Heating and cooling in Fresno
Fresno's Building and Safety Services Division advertises same day express permits for electrical, mechanical and plumbing work, and its Master Fee Schedule (effective July 1, 2025) lists a simple mechanical permit at $107.99. A forced-air unit (FAU), which the schedule puts on its complex list, is $172.29, and issuance adds $26.23. Check those figures against the quote before you sign. The California Building Code section the city prints says an owner or authorized agent who intends to replace any gas or mechanical system must obtain the required permit.
Swapping a furnace or air handler counts. Permits are filed at the Building and Safety Permit Counter, or online through Accela Citizen Access, which takes applications, inspection requests and fee payments around the clock. The state contractors board can fine a company up to $5,000 for each permit violation, and it accepts a Building Permit Violation Referral form. A permit expires 180 days after the date of an approved inspection, and the Building Official may grant an extension.
Building Permits is 559.621.8084. Inspection Services is 559.621.8116. Fresno appears on PG&E's gas service list for Fresno County, though SoCalGas serves part of the county, so check your bill for which company sends it. For a gas smell, leave, call 9-1-1, then call your gas company; PG&E's number is 1-800-743-5000.
What heating and cooling work costs near Fresno
Nobody's given us a quote for work in Fresno yet, so this page can't show a city price. The California page lists what technicians earn (the California median in 2025 BLS wage data is $36.24 an hour, which is their pay, not your price). How we estimate costs.
Permits for heating and cooling work in Fresno
Under the California Mechanical Code, replacing a furnace, air handler, coil or condenser needs a building permit, and so does adding ducting, as the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) told C-20 contractors in a 2010 letter. Code details vary by city and county, so ask the building department for your address what it needs.
Heating and cooling jobs in Fresno
Sources for Fresno
- Building and Safety, City of Fresno Read Oct 20, 2026.
- City of Fresno: Building Permit Center Read Oct 20, 2026.
- PG&E Service Area Read Oct 20, 2026.
- Gas Safety | PG&E Read Oct 20, 2026.
- CSLB: Filing a Building Permit Violation Form Read Oct 20, 2026.