Porterville, CA Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted code
- 2025 California Plumbing Code, Title 24 Part 5
- Adoption section
- Municipal Code § 7-6, Ord. 1923, eff. 12-2-2025
- Included appendixes
- Appendixes C, H, and M
- Check valve rule
- Required where building is lower than sewer line (§ 7-7)
- Enforcing official
- Public Works Director as Building Official (§ 7-3.5)
Summary
Plumbing work in the City of Porterville is governed by the 2025 California Plumbing Code, Title 24 Part 5, adopted in full under Municipal Code section 7-6 along with Appendixes C, H and M. Building without a required check valve on a lower-level connection is also separately unlawful under section 7-7.
Adoption of the 2025 Edition of the California Plumbing Code Title 24 Part 5, the Referenced Standards, and Appendixes C, H, and M. A. That certain code in book form to which more particular reference is hereinafter made, regulating the business of plumbing, and the installation of plumbing fixtures and appliances, to be known and referred to as the California Plumbing Code, is hereby adopted and enacted by the Council of the City of Porterville as an ordinance of the City of Porterville, to all intents and purposes and to the same effect as if each and every sentence, comma, paragraph, word, phrase, and clause in said code mentioned or referred to therein or herein were and each thereof was fully and specifically set forth herein.
Full Breakdown
Porterville adopted the 2025 California Plumbing Code by Ordinance 1923, effective December 2, 2025, under Municipal Code section 7-6, which enacts the code "regulating the business of plumbing, and the installation of plumbing fixtures and appliances...to all intents and purposes and to the same effect as if each and every sentence, comma, paragraph, word, phrase, and clause in said code...were fully and specifically set forth herein." A filed copy is kept with the Building Official for reference. Beyond the wholesale adoption, the code preserves one older local requirement in sections 7-7 and 7-8: where any part of a building served by the sewer system sits lower than the sewer line serving it, the owner must install a check valve or back sewer valve with a cast iron body and noncorrosive bearing parts, built to remain closed except when discharging sewage, with bolted, gasketed access covers kept readily accessible.
Section 7-8 extends that same check-valve duty to nonconforming buildings, requiring existing connections to be remodeled to comply. As with the other Title 24 codes, section 7-6.1 makes the article severable, and the Public Works Director serves as Building Official under section 7-3.5 for plan review, permitting, and inspection of plumbing work citywide.
Violations & Fines
Installing or altering plumbing without a required permit, or without the check valve required by section 7-7 on a building lower than its serving sewer line, is a violation of the adopted Plumbing Code enforced by the Building Official. As with other adopted Title 24 codes, noncompliant work can be red-tagged and is subject to the same daily-offense penalty structure applied to building code violations citywide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What plumbing code does Porterville use?
Do I need a permit for plumbing work in Porterville?
Does Porterville require check valves on sewer connections?
Does the check valve rule apply to older buildings?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Porterville
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