How to search CEQAnet for precedent
Advanced Search finds an SCH number directly, or filters by date, document type, agency, county, city, project issue and development type. For precedent, start with your document type and county, narrow to recent years, then add a project issue[3]. The codes you will use most:
- NOP: notice of preparation of a draft EIR
- NEG and MND: negative declaration and mitigated negative declaration
- EIR and FIN: draft EIR and final document
- NOE and NOD: notice of exemption and notice of determination
- EA, EIS and FON: NEPA environmental assessment, draft EIS and FONSI
How do I download CEQAnet data?
Run a search, then click Download CSV above the results; the button is the same search URL with &OutputFormat=CSV added[6]. The page lists only the latest 100 documents. The CSV has every match, one row per document with the exempt status, citation and reasons for each NOE, but only for searches under 10,000 results, so export a year month by month[7].
Exported that way, the 15,549 notices of exemption received from October 2025 to September 2026 break down as below[7][5]. Filing an NOE is optional, though it cuts the time to sue from 180 days to 35, so these are the notices agencies chose to file[8][9][10]. Cities filed 31.1%, state agencies 30.8% and counties 25.4%; the exemptions guide shows which classes they cite.
| Basis | NOEs | Share | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Categorical exemption | 11,546 | 74.3% | Class 1, existing facilities, in 60.2% |
| Ministerial | 1,565 | 10.1% | 79.4% from Kern County, nearly all oil and gas well permits |
| Statutory exemption | 1,198 | 7.7% | Most cited: broadband in rights-of-way (§21080.51), 169, nearly all Caltrans[11] |
| Common sense (§15061(b)(3))[12] | 745 | 4.8% | Filed under the status "Other" |
| Emergency | 231 | 1.5% | Emergency projects and declared emergencies |
| Other or unclear | 264 | 1.7% | Includes §15183 plan consistency and "not a project" |
What is a State Clearinghouse number (SCH#)?
The SCH number identifies a project. An EIR gets it with the notice of preparation; other projects with their first document. Later documents, the notice of determination and the Fish and Wildlife fee check carry it[4][13][14][15].
A worked lookup: SCH 2026080188 returns Sanger Unified School District's Alternative Education Campus Project in Fresno County, with two documents. The MND arrived August 7, 2026; the district approved the project September 22; the NOD was posted September 25[16][17]. The NOD record shows all six determinations, the 4.25-acre site and its parcel[17].
How the CEQA State Clearinghouse and CEQA Submit work
Agencies file through CEQA Submit; staff review each submission, publish it to CEQAnet and email a confirmation[4]. A consultant can only be a Submitter, a role the lead agency's Admin must approve[15]. Since January 1, 2024, local agencies also file NODs, and NOEs filed with the county clerk, with the Clearinghouse[4], which posts each within 24 hours for 30 days[8].
No NOD posts until the Fish and Wildlife fee is paid[15]; filing starts a 30-day window for lawsuits[10]. The Clearinghouse sends CEQA documents to state agencies for review, at least 45 days for a draft EIR and 30 for a negative declaration, and records every document it receives[2][18]. What goes to it: