as closed.

Does Cali Energy handle solar inspections in Glassell Park, Los Angeles?

Yes, including the virtual ones. Glassell Park projects are permitted through LADBS and interconnected through LADWP. The streets here are steep and narrow, so an inspection that does not need a parking space is more useful in this neighborhood than it sounds.

What this would look like on your roof

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• Three permits, one inspection visit Westchester, Los Angeles · five days from array to closed permit Solar

This timeline reflects this property and this permitting path. Updated September 2026.