Electrical Engineer for Design-Build Electrical Contractors: Review and Stamp in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego Counties
Red Dog Engineering (RDE) is the electrical engineer for design-build electrical contractors in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties, reviewing and sealing drawings your shop prepared, developing engineering documentation as required, and providing ongoing engineering support between projects.
Engineer: Jerry Poon, PE, California Electrical Engineer #20878 (verify at DCA License Search). Phone: (626) 428-9005.
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Send your drawings to jerry@reddog.engineering with the subject “Design-build review – [city].” Include the correction sheet, the utility service report, and any other relevant project documents you may have. Additionally, we can expedited review as we fully understand the importance of meeting project deadlines - tell us your submittal date and any other relevant milestones and we will say up front whether we can meet it. We will work with you to minimize delays as best as possible. Scope, turnaround, and fee follow our review of what you send.
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The service covers a city or AHJ that wants a sealed set, a correction sheet that asks for calculations or any other engineering corrections, and a GC exhibit that requires a licensed engineer.
Have a design set, a correction sheet, or a GC exhibit that needs a PE?
Send the PDF set and any correction sheet. You’ll get a written scope, turnaround, and fee.
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Or email directly: jerry@reddog.engineering
Why your C-10 signature is sometimes not enough
California Business and Professions Code section 6737.3 allows a licensed contractor to design electrical systems “for work to be performed and supervised by that contractor within the classification for which his or her license is issued.” It also states that “Nothing in this section is intended to imply that a licensed contractor may design work which is to be installed by another person.” The same section exempts a contractor that offers electrical engineering services as long as those services “are performed by, or under the responsible charge of a registered electrical or mechanical engineer.” The Board’s guide for city and county officials adds to these restrictions that the contractor “cannot subcontract the installation to another contractor.” You can think of the statute as the minimum. The city and the GC can each add to it.
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City of Los Angeles (LADBS)
In the City of Los Angeles, LAMC Section 93.0206, as amended by Ordinance No. 188739 (effective 09/23/2025), requires the plans listed in Subsection (b) of that section to “bear the signature and registration number of an appropriate State of California Civil Engineer, Structural Engineer, … Electrical Engineer or Licensed Architect.” The exception reads: “Plans and specifications required for Subdivisions 1, 2, and 4 through 9 of Subsection (b) of this section may be prepared and signed by a person holding a state license as a contractor who will perform the work.” Subdivision 12, “Engineering calculation(s) and analysis,” is not in that list. Subsection (b) also lists which work needs approved electrical plans before LADBS issues a permit. Subdivision 4 reads: “A new building or an addition to a building if the computed area exceeds 30,000 square feet (2,787 m2), any first-time tenant(s), any installation if the new total connected load exceeds 400 amperes, or the installation of equipment rated 600 amperes or more.”
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The LADBS Electrical Plan Check Correction List (PC/ELEC/Corr.Lst.08, Rev. 12/01/2022) says plans shall bear the signature of a “Registered Electrical Engineer,” a “Licensed Architect,” or a “Licensed Electrical Contractor (C-10).” The same list asks for a “short circuit analysis including motor contribution,” the “utility’s service report indicating the available fault current,” and demand load calculation “in accordance with Article 220.87.” On the service report, it adds that “A six-month commitment letter is not allowed.”
Los Angeles County (unincorporated)
For unincorporated Los Angeles County, the County’s Minimum Plan Submittal Requirements: Mechanical, Electrical, & Plumbing Permits (V1.0, 7/2000) says that load calculations and single line diagrams for all commercial/industrial projects “must be prepared by a State of California licensed electrical engineer or State licensed as an Electrical Contractor provided said Electrical Contractor performs the installation.” The same applies to load calculations for electric services greater than 200 amperes.
