Butte County, CA Building Safety: Carbon Monoxide Detectors (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- Owner-Built Rural Dwellings (Art. VI)
- Standard
- current California Residential Code
- Battery alarms allowed
- only if unwired
- Required battery rating
- ten-year
- Verified at
- final inspection, § 26-83
Summary
Under Butte County Code Section 26-94, dwellings built through the county's Limited Density Owner-Built Rural Dwelling program must have carbon monoxide alarms installed to the current California Residential Code wherever electrical wiring is present. If the owner chooses not to wire the structure for electricity at all, the code still requires an alarm, but allows it to run on batteries as long as those batteries are rated for ten years.
Where electrical wiring or appliances are installed, the installation shall be in accordance with the applicable requirements contained in the most recently adopted version of the California Electrical Code, Part 3, Title 24, California Code of Regulations. Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms shall be installed per the most current adopted California Residential Code. If electrical wiring is not being installed, alarms may be battery operated and must contain ten-year batteries.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 61).
Full Breakdown
Section 26-94, "Electrical installation requirements," sits in Article VI of Chapter 26, the county's rules for Limited Density Owner-Built Rural Dwellings adopted by Ordinance No. 4110 in 2016 and amended by Ordinance No. 4146 in 2018. Where electrical wiring or appliances are installed in one of these owner-built homes, the wiring itself must follow the California Electrical Code, Part 3 of Title 24. " Because Article VI dwellings are exempt from many standard technical-code requirements under Section 26-88, the county uses this line to pull carbon monoxide protection back in as a mandatory feature regardless of how minimal the rest of the construction is.
The article then adds a practical accommodation unique to owner-built rural homes: Section 26-93 allows a dwelling built under this article to skip electrification entirely, and when that happens, Section 26-94 permits the carbon monoxide (and smoke) alarms to be battery-powered rather than hard-wired, provided the batteries carry a ten-year rating so the county is not relying on an owner to routinely swap batteries in a home with no other required electrical maintenance. The Building Division confirms the alarm requirement at final inspection under Section 26-83 before occupancy is approved.
Violations & Fines
An owner-built rural dwelling that lacks a working carbon monoxide alarm, or uses a battery-powered unit without a ten-year battery where the home has no electrical wiring, will not clear final inspection under Section 26-83. The Building Official can withhold the certificate of occupancy until the alarm is installed and verified, and re-inspection is billed under the fee schedule in Section 26-85.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a carbon monoxide alarm run on batteries in Butte County?
Does the carbon monoxide rule cover smoke alarms too?
When does the county check for the carbon monoxide alarm?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Butte County
California rules heatmap·Compare Butte County to another location·View the California building safety overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.