Structured cabling and low-voltage installation in San Francisco
Cablify installs network cabling, fiber, security cameras, access control and Wi-Fi across San Francisco, the Peninsula, Oakland and the East Bay, from SoMa fit-outs to South San Francisco labs.
- Data cabling permit
- Required in commercial buildings above 10 cables
- DBI fee
- $283 for 11 to 500 cables, one inspection
- Fire alarm
- C-10 license plus a fire alarm certificate
- Radio coverage
- SFFD permit and lab certification
San Francisco permits most data cabling
Los Angeles exempts most power-limited communication wiring from permits. San Francisco does not. Its Electrical Code exempts data and communications cabling only in small residential units, so in offices, labs and stores DBI permits and inspects it.
DBI’s 2025 fee table bills the work by cable count. Up to 10 cables is exempt. From 11 to 500 cables the permit is $283 with one inspection, plus $68 for each additional 100. Security systems are billed by component, including devices tied to life safety.
Fire alarm installers need a C-10 license and a fire alarm electrician certificate under the San Francisco Fire Code. The 2025 San Francisco Fire Code and SFFD’s 2025 bulletins took effect on January 1, 2026.
State licensing is the same across California. See the California licensing table on our Los Angeles page.
Emergency responder radio coverage
San Francisco requires firefighter radio coverage inside new high-rises, and most new low-rise buildings need a coverage test. Only one-story buildings under 12,000 square feet with no basement are exempt from the test.
- Running a system needs an SFFD operational permit
- Each system needs a certificate from a nationally recognized testing lab, posted at the amplifier
- The installing vendor must hold SFFD’s ERCES certification
- Coverage targets are stricter in critical areas, with battery backup and fire-rated cable
We plan the rooms, risers and pathways the system needs and coordinate with your certified radio coverage vendor, so the cabling and the coverage test are not fighting over the same shaft.
Around the bay
The metro runs from Financial District towers to biotech campuses and the Port of Oakland.
| Area | What is there | What the work involves |
|---|---|---|
| SoMa and South Financial District | AI companies leasing whole buildings, including Anthropic’s 2026 lease of all 25 floors of 300 Howard Street | Full-building fit-outs with dense drops, Wi-Fi on every floor and IDFs stacked through the core |
| Mission Bay | UCSF’s hospitals and research buildings, life sciences tenants and OpenAI’s offices | Hospital schedules, lab suites with badge access, and fiber between buildings |
| South San Francisco | More than 250 biotech companies and about 12 million square feet of biotech space, with Genentech there since 1976 | Lab networks for instruments, cameras on loading areas, and access control on every suite |
| Oakland and Emeryville | Downtown offices, the Port of Oakland and Oakland International Airport | Warehouse Wi-Fi, yard and gate cameras, and office fit-outs |
| Tri-Valley | About 27 million square feet of suburban office in Pleasanton, San Ramon and Dublin, including Bishop Ranch | Campus fiber between buildings and phased upgrades in occupied offices |
| Carrier hotels | 200 Paul Avenue and 365 Main Street, where dozens of networks interconnect | Fiber to your demarc, with cross connects ordered through the facility |
Older buildings and night work
Much of San Francisco’s office stock is older than the cabling standards it now has to meet.
Retrofitted masonry
A 1992 ordinance required more than 2,000 unreinforced masonry buildings to be retrofitted. Drilling through new steel, shear walls and brick takes coring plans agreed with the owner first.
Landmark buildings
Most permitted exterior work on a city landmark needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from Planning, so exterior cameras and conduit on historic facades are planned early.
Night work
Normal construction hours run from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Night work needs a DBI night noise permit and 10 business days’ notice to residents within 300 feet.
Vacancy is falling where AI is growing. CBRE put San Francisco office vacancy at 27.7% in the third quarter of 2026, with about 1.3 million square feet of positive net absorption. By JLL’s count, AI companies now occupy roughly a tenth of the city’s office space.
Common questions
Do I need a permit for network cabling in San Francisco?
In commercial buildings, yes, once the job is more than 10 cables. DBI bills the permit by cable count and inspects the work. We include the permit in the quote.
Do you cover Oakland and the Peninsula?
Yes. Our San Francisco market covers the metro area: Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley, Fremont, Hayward and Walnut Creek in the East Bay, and South San Francisco and San Mateo on the Peninsula.
Can you prepare a building for radio coverage?
We install the pathways, rooms and power-limited cabling a radio coverage system needs and coordinate with your SFFD-certified vendor, who designs, tests and certifies the system.
Can you work at night in an occupied building?
Yes, within the building’s rules and the city’s noise rules. Night work in San Francisco needs a DBI night noise permit, which we arrange with notice to neighbors.
Request a quote in San Francisco
Send the address, building type and what you need installed. For sites around the bay, list each address.