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Orange County cities
Orange County cities don’t all handle this the same way. Yorba Linda’s Tenant Improvements plan check requirements state: “Only plans prepared by or stamped and signed by a State of California Registered Engineer or Licensed Architect, will be accepted for all commercial projects.” Fullerton’s Plan Check Submittal Requirements (updated 09-24-21) calls for “Seal and signature by a California licensed architect or engineer” on all documents. Anaheim’s Industrial/Commercial/Multi-Family Submittal Requirements names “engineers, architects, and design/build contractors for mechanical/electrical work” as responsible professionals. In Anaheim, the reasons to bring in an engineer are the GC’s exhibit or the calculations. Some city submittal requirement sheets name only an engineer or architect. If a city’s requirements sheet doesn’t say who signs, the safest practice is to defer to the plan checker. That is the biggest reason to have an engineer named before you submit. You don’t want to find out you need one halfway through the design schedule.
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GC design-build exhibits
Some GCs set the requirement in the subcontract or project specifications. XL Construction’s Exhibit G, Design-Build Trade Subcontractor Requirements (revised 3/14/2023), requires that a design-build sub’s design to carry the stamp and signature of a professional engineer licensed in California, and requires professional liability insurance from design consultants. Red Dog Engineering carries professional liability insurance, and a certificate is available on request.
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Rules on this page were last checked against the linked documents on October 28, 2026.
How it works for a contractor shop
RDE scopes the work from the set and any other project documents you send, and then sends a written proposal with the scope, turnaround, and fee. We may need clarification if documentation is unclear, and will make sure the understood scope is covered for your project. Expedited review is also available. As we stated above, we regularly work with contractors and fully understand the important of schedules. Your shop provides field verification and any other relevant information, and RDE determines what can be relied on and what must be independently checked, revised, or re-created, returns redlines, and seals the identified sheets. The seal is electronic as standard, and 16 CCR 411 allows “an electronically-generated representation” on the documents. The Board’s guide for city and county officials notes that “Local agencies may adopt ordinances or regulations requiring “wet” stamps and/or signatures.” When a city requires them, wet-stamped originals are available by arrangement - we will make sure that your submittal meets all requirements to minimize unnecessary rounds of corrections.
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Per-project review and design packages
Many shops we have worked with start with one per-project job: a review and stamp of a set they drew, a design package, or some other form of engineering support. Per-project review and sign-off of a contractor-prepared set is covered on the Los Angeles electrical PE stamp page. When the city or the GC wants an engineer’s design, RDE prepares the package and is the engineer of record for the electrical design on your design-build project. A package covers power and lighting design, the single-line diagram, panel schedules, load calculations, feeders, equipment connections, and Title 24 lighting forms where the engineer is the designer. Related work that we have provide are on the power system studies and industrial and warehouse electrical upgrades pages.
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Engineering advisory arrangement
After a job or two, and sometimes immediately, shops can set up an engineering advisory arrangement with us. It covers RFI responses, submittal review, code questions, plan-check responses on the shop’s own documents, or any other engineering support we can help with under a monthly allowance or retainer with per-item terms beyond it. We can determine terms and then set them in a written agreement. Advisory responses can sometimes be interim documents. The Board’s guide for city and county officials says interim documents “must include the name and license number of the engineer, as well as a notation as to their intended purpose, such as ‘for review only,’ ‘not for construction,’ or ‘draft.’” Sealed documents can also be part of the arrangement or can come through a per-project scope - we will work with you on custom terms so we can be the engineer of choice for your firm.
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Remote review under California responsible-charge rules
Under 16 CCR 404.1, the engineer “shall be physically present or shall review and approve through the use of communication devices the engineering decisions prior to their implementation.” The regulation says that responsible charge “directly relates to the extent of control a professional engineer is required to maintain while exercising independent control and direction of professional engineering services or creative work.” 16 CCR 411 requires that relevant project documents be signed and sealed “in a manner such that all work can be clearly attributed to the licensee(s) in responsible charge of the work.” RDE seals only the sheets it has reviewed and taken responsibility for, and the seal identifies those sheets. The review works from the field verification, nameplates, metering data, or any other relevant project information your shop furnishes.
