FAQs

• 8-30 characters  
  
• Must contain at least one upper case letter 
• Must contain at least one lower case letter 
• Must contain at least one number
• Must contain at least one special character (!@#$%,etc.) 

After five failed consecutive attempts to provide the password your account will be blocked. To recover your account, please call Customer Service at (650) 329-2161 or email at UtilitiesCustomerService@cityofpaloalto.org to help with the account recovery process. Emails will be answered within two business days.

Please call Customer Service at (650) 329-2161 or contact us via email at UtilitiesCustomerService@cityofpaloalto.org. Emails will be answered within two business days.

To add or delete payment mode(s):

1. Navigate to the 'My Account' module
2. View the 'Payment Information' tab for the list of payment modes associated with that account
3. Click 'Add mode of payment' and provide valid mandatory information to add payment method of your choice
4. To delete a pay method, click the 'X' icon adjacent to the listed payment 

1. Go to Billing 
2. Click ‘Pay’, and provide the amount of the payment
3. Under select your payment method choose new payment method 
4. Enter the new payment information and select next to submit the payment

When paying by checking account, whether one time or recurring; the funds will be withdrawn 5 days prior to the due date.

1. Navigate to 'History' in 'Billing' module
2. Select 'Billing' or 'Payment' hyperlinks to view the following billing/payment details:

• Bill Statement
• Payments  
• View Bill - to download the bill in PDF format
• Export to Excel to view list in an editable format

You can choose the address from the 'Select the address' drop down on the tool bar.

If you wish to select a different default account to display upon the initial log in

1. Navigate to 'Property Address' in 'My Account' module  
2. Select the address as default using the radio button and save the information

To receive notifications from the utility, please follow the steps given:

1. Navigate to 'Notification Preferences' in 'My Account' module 
2. Select the check boxes and email address (if you have an alternate email address) to enable notifications which you want to receive 
3. Click 'Save' to save the changes made.  

All the utility correspondences in the form of email will be received in 'Notifications' module. You can access the emails in the inbox and respond to the emails via this module. 

• A Refuse Debit or Credit
• An adjustment to the cost charged for a service
• A Rebate
• An Engineering Fee

You may decide to withdraw from participating in the paperless billing program at any time without penalty. If you wish to cancel your participation in this program, please go to the Settings page and uncheck the Paperless Billing option.

When you enroll in paperless billing you will be asked how you want CPAU to notify you that your online bill is available for viewing and payment. Once you have selected your notification preference, CPAU will notify you as per your selected preference. If you do not receive your email notification from CPAU please verify the notification is not in your SPAM, JUNK or BULK mail folders. The email notification is sent as a reminder to view your bill. Be sure to add our email address of noreply@cityofpaloalto.org  to your approved senders list so your Internet Service Provider will accept these monthly email reminders.