Title 24 Cool Roofs and Fire-Rated Materials in Los Angeles: What Homeowners Need to Know Before Reroofing

If you've started researching a reroof in Los Angeles and run into the phrase "Title 24," you're not alone — and you're not wrong to want a plain-language explanation before you commit to a material. Unlike most of the roofing advice online, which is written for a generic national audience, Title 24 and California's wildfire-related fire-rating rules are specific to this state, and in some cases specific to your exact property. This guide walks through what each requirement actually means, when it applies, and how it should factor into your material decision — grounded in the actual code language, not marketing copy from a single manufacturer.

None of this is legal or code-determination advice — the official word on what applies to your specific address always comes from the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety or your local building department. What we can do is give you an accurate starting point so you walk into that conversation, or into ours, already understanding the basics.

What Is Title 24, in Plain English

Title 24 is the section of California's building code that covers energy efficiency — it's not roofing-specific, it covers everything from insulation to windows to HVAC. The piece that affects roofing is the "cool roof" requirement: a rule that new and replacement roofing on qualifying buildings has to reflect a minimum amount of sunlight and re-emit absorbed heat, rather than soaking it up and passing it into the building below. The idea is straightforward — a roof that stays cooler in direct sun reduces how hard your air conditioning has to work, which reduces both your electricity bill and demand on the regional power grid during the hottest part of summer afternoons, historically when the grid is most strained.

The current version of these standards is the 2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Title 24, Part 6), which took effect January 1, 2026, and applies to new construction, additions, and alterations — including roof recoverings — on single-family residential, multifamily, and nonresidential buildings, according to the Cool Roof Rating Council's summary of the California Energy Code.

Cool Roof Performance Requirements

The specific numbers depend on your roof's slope:

• Steep-slope roofs (most residential shingle and tile roofs) need a minimum aged solar reflectance of 0.20 and thermal emittance of 0.75.
• Low-slope roofs (flat and near-flat commercial and residential roofs) need a higher minimum aged solar reflectance of 0.63, with the same 0.75 emittance requirement.

In practice, this is why so much TPO roofing is white or light gray — that's not a style choice, it's the easiest way to hit the low-slope reflectance number. For steep-slope roofs, manufacturers now produce "cool" versions of standard-looking asphalt shingles and tile in ordinary colors, using reflective granule or coating technology, so meeting the requirement doesn't necessarily mean your roof has to look different from a conventional one.

When Title 24 Actually Applies to a Reroof

Cool roof requirements for steep-slope residential re-roofing specifically apply in California's climate zones 10 through 15 — the hottest inland, desert, and Southern California zones, where the cooling-energy savings from a reflective roof are largest. A meaningful share of the greater Los Angeles area, especially inland from the coast, falls within these zones, which is exactly why this isn't a theoretical concern for a lot of our customers. Low-slope reroofing has its own, broader set of triggers. The exact determination depends on your specific climate zone and project scope, which your contractor or building department can confirm.

Ways to Comply Without a Reflective Roof

If you'd rather not be limited to reflective roofing colors, Title 24 offers a few alternate compliance paths. A cool roof isn't required if your home already meets one of the following: at least R-38 ceiling insulation, a radiant barrier installed in the attic, or roof deck insulation with a thermal resistance of at least R-2. In other words, if your attic is already well-insulated, you may not need a reflective roofing material at all to stay compliant — worth checking before you assume a cool roof is mandatory for your project.

Class A Fire Ratings & Chapter 7A

Separate from Title 24's energy focus, California Building Code Chapter 7A governs construction — including roofing — in designated Fire Hazard Severity Zones, part of the state's wildland-urban interface (WUI) building requirements. Per the California Building Code text hosted on UpCodes, roof coverings in these zones must carry a Class A fire rating, tested to ASTM E108 or UL 790 standards — the highest fire classification available for roofing assemblies. If your property falls within a designated zone, all new roofs and re-roofs generally need Class A materials, ember-resistant vents, and other ignition-resistant construction details. Wood shakes and wood shingles are explicitly prohibited in these zones, even Class A-treated versions.

Not every LA property sits inside a mapped Fire Hazard Severity Zone — Downtown's dense urban core, for instance, is a different risk profile than hillside and canyon-adjacent neighborhoods. But given how much of greater Los Angeles County does fall within these zones, and how consequential wildfire-adjacent risk is regardless of the exact mapped boundary, we treat Class A performance as a meaningful factor in material selection even when it isn't strictly mandated by your specific address.

How Material Choice Intersects With Both Codes

Here's the practical summary, material by material:

• Class 4 asphalt shingle — modern products are available in Class A fire-rated, cool-roof-compliant versions, making this a genuinely flexible option that checks both boxes without a major cost jump over standard shingle. See our shingle & tile roofing page.
• Clay & concrete tile — naturally noncombustible and typically Class A rated as an assembly; cool-roof compliance depends on the specific glaze or finish, which we'll confirm for your chosen profile.
• Standing-seam metal — noncombustible, almost always Class A rated, and reflective metal finishes are a strong fit for cool-roof compliance in hot inland climate zones. See our metal roofing page.
• TPO (flat/low-slope) — reflective by default in its standard white/light-gray form, which is exactly why it's the go-to low-slope compliance material for Downtown's commercial and multi-family flat roofs. See our flat roofing page.

The Insurance Angle

Beyond code compliance, both Class A fire rating and impact-resistant (Class 4) materials are increasingly relevant to homeowners insurance in California, where some carriers have tightened underwriting in wildfire-adjacent areas. Discount availability and eligibility vary significantly by carrier, and this isn't something we can promise on your behalf — but it's worth a direct conversation with your insurance agent before you finalize a material choice, especially if Class A performance wasn't otherwise required for your property.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Title 24 apply to every reroof in Los Angeles?

Not every single one — it depends on your building type, roof slope, and climate zone, and there are compliance alternatives like sufficient attic insulation or a radiant barrier. But a large share of LA reroofing projects are affected, so it's worth confirming during your inspection rather than assuming it doesn't apply to you.

What's the difference between Title 24 and Chapter 7A fire requirements?

They're separate systems that sometimes overlap. Title 24 is an energy code focused on heat reflectivity to reduce cooling demand. Chapter 7A is a life-safety fire code focused on ember and flame resistance in wildfire-prone areas. A roof can need to satisfy one, both, or neither depending on your specific property and location.

Is my property in a fire hazard severity zone?

Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps are set by CAL FIRE and local jurisdictions and can be looked up by address. We can help you understand what zone designation means for your reroofing project during a free inspection, though the official determination comes from your local building department.

Do cool roofs actually make a noticeable difference indoors?

Yes, especially in attics and top-floor rooms under a dark, low-reflectivity roof. Reducing the amount of solar heat the roofing material absorbs in the first place reduces how much heat has to be removed by your HVAC system afterward.