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Who this is for
This service is for electrical contractors in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties that design and draft their own commercial and light-industrial work or need help in developing required engineering documentation. The types of projects we support are: commercial, industrial, temp power, tenant improvements, panel and service work, and equipment connections. It also fits design-build electrical subs where project GC exhibits require a licensed engineer. One such Los Angeles design-build electrical firm started with temp-power and small-project reviews, and that work became a standing advisory arrangement. Tenant improvement design packages are covered on the tenant improvement electrical plans page.
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City of San Diego
The City of San Diego’s Plan (required) Electrical Permit page states: “The electrical plans and calculations shall be signed by a licensed electrical engineer.” It adds: “An electrical contractor can sign and stamp the electrical plans and calculations and/or Title 24 energy compliance for the lighting system only if he/she is responsible for both the design and installation of the system.” The same page says electrical plans and calculations “are required for all buildings and structures other than one-and two-family dwellings except when the installation qualifies for a no-plan permit.” On a research facility in San Diego County, RDE delivered the review and stamp first, then the design package.
Ready to send a set?
Email the PDF set, plus the correction sheet and utility service report if you have them, with the subject “Design-build review – [city].”
Or email directly: jerry@reddog.engineering
FAQ
1. We design and install our own work. When do we need a licensed electrical engineer?
Section 6737.3 lets a licensed contractor design systems “for work to be performed and supervised by that contractor within the classification for which his or her license is issued.” City rules and your GC’s subcontract can still call for an engineer. The rules for the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, San Diego, and three Orange County cities are set out above.
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2. Can you review and stamp a set our in-house drafter prepared?
Yes. Send the set. RDE determines what can be relied on and what must be independently checked, revised, or re-created, returns redlines, and seals the sheets it takes responsibility for. See the Los Angeles electrical PE stamp page.
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3. What does the advisory arrangement cover?
It covers RFI responses, submittal review for preliminary comments, code questions, and plan-check responses on your shop’s own documents, under a monthly allowance with per-item terms beyond it. Advisory responses are interim documents that carry the engineer’s name and license number. Sealed work goes through a per-project scope.
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4. Which cities and counties do you work in?
RDE works in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties, including the City of Los Angeles, unincorporated Los Angeles County, the City of San Diego, and cities across all three counties. The rules for Anaheim, Fullerton, and Yorba Linda are quoted above.
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5. Do you carry professional liability insurance?
Yes. A certificate is available on request.
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6. Can we start with one project and then set up an ongoing arrangement later?
Yes. Most shops start with one per-project job, and we have also started advisory arrangements with companies on the outset. Advisory terms are set in a written agreement and we will help craft the agreement that will work best between our companies.​
Send a Set for Review
Email the PDF set, the correction sheet, the utility service report, and any other project documentation you may be, or call (626) 428-9005. Scope, turnaround, and fee follow our review of what you send.
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Review and seal of contractor-prepared electrical drawings
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Design packages when the city or GC wants an engineer’s design
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Calculations and responses for plan-check corrections
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Ongoing advisory support for RFIs, submittals, and code questions
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Remote review; electronic seal standard, wet stamp when a city requires it
Or email directly: jerry@reddog.engineering
About the Engineer
Red Dog Engineering is led by Jerry Poon, PE, California Electrical Engineer License #20878, with 15+ years of MEP engineering and permit-driven electrical design. He has taken projects through plan check with LADBS, Los Angeles County, and cities across Los Angeles and San Diego counties, working alongside the contractors who build them.
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Jerry reviews every set he seals. He checks the calculations, single-line, and panel schedules against each other and against the field information your shop provides, marks what needs to change, and seals only what he has taken responsibility for. There is no stamp without a review.
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You deal with the engineer directly, from the first email through plan-check responses, with no account manager in between.