Solar roof-load rules moved: CBC 1607.22 (was 1607.14.3)

If your solar roof-load note still cites CBC 1607.14.3, it's pointing at the wrong section as of January 1, 2026.

Here's the thing: the rule didn't change. The address did. The January 2026 California errata — announced in BSC Information Bulletin 26-01 — renumbered the photovoltaic-panel-systems provisions in the California Building Code to line up with the 2024 IBC. The load values a designer plugs into a rooftop-PV calc are exactly what they were. But every boilerplate note, plan-check stamp, and standard detail that still says 1607.14.x now sends a reviewer to the wrong text.

What moved where

In the California Building Code (Part 2, Volume 2), the photovoltaic panel systems provisions moved from Section 1607.14.3 to Section 1607.22. The hospital and essential-services track — the A sections — moved from 1607A.14.3 to 1607A.22.

A companion provision moved too. Uncovered open-frame roof structures in the A track went from 1607A.14.4 to its own standalone section, 1607A.23.

The change is non-substantive: a renumber for consistency with the 2024 IBC errata, not a rewrite. The text under the new numbers reads the same as the text under the old ones.

Verified against the 2025 CBC Part 2 Vol 2 errata and BSC Information Bulletin 26-01 (p.3): Sections 1607.14.3 and 1607A.14.3 (photovoltaic panel systems) are renumbered to 1607.22 and 1607A.22 to be consistent with the 2024 IBC errata.

The numbers you actually plug in

This is the part that matters for a calc. The values under 1607.22 are the ones a structural engineer reaches for on any rooftop array:

• The 24-inch clearance exemption. Under 1607.22.1, roof live loads need not be applied to the area covered by panels where the clear space between the panels and the roof surface is 24 inches (610 mm) or less. It's the exemption a typical low-profile flush-mount array leans on to skip the roof live load under the modules.
• The 12 psf open-grid reduction. Under 1607.22.3, an elevated PV support structure with open grid framing and no roof deck or sheathing may have its uniform roof live load reduced to 12 psf (0.57 kN/m2).
• Ground-mounted arrays. Under 1607.22.4, ground-mounted PV systems are not required to accommodate a roof live load at all (other loads and combinations still apply).

For projects on the OSHPD/essential-services track, the open-frame number lives in the renumbered A section: 1607A.23 sets a vertical live load of not less than 10 psf (0.48 kN/m2) over the total area encompassed by the framework.

Verified against CBC §1607.22.1, §1607.22.3, and §1607A.23 in the 2025 corpus: 24 in. (610 mm) clear-space exemption; 12 psf (0.57 kN/m2) open-grid reduction; 10 psf (0.48 kN/m2) open-frame load.

Why a renumber bites

A renumber is the quietest kind of code change, and that's exactly what makes it dangerous. Nothing in your calc is wrong. Your load assumptions are still correct. The only thing that's stale is the citation — and a stale citation is precisely what a plan checker circles.

The trap is that the old number still feels right. PV structural notes, standard rooftop-array details, and office master templates still carry the old 1607.14.x numbering. Reference libraries built on the prior numbering still resolve to it. A sheet that was correct when you stamped it in December can draw a correction letter when it hits a counter in the spring.

What to do before your next submittal

This is a find-and-replace problem, not a redesign. Open your template library — general notes, your standard PV detail, your office master — and search the literal strings 1607.14.3, 1607A.14.3, and 1607A.14.4. Repoint them to 1607.22, 1607A.22, and 1607A.23, then fix the master so you're not re-stamping the old numbers next month.

The load values stay the same, so nothing downstream of the citation needs to move. And as always, verify with your local jurisdiction — some cities amend on top of the state code, and your AHJ has the final word on which edition and which corrections they enforce.

What CrossBeam does with it

CrossBeam checks rooftop-PV plan sets against the code as corrected, so a structural note that still cites 1607.14.3 gets flagged before the city sees it. The load math can be perfect and the citation still stale — and that quiet mismatch is one of the easiest ways to draw a correction letter, and one of the easiest to catch early.