San Diego Heat Pump Permit Fee: The Published $176.57 MEP Charge

For a simple residential heat-pump package-unit permit in San Diego, the city’s 2026 mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and gas fee schedule lists $176.57 for the first unit and $52.39 for each additional unit. That is the city’s published MEP fee line for the described simple permit; it is not the contractor’s installation price, equipment price, or a universal total for every heat-pump replacement. Open the City of San Diego’s 2026 Information Bulletin 103. The city’s permit guidance is the place to confirm the project path.

The basic calculation

One qualifying package unit uses the first-unit line: $176.57. Two use $176.57 + $52.39 = $228.96. Three use $176.57 + (2 × $52.39) = $281.35. These examples are useful only if the work fits the city’s simple-permit description and the units are counted under that schedule.

The schedule’s heat-pump package-unit entry is distinct from a full installation quote. A contractor may separately price labor, equipment, refrigerant work, electrical service changes, duct alterations, crane or access work, testing, and required inspections. The permit fee line does not replace those scopes.

Where the simple line can stop applying

The bulletin says additional conditions can change the permitting path. It identifies HERS requirements when new ductwork extends more than 40 feet and separately flags a condition involving more than 40 feet of unconditioned space in a specific replacement footnote; it does not state a blanket 40-foot distance from the equipment. It also calls out separate building permits for drywall or finish work. For multifamily or nonresidential work, a separate electrical permit can apply. A homeowner should therefore ask the installer to identify the equipment type, number of units, and whether any duct, finish, or electrical work moves the project beyond the simple MEP line.

A package unit is also a specific equipment description. If the project is a split heat pump with a new disconnect, panel work, or other electrical alteration, do not assume the $176.57 figure covers each related permit. The city schedule is the evidence for the package-unit line; the final permit record controls the project.

What to request before signing

Ask for a written scope that names:

• the first and additional heat-pump units;
• the city permit type and fee line used;
• electrical, duct, structural, drywall, and finish-work permits, if any;
• inspection and plan-review charges included or excluded; and
• any HERS or other compliance work.

For a single simple package unit, the published municipal arithmetic starts at $176.57. For two, it starts at $228.96. Treat those as a permit-budget input, then compare the installer’s separate work scope. This answers the San Diego permit decision with a current city schedule and avoids presenting a municipal filing fee as an installed-price average.