A builder we know lost three weeks at final because nobody on the job could say who was responsible for the CF3R. The rater thought the contractor had scheduled it. The contractor thought the energy consultant handled “all the energy paperwork.” The inspector, correctly, would not sign off without it. Three forms, three different responsible parties — once you know which is which, this stops happening.

CF1R: the promise

The Certificate of Compliance is filed with the permit application, before anything is built. It describes the building you intend to construct — envelope, equipment, and which verification measures apply — and it is prepared by the documentation author, typically an energy consultant, then signed by the responsible designer.

There are two flavors. A prescriptive CF1R is a checklist showing you meet every mandatory and prescriptive requirement outright. A performance CF1R — the CF1R-PRF — comes out of CEC-approved software (CBECC 2025 for the current cycle) and nowhere else. You cannot type one up by hand; the form is generated from the energy model itself and carries a hash of the run that produced it. Most custom homes and anything with design tradeoffs go performance.

CF2R: the receipt

Certificates of Installation are the contractor's side of the deal. The installing contractor completes a CF2R for each relevant scope — insulation, HVAC, water heating, ducts — during construction, certifying that what went in matches what the CF1R promised. Same equipment, same efficiencies, same measures.

This is where substitutions get people. Swapping the specified heat pump for whatever the supply house had that week is not a paperwork change; if the replacement is less efficient, the CF1R may no longer be valid and the model has to be rerun. Cheaper to catch before the crane shows up.

CF3R: the check

Certificates of Verification are filled out by an independent ECC rater (the role formerly called a HERS rater) who comes to the site and measures. Duct leakage gets tested, not estimated. Insulation quality gets inspected, not assumed. The CF3R is what tells the building department that a third party confirmed the installed reality.

You can spot field-verified measures on the other forms by the -H suffix: a form ID ending in -H means an ECC rater must verify that item in the field before it counts. If your CF1R lists -H measures, a rater is part of your critical path. Book one early — in busy seasons they schedule out.

The sequence, on a real job

  • Energy consultant runs the model, generates the CF1R-PRF, registers it. Permit issues.
  • Framing and insulation go in. Insulation contractor files their CF2R; if QII applies, the rater inspects before drywall — that timing is unforgiving.
  • HVAC and water heating installed; those CF2Rs get filed.
  • Rater performs final tests, registers CF3Rs.
  • Inspector sees a complete registered set and signs off.

The forms are a chain, and each link assumes the previous one. A CF2R that contradicts the CF1R, or a missing CF3R for an -H measure, stalls the job at the worst possible moment. Jurisdictions differ in how strictly they audit the registry before final — some check every form, some spot-check — so ask your building department what they expect rather than finding out at inspection.