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Automotive Refinishing Operations

​​​​​​​Automotive refinishing operations refers to the application of coatings to automotive, truck or heavy equipment. Automotive refinishing operations can occur with or without a paint spray booth.


​Who Needs a Permit?

A Permit is required for all automotive refinishing operations performe​​d with or without a paint spray booth that either:

  • Has not been granted a NESHAP 6H exemption from EPA

  • Use more than one gallon of coatings and solvents combined during any one day

  • Each paint spray booth will be permitted individually

  • VOC content data for all coatings and solvents not exempted below shall be supplied from a manufacturer’s, Product Data Sheet, MSDS, etc., unless the Sac Metro Air District has received a Product Data Report from the manufacturer for the products. It is the applicant’s responsibility to supply the data or ensure that the data is provided to the Sac Metro Air District

  • All coating operations are required to obtain a permit unless the Air Pollution Control Officer issues a written exemption letter.

  • Combustion based heating and drying equipment:​  Must be permitted with the booth when used in the coating operation if the material to be heated comes in direct contact with the products of combustion

  • Air pollution control devices and combustion equipment:​ Except as exempted above in section d. (dryers, etc.), equipment must be permitted separately from the coating operation when directly associated with the coating operation.​​


Permit Fees

All permit fees are based on District Rule 301 .

When applying for a permit through Online Services, the appropriate Permit Fee schedule will be automatically determined based upon the selection of the General Equipment Description. If you wish to see what the fees are for new equipment prior to applying, please use the following schedules in the Permit Fee Schedule to determine the initial application fee:

  • Coating Operations with a paint spray booth:  Please use Schedule 1 to determine the initial application fee. The application fee is based upon the rated horsepower of the exhaust fan on the booth.
  • Coating Operations without a paint spray booth:  Please use Schedule 9 to determine the initial application fee.
  • Coating Operations with a paint spray booth and associated dryer: Ple​ase refer to Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 and use the schedule that results in the higher fee. The application fee for Schedule 1 is based upon the rated horsepower of the exhaust fan on the booth. The application fee for Schedule 2 is based upon the maximum rated heat input expressed in BTUs per hour.

For questions regarding the application fee, please email permitting@airquality.org  or call 279-207-1122.​


How to Apply for a Permit

All permit applications must be completed and submitted electronically through the Online Services customer portal.

When applying for a permit through Online Services, the equipment must be categorized by both a General and Specific description. The following categories may be selected when applying for Automotive Refinishing Operations​:

General Equipment Description​Associated Specific Description
Coating - Auto Body
Paint Spray​ Booth
Paint Spray Prep Station
Paint​ Spray Unconfined​

Permit applications must be completed and submitted electronically through the Online Services portal. All applications must be submitted with the appropriate fee in order to be processed. Application fees may be paid directly through the Online Services portal. Pay t​he application fee when you submit your application for fastest processing time. Applications submitted without payment will be cancelled if payment is not received within two weeks of submitting the application.

To contact Permitting staff please call 279-207-1122 or email permitting@airquality.org.​​

Documents / Forms

Related Rules

Rule Date Last Amended
Permitting Page
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