Do I need a building permit for my project?

This section guides you to your local building department. There are numerous building departments in California.

According to the California Building Standards Code, no building or structure may be erected, constructed, enlarged, altered, repaired, moved, improved, removed, converted or demolished unless a separate permit for each building or structure has first been obtained from the building official.

Code requirements vary in different cities and counties around the state. Check with your