California tower crane permits: 2 types to check

Key takeaways

Confirm the permit holder for each phase before pricing.
Put a permit milestone ahead of mobilization.
Check which height measurement each document requests.
Review the additional operating requirements before finalizing scope.

Why the permit belongs in your first pass

Leaving the crane permit out of a tower crane bid can mean discovering the omission late. The schedule is already set, the crane company is waiting on paperwork, and someone asks who is holding the permit. In California, the permit is part of the scope of work. It decides who can do the job, when they can start, and what your numbers need to carry.

The rules sit in Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations. Section 341 covers permit requirements and states the purpose of a permit. The section puts it this way:

> The purpose of a permit is to provide notice to the Division that an employer will undertake permit-required activity and to allow the Division an effective means of ensuring that the proposed permit-required activity will be performed safely.

For an estimator, that sentence carries two practical points. Include the permit in your scope review, and identify who will handle the paperwork. A job that has not gone through that step is not ready to schedule, no matter how well the crew is lined up.

This post covers the two permit types the section names, the project permit that applies to tower crane erection, climbing, and dismantling, and the items to carry into your bid. It is a planning guide, not legal advice. Read the regulation itself, and check the details with your contractor's safety or compliance staff before you commit to dates or dollars.

The two permit types

The section states that there are two types of permits: Project Permits and Annual Permits. When you review a crane job, the first question is which applies.

Review the permit's scope before relying on its type. Read the section before you assume an annual permit does or does not cover a given job.

For tower crane work, the practical question is narrower: does this activity require a project permit? For erection, climbing, and dismantling, the section answers that directly.

What triggers the project permit

The rule that matters most for this trade is one sentence. To erect, raise or lower, or dismantle a fixed tower crane, the fixed tower crane erector, climber, or dismantler shall hold a Project Permit.

That sentence names three activities and three roles. Read it as a list in which each activity is tied to a role:

Erect: the erector
Raise or lower: the climber
Dismantle: the dismantler

Your bid should break the job into these phases so that each one is priced and scheduled on its own.

Erection

Erection is the first permit-covered phase. It covers putting the crane up at the site. Price erection as a separate phase, with its own crew, equipment, and duration, and attach the project permit requirement to it. Do not fold erection into a general crane line item. The permit and the schedule gate both attach to it specifically.

Climbing

Price climbing explicitly. Raising or lowering falls under the rule's activity list. Schedule each climb as its own event, with its own permit check before the crew starts, and price it on that basis.

Dismantling

Do not treat dismantling as an afterthought. Price teardown with the same care as the build, including the crew, the equipment, the duration, and the permit check. When a bid leaves teardown out or lumps it in with general site cleanup, the risk lands on the contractor after the contract is signed.

Who has to hold the permit

Confirm in writing who will perform each phase of the work. That changes how you structure the subcontract.

If a specialty crane company is doing the erection and climbing, get written confirmation that the company holds the project permit for each phase it will perform. If your own company is doing the work, then your company is the party who has to hold it, and you need to plan for that before you bid. Either way, the question should be answered before you finalize the price, not on the morning the crew shows up.

If you are a general contractor pricing a subcontractor, the same logic applies. Ask for the permit's details during bid review, not after award. A subcontractor who cannot name the permit it will hold has told you something about the bid.

What "holding" the permit means for your schedule

The section defines the key phrase. “Hold a project permit” or “Hold an annual permit” means to have a valid applicable permit which was obtained prior to the start of work.

Two words in that definition matter for your schedule: valid and prior. Check both the permit's applicability and its timing during bid review. A permit obtained after the work has started does not meet the definition, and a permit still pending when the crew is ready to start does not meet it either.

For estimators, this becomes a scheduling gate. Put a permit milestone ahead of mobilization on the project schedule. Make the start date for erection, each climb, and dismantling depend on that milestone being met. If the permit is late, the crew waits, and someone pays for the standby time. That cost belongs in your bid or in a clear contract clause, not left for the owner to discover on site.

Measure height the way the rule does

The section also defines height. “Height” when used to describe a structure means the distance from the top of the structure, including any parapet walls, mechanical rooms or other penthouse structures, to the lowest point of the surrounding grade or ground level below.

This definition changes the number you put on your takeoff. A takeoff that measures a building only to the roof deck can leave out parapets, mechanical rooms, and penthouse structures. Check those features against the drawings before recording the structure height.

Use this method for structure height under Section 341; use the applicable definition for other height measurements. If the takeoff figure and the figure in the crane plan disagree, you will spend time reconciling them with the crane contractor, the owner's team, and whoever reviews the paperwork. Reuse the figure wherever the same structure-height measurement is requested. Check your takeoff scale setup before measuring from drawings.

Look past Section 341 to Section 344.70

The section includes a note that matters for your budget. Note No.2 states: "See Sections 344.70 et seq. of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations for additional requirements applicable to permits to operate a fixed tower crane."

The project permit for erecting, climbing, and dismantling does not close the question. Pull the operating sections, read them, and find out whether your job needs anything beyond the project permit before you finalize your scope.

