Complete an Application for Renewal and Clerical Modification of General Approval as directed in the instructions available at dbs.lacity.gov. The fee is listed on the application based on the type of product approval previously obtained.

The evaluation time frame is based on the complexity of the product. Contact the Engineering Research Section for the current status. The process to obtain a Los Angeles City Research Report consists of the following steps:

The LARR may be used only for projects permitted under the Code version specified on the LARR.

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.

The Code Date stated on a Research Report (upper right corner on first 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.

Exceptions for products without proper approval are considered by the Structural Plan Check Division. See your plan checker and plan check supervisor regarding the process and fees required for an administrative approval.

For General Approval – City of Los Angeles only:

Waiting for Soft-Story Content

A soft-story building is a structure which has a weaker first floor and is unable to carry the weight of the stories above during an earthquake.

Retrofit is an improvement to your building by altering or adding any structural elements.