Get a defensible answer in minutes, not hours or even weeks.
SCAQMD Rule 219 has 41 pages of exemptions, nested conditions, and hidden dependencies. Our tool guides you through the analysis—so you know before you install, not after.
Check Your Equipment — FreeFree to use. No account required to start.
You're installing new equipment. Someone asks: "Do we need an air permit for this?"
So you try to figure it out. You pull up Rule 219 and start reading—41 pages covering 150+ equipment types, each with its own nested conditions, cross-references, exemptions that depend on other exemptions, and exceptions to the exemptions. After an hour, you're more confused than when you started.
Maybe you call the district. You wait on hold. You get an answer, but it raises more questions. Or you get transferred. Or you're told to submit an application and they'll let you know.
Maybe you hire a consultant. That's thousands of dollars and weeks of waiting for what should be a straightforward question.
Or maybe you just install the equipment and hope for the best. That's how 955 facilities ended up in SCAQMD's backlog.
955 minor source applications are currently pending for equipment that was installed or modified without a Permit to Construct. This is the largest portion of SCAQMD's aged application inventory. The district has noted this "creates challenges when staff tries to verify compliance if pre-construction review is bypassed"—and is now evaluating potential permit denials for facilities that bypassed pre-construction review.
Source: SCAQMD Permit Streamlining Task Force, December 2025
And even if your application isn't denied, there's another problem: permit requirements are evaluated at the time of issuance, not installation. That equipment you installed two years ago? It gets evaluated against today's emission standards, control technology requirements, and health risk thresholds. If it can't meet current requirements, you may be forced to retrofit or remove equipment you've already paid for and put into service.
This is why understanding your requirements before you purchase matters. Getting it wrong doesn't just mean paperwork—it means delays when you're trying to move into a new facility, expansion plans put on hold while you wait for permit resolution, and unbudgeted costs that blow up your project financials. A 10-minute analysis now can prevent months of headaches later.
Most Rule 219 exemptions aren't standalone. They depend on other exemptions, which depend on still other conditions. Miss one link in the chain and your "exempt" equipment suddenly requires a permit.
This isn't complexity for its own sake. It's 47 years of amendments layered on top of each other. Understanding it requires mapping every cross-reference, carve-back, and nested condition.
We did that.
Rule 219 is 41 pages of nested conditions and hidden dependencies. We've spent years learning how this rule is structured, interpreted, and applied in the real world. Then we built an AI-powered app that actually understands it.
We mapped every provision in Rule 219(d). Every cross-reference. Every nested condition. Every carve-back. Every exemption dependency. The tool walks you through the analysis conversationally—asking only the questions that matter for your specific equipment.
SCAQMD amends Rule 219 periodically—most recently in April 2023. We monitor rule changes and update our analysis accordingly, so you're always working with current requirements, not yesterday's exemptions.
The tool knows that (d)(12)(K) depends on (d)(2)(C). It checks the prerequisites automatically.
Describe your equipment normally: "2 MMBtu natural gas boiler" or "powder coating cure oven." We classify it.
If your exemption triggers a filing requirement, you'll know—before you miss the 30-day deadline.
Results include specific rule references: (d)(2)(C), (d)(9)(H), (e)(1)(A). Documentation you can defend.
Tell us what you're installing in plain language. The tool classifies it into the appropriate Rule 219 category.
We ask only what matters: fuel type, capacity, operating conditions. No irrelevant paperwork.
Permit required, Rule 222 filing, or exempt—with the specific rule citations to support it.
Quick screening before capital projects move forward. Know what's required at the planning stage.
Equipment changeouts and modifications often trigger permit reviews. Check before you install.
Speed up initial assessments for clients. Generate documented determinations efficiently.
Triage incoming requests. Identify which equipment needs full applications vs. exemption filings.
955 facilities installed equipment without checking first. Now SCAQMD is evaluating potential permit denials. Don't be next.
Check Your Equipment — FreeResults in minutes. Includes rule citations. For complex situations, our consulting team is available.
