Most accessibility consultants won't answer this question. Here's a real answer.

The honest short version is that it depends on the property — but you can budget for it, and the drivers aren't mysterious. What follows is what my work actually costs, so you can decide whether to make the call.

What drives the price

Square footage and the number of buildings. Parking count and how much of the site sits on an accessible route. How much of the property is exterior — sidewalks, curb ramps, and parking take longer than interior space. The amount of documentation and photography the report requires. And travel: a site an hour from Sacramento costs less to inspect than one three hours out, regardless of the building.

CASp inspection — typical ranges

Small single-tenant commercial, such as a restaurant, retail suite, or small office: $2,500 to $3,500.

Service stations and convenience stores: $3,500 to $4,500.

Multi-building or large commercial sites: $5,000 to $10,000.

Public agency and institutional properties: $8,000 to $12,000.

Travel is billed separately and can move any of these.

Reports prepared in accordance with CRASCA cost more than the ranges above, because the reporting requirements are more involved.

Accessibility plan review

Commercial projects covering architectural and civil review: $2,500 to $6,000 per review cycle. Most projects go through more than one cycle, so budget for the number of plan checks your jurisdiction requires.

Multifamily residential: $6,000 to $20,000 and up, driven by unit count, the required percentage of accessible units, and the number of plan check rounds.

Opinion and code letters

$500 minimum, with no upper limit. Cost depends on the research required, how involved the letter becomes, and whether it's written in a CASp capacity or as expert witness work.

Hourly rates

Commercial and private clients: $285 per hour.

Public agency and institutional: $310 per hour.

Litigation and expert services: $375 per hour.

Rates current as of 2026 and subject to change.

Why get a CASp inspection at all

Two ways to do this, and they're not the same

A CASp inspection can be done two ways, and the choice affects both your cost and your exposure.

The CRASCA route. A report prepared in accordance with CRASCA gives a property owner "qualified defendant" status. If a construction-related accessibility claim is filed, that means a 90-day stay of proceedings and an early evaluation conference, and statutory damages reduced to $1,000 per occasion where the violation is corrected within 60 days. Businesses with 50 or fewer employees over the past three years can elect to achieve compliance within 120 days and receive a grace period from liability for the violations identified.

Those are real protections. But the route has costs beyond the fee. The inspection is registered with DSA and appears on a public list. A Disability Access Inspection Certificate goes near your entrance. The reporting requirements are more involved, which means the report costs more to produce.

There's also a practical problem with the timelines. The statutory damages reduction requires the violation corrected within 60 days. On paper that sounds workable. In practice, correcting a barrier often means hiring an engineer, producing drawings, pulling a permit, scheduling a contractor, and passing inspection. Anyone who has taken a project through a building department knows 60 days is optimistic for that sequence, and the 90-day stay doesn't buy much room either. The protections are real, but collecting them is harder than it looks.

The route I usually recommend. A thorough inspection and written report from a CASp, delivered to your attorney rather than filed with the state. You get the same findings — every barrier, every measurement, every code citation — and because the report goes to counsel, it's covered by attorney-client privilege. Nothing is registered. Nothing is posted. Nobody knows the inspection happened except you and your lawyer.

To be clear about the trade: this report does not confer qualified defendant status. You don't get the 90-day stay or the statutory damages reduction. What you get is a complete picture of your property's problems, documentation of good-faith effort, and the ability to fix things on a realistic schedule — while keeping the document privileged.

In my experience, and in the view of attorneys I've worked with, an owner who has done a real inspection and acted on it is in far better shape than one who did nothing, whether or not the report carries the CRASCA designation.

Which path makes sense depends on your property, your risk, and your counsel's advice. I'll do either. Ask me and I'll tell you what I'd do in your position.

Getting a number for your property

Send me the address, the approximate square footage, and what's on the site. I'll give you a fixed price, not an hourly estimate that grows.

Stephen Twist, CASp #393 | ICC Certified Plans Examiner
530-333-5118 | stwist@stci.hush.com