Budget time for this review. An estimator who skips it may be pricing a job that is missing a requirement, and that kind of gap tends to delay a job after it has started.

Illustrative example: a job walk-through

For illustration, take a building with one tower crane and one climb. Erection, climbing, and dismantling give the estimate three phases. List each phase separately, identify its permit holder, and place its permit check before the planned start. Confirm the permit's coverage in writing rather than assuming one permit covers the whole sequence. Here is how to work the estimate.

Step one: list each phase on its own line. Give erection, each climb, and dismantling their own start and finish dates in the schedule. Erection goes first, and the permit gate sits in front of it.

Step two: place each climb on the schedule. Note when each climb happens and what the crane company has to do for it. Do not bury the climbs in a general "crane support" allowance. Record the crew, equipment, and duration alongside the planned climb date.

Step three: confirm whether one permit covers all phases. Read the permit's terms to see whether a single project permit covers erection, every climb, and dismantling, or whether each phase needs its own authorization. Ask the permit holder in writing and get the answer before you price.

Step four: price the teardown in full. Include the crew, equipment, and duration for dismantling, plus the permit check before teardown starts. A bid that is detailed on the build and vague on the teardown is not finished.

Step five: state the height and its source. Put the structure height from your takeoff into fields requesting that measurement under Section 341, and note how you measured it. When the owner's team asks where the number came from, you should be able to point to the method.

Turning the rules into bid line items

Here is a practical checklist for converting the rules into line items and conditions. Adjust it to your company's process and to your contractor's answers.

Separate the phases. Erection, each climb, and dismantling each get their own line in the bid, with crew, equipment, duration, and permit status.
Get the permit cost and lead time from the holder. Ask the party that will hold the permit for the cost and the processing time. Do not guess at either number. Carry the cost in the bid and the lead time in the schedule.
Add a permit milestone. Place a gate before mobilization, and identify who confirms that it has been met.
Name the holder of record. State which company holds the permit for each phase in the subcontract or in the bid's clarifications.
Use the section's height. Apply the definition to documents requesting structure height under Section 341.
Carry the operating requirements. Include time to review Sections 344.70 et seq., and note any requirement that adds scope.
Address standby and delay. Put a clause in the contract or a line in the bid for delays caused by permit timing, and explicitly agree who bears those costs.
Require a copy on site. Ask for a copy of the valid permit before the first phase starts, and keep it with the job's safety records.

Writing the permit into your proposal

Your proposal should say what the permit covers in terms the owner and the general contractor can check. Keep the language specific and tie it to the rule:

Name the company performing each phase and identify its applicable project permit.
State that mobilization depends on the permit milestone being met.
State the height figure used for planning and how it was measured, so the owner's team can compare it with their drawings.
Identify the permit cost and processing time in the price, and say who carries the risk of delay in that processing. If the owner or general contractor controls the start date, the schedule risk belongs in the contract, not in your margin.
Note that the scope includes review of Sections 344.70 et seq., and that any additional requirement found in that review will be handled through a written change.

Be careful not to promise an approval date you do not control. A proposal that states what your company will do, and what it needs from others, is easier to defend than one that guarantees the outcome of a government review. Use a construction estimate audit to review the wider bid before submission.

Common mistakes to avoid

Check your bid for these potential mistakes:

Assuming the crane company's paperwork covers your job. Request the applicable permit details during review rather than relying on a general assurance.
Treating climbing as a normal lift. Give each climb its own schedule entry and permit check.
Leaving out teardown. Compare its crew, equipment, and duration with the dismantling scope.
Measuring to the roof deck. Check the roof features before accepting the structure-height figure.
Starting the schedule before the permit. Confirm that the proposed sequence respects the permit milestone.
Skipping the operating requirements. Record the review's outcome before finalizing scope.

Your next step today

Before you finalize any California tower crane bid, read the section itself and the sections it points to. Today, send your crane contractor the questions below and record the answers against each phase in your estimate.

Questions to ask your crane contractor

Before you submit a bid on tower crane work in California, get clear answers to these questions:

Which phases will you perform yourselves, and which will you subcontract?
Which company will hold the project permit for erection, each climb, and dismantling?
Do you have the permit now? If not, what is the expected date for obtaining it?
What is the permit cost, and who pays it?
What height figure are you using, and how did you measure it?
Have you reviewed Sections 344.70 et seq. for requirements that apply to this job?
What is your standby rate if the permit or the crane is delayed?
Can you provide a copy of the valid permit before mobilization?

Each answer changes a number in your bid or a date in your schedule. A contractor who cannot answer them clearly is a contractor you should price with more contingency.

Does one project permit cover every phase?

Check the permit's terms and confirm its coverage with the holder in writing. Keep that answer with the estimate so the phase allowances reflect the agreed scope.

What should I allow for permit cost and processing time?

Ask the permit holder for both figures before finalizing the bid. Record the cost in the estimate and the lead time in the schedule rather than guessing.