California · city · ERRCS / BDA requirements
ERRCS and BDA requirements in San Francisco, California
In San Francisco every new building needs approved radio coverage. New low-rise buildings are tested after construction and get a system if they fail; one-story buildings of 12,000 sq ft or less with no basement are excepted. Every new high-rise must have a system. Existing high-rises without a wired fire department phone system must test and, if they fail, install a system within 3 years. Every system must be certificated.
Guidance, not engineering advice. Rules on this page come from the documents listed under Sources. Confirm with San Francisco Fire Department, Bureau of Fire Prevention and Investigation before you design, permit or test a system.
Who must comply
State rules apply here too. See California statewide rules.
| Rule | Effect | Citation | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| New one-story buildings of 12,000 sq ft or less with no below-ground (basement) areas do not need a coverage test or an ERCES. | Not required | SFFD AB 2.01 Addendum G, I.A Exception | San Francisco Fire Department, Bureau of Fire Prevention and Investigation |
| All new high-rise buildings must have an ERCES. A wired phone-jack system is not allowed in place of it. | Must meet | SFFD AB 2.01 Addendum G, I.B | San Francisco Fire Department, Bureau of Fire Prevention and Investigation |
| All new buildings must have approved communication coverage for emergency responders. New low-rise buildings get a coverage test after construction; if it fails, an ERCES must be installed. | Must meet | SFFD AB 2.01 Addendum G, I.A (2025 SFFC 510.1, 510.1.1) | San Francisco Fire Department, Bureau of Fire Prevention and Investigation |
| Existing high-rise buildings without a wired fire department phone-jack system must run a communication test. If it fails, an ERCES must be installed within a maximum of 3 years of the test date. | AHJ may require | SFFD AB 2.01 Addendum G, I.D (2025 CFC 1103.7.9.8) | San Francisco Fire Department, Bureau of Fire Prevention and Investigation |
| Existing buildings that need a building permit for a change of occupancy must have coverage and a coverage test, unless they have an operational wired phone-jack system. One-story buildings of 12,000 sq ft or less with no basement, and Type 5 buildings of 3 stories or less with no basement, do not need the test. | Note | SFFD AB 2.01 Addendum G, I.C | San Francisco Fire Department, Bureau of Fire Prevention and Investigation |
| All ERCES must be certificated by an OSHA Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory program organization, and owners must obtain a certificate for every existing ERCES. The certificate placard goes on or near the BDA. | Note | SFFD AB 3.04 (2025), I.2 and II | San Francisco Fire Department, Bureau of Fire Prevention and Investigation |
| Trigger | Published value |
|---|---|
| Minimum building size | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Minimum stories | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Height trigger | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Below-grade areas | True |
| Building types named | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Existing buildings must retrofit | Yes |
| Compliance deadline | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
San Francisco now calls these systems ERCES (Emergency Responder Communications Enhancement Systems). The 2025 administrative bulletins are effective January 1, 2026.
Signal and coverage
| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| Minimum downlink signal | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Minimum uplink signal | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Delivered audio quality (DAQ) | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Coverage, general areas | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
| Coverage, critical areas | 99% of floor area |
| Critical areas named | All critical areas, including all elevator cars |
| Public safety radio bands | Not published; confirm with the fire marshal |
The bulletin says signal strength must meet the 2025 California Fire Code and 2022 NFPA 1225, and requires 99% coverage (strength and DAQ) in all critical areas including every elevator car (NFPA 1225 Section 18.8.3). Frequencies come from the City's radio frequency and signal booster management form (SFDT). Each signal booster with a donor antenna needs a remote connection that lets the City disable and re-enable its uplink.
Testing
| Test | What the source says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Acceptance test | Coverage tests must be certified by a licensed FCC General Radio Operator or an approved third-party testing agency, use a grid test with signal strength and DAQ in each grid, and be inspected after the City's Department of Technology signs off. SFFD fire and DBI electrical inspectors run the acceptance test. | SFFD AB 2.01 Addendum G, I.E and II.L.3 |
| Annual test | SFFD's sample annual certification sticker, placed on or near the BDA, records the month and year tested, the company, its license number and the technician. | SFFD AB 3.04 (2025), annual label |
| Five-year test | Not published in the documents we read; confirm with the fire marshal. | None found |
| Coverage assessment interval | Not published in the documents we read; confirm with the fire marshal. | None found |
Maintenance and monitoring
- Signal booster and its UPS go in a 2-hour rated room (or a NEMA-4 rooftop enclosure with cooling), not inside the Fire Command Center.
- Batteries must provide at least 12 hours at 100 percent capacity (2025 CFC 510.4.2.3, as quoted in the required plan notes).
- A dedicated LED annunciator panel shows eight trouble conditions, including low battery at 70 percent of the 12-hour capacity and oscillation.
- An emergency power-off means is required, inside the Fire Command Center where there is one.
Permit and inspection process
- Use an ERCES contractor with UL (or other OSHA NRTL) vendor certification and put the certification on the permit plans. SFFD AB 3.04 (2025), I.1
- Get the City's radio frequency and signal booster management form from the Department of Technology and include it on the ERCES permit plans. SFFD AB 2.01 Addendum G, II.P
- Put the required verbatim notes on the ERCES permit plans and contact the Department of Technology before positioning the donor antenna. SFFD AB 2.01 Addendum G, II.T
- Rough-in inspection of cables before walls close, then acceptance test by SFFD and DBI. Provide the FCC test certificate and report before scheduling. SFFD AB 2.01 Addendum G, II.L.2-3 and II.T
Codes and standards referenced
Notes
Read in the 2025 SFFD administrative bulletins (effective January 1, 2026; AB 2.01 updated 8/16/2026, AB 3.04 updated 5/13/2026). Earlier SFFD bulletins set certification deadlines for existing systems in 2023.
Questions people ask
Does an existing San Francisco high-rise have to add an ERCES?
If it has no wired fire department phone-jack system, it must run a communication test. If the test fails, it must install an ERCES within a maximum of 3 years of the test date (SFFD AB 2.01 Addendum G, I.D).
What is ERCES certification in San Francisco?
A serially numbered certificate from an OSHA-recognized listing organization. New systems need one and owners must obtain one for every existing system (SFFD AB 3.04).
Sources
Primary documents we read for this page. Rules change; confirm with your fire marshal (AHJ).
- Administrative Bulletin 2.01, Fire Alarm and Signaling Systems Submittals (2025), Addendum G: Emergency Responder Radio Coverage Systems (ERCES/ERRCS), San Francisco Fire Department, Bureau of Fire Prevention and Investigation
- Administrative Bulletin 3.04, Emergency Responder Communications Enhancement System (ERCES) Certification (2025), San Francisco Fire Department, Bureau of Fire Prevention and Investigation
- Administrative Bulletins - 2025 (index; bulletins effective January 1, 2026), San Francisco Fire Department