STATEWIDE ZONE 0 RULE - APPROVED BY BOARD OF FORESTRY AUG 19, 2026PENDING FINAL STATE FILING - EFFECTIVE AS EARLY AS SEPT 2026SAN DIEGO'S OWN ZONE 0 RULE - ALREADY IN EFFECT7 LOCAL JURISDICTIONS NOW AHEAD OF THE STATE RULE - SEE COUNTY GUIDESTHIS IS AN INDEPENDENT TOOL, NOT AN OFFICIAL INSPECTIONCAL. CODE REGS. TIT. 10 §2644.9 - MITIGATION CREDIT ACTIVE NOWSTATEWIDE ZONE 0 RULE - APPROVED BY BOARD OF FORESTRY AUG 19, 2026PENDING FINAL STATE FILING - EFFECTIVE AS EARLY AS SEPT 2026SAN DIEGO'S OWN ZONE 0 RULE - ALREADY IN EFFECT7 LOCAL JURISDICTIONS NOW AHEAD OF THE STATE RULE - SEE COUNTY GUIDESTHIS IS AN INDEPENDENT TOOL, NOT AN OFFICIAL INSPECTIONCAL. CODE REGS. TIT. 10 §2644.9 - MITIGATION CREDIT ACTIVE NOW

Public Resources Code §4291 · AB 3074

Know where your five feet stand. AI-checked.

Start free with just your address - every problem listed, plus one fix free. Add photos for the full AI report and every fix.

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Why bother with a private check first

The official process is real, and it's more of a hassle than people expect.

Whether any of this applies to your property at all comes down to your Fire Hazard Severity Zone, and possibly a stricter local ordinance your city or county has already adopted ahead of the state - 7 jurisdictions have, so far.

$0–$260+

What an official defensible space inspection costs, depending on which of California's hundreds of local fire agencies covers your address. Many high-hazard properties already face one every year, and the statewide Zone 0 rule will widen who's on the hook once it takes effect.

1–2 wks

Typical lead time to get an official inspection scheduled - already a bottleneck under today's annual programs, and likely to get more contested for everyone once the statewide compliance deadline starts running.

30 days

Grace period most agencies give to fix a failed inspection before they come back. A private first look means you find out on your own time, not theirs.

How it works

From your address to a Zone 0 action plan.

No guesswork about defensible space requirements - see exactly where a property stands under California's Zone 0 rule, for free, then decide how deep to go.

Check your address, free
No account, no photos. An instant lookup of your property's CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) tier and SRA/LRA status - the classification that decides whether California's Zone 0 ember-resistant zone rule, or a stricter local ordinance, applies to your property at all.
Answer a few property questions, get a real result
A short survey turns that classification into an actual answer: green, yellow, or red, with every triggered defensible space problem named and cited against the real regulation text, not a generic checklist.
Go deeper, your way
Two genuinely parallel options, not a hard sell dressed up as a choice.
Path 1
Get your Photo CHECK Report
Upload guided photos and an AI model trained on the actual rule text finds every problem and gives each one a specific, code-grounded fix. Photo CHECK - $19.90, instant. Or Photo CHECK+ - $189.90, with your photos reviewed online by a member of our team within 24h.
Path 2
Get your Free CHECK Report
Every issue found at your address, named and cited, no photos needed, plus the full fix for one of them, unlocked free.
Know what's actually urgent, not just what's wrong
Every fix in the paid report is tagged with when California's Zone 0 rule actually requires it done: immediately once the rule takes effect, within 3 years, or within 3 to 5 years, the same three-tier compliance timeline the regulation itself sets. Not a flat to-do list treating a roof-debris fix and a fence replacement as equally urgent when they aren't.

Check my address

The regulation, plainly

What's actually required in those five feet.

Zone 0 is the newest, strictest part of California's defensible space requirements. The Board of Forestry's adopted rule splits it into two bands around the structure - hover or tap a band below to see what it requires.

Structure

Includes attached decks, stairs, and the space beneath them.

Safety zone, vegetation-free

1 foot from the wall or under the eaves, 2 feet from windows, doors, and vents, 5 feet around an attached deck, stairs, or pergola.

14 CCR §1298.04(b)(6) / §1299.03(d) - Board of Forestry, adopted August 19, 2026, pending final state filing.

Low-combustibility zone, out to 5 feet

Outside that inner buffer, only small non-woody plants are allowed: under 3 inches unrestricted, 3–18 inches only in limited, spaced plantings, potted plants under specified size and spacing limits.

14 CCR §1298.04(b)(7) / §1299.03(d)

What you get

Your photos catch what a checklist can't.

Free CHECK only knows what you tell it - nine self-reported answers, not a real look at your property. It's easy to eyeball a 5-foot setback wrong or miss a gap in aging vent mesh, and a violation you don't know about is still a violation against a compliance deadline that won't wait for you to notice. Photo CHECK Reports replace guesswork with real photos of your property, analyzed by AI and cross-checked against your answers, so nothing gets a pass just because you missed it.

	Free CHECK	Photo CHECK	Photo CHECK+
Price	Free	$19.90	$189.90
You get your report	Instantly	Instantly	In 24 hours
Every problem named and cited	✓	✓	✓
Full fix instructions	1 fix unlocked	✓	✓
Compliance deadline for each finding	Unlocked fix only	✓	✓
Zone 0 code requirements checked	✓	✓	✓
Local ordinance requirements checked, where we've verified your city's rules	✓	✓	✓
Flags other fire-code issues, when found	✓	✓	✓
Fire safety suggestions beyond any code requirement		✓	✓
Self-reported survey answers	✓	✓	✓
AI analysis of your photos		✓	✓
Your answers cross-checked against your photos		✓	✓
Unsure answers flagged for verification, not assumed fine		✓	✓
Report retrievable anytime via a private link		✓	✓
Reviewed by our team before delivery			✓

Where most guides fall short

Decks aren't a footnote here. They're named in the rule.

Zone 0 explicitly covers attached decks, stairs, and the void underneath them. Framing, decking material, and under-deck enclosure fall under the same five-foot rule as the walls themselves.

“Most compliance content treats decks as a footnote to landscaping. They're structural. A combustible deck attached to the house is functionally an extension of the wall, and the rule treats it that way.”
Built by a residential deck design practice, not a marketing team

Statewide coverage

All 58 California counties, one standard.

Requirements vary by jurisdiction. We track the statewide rule alongside every county and city ordinance that's already moved ahead of it. So you don't have to.

Contains a city with its own local ordinance

What this is, and isn't Zone Zero Check is an independent, AI-assisted informational tool. It is not affiliated with CAL FIRE or the State of California, and it does not satisfy the official Defensible Space Inspection required under Civil Code §1102.19 (AB 38) for a home sale. That documentation comes only from CAL FIRE or your local fire department, request it directly at fire.ca.gov/dspace. Think of this as getting ready before that visit, not a substitute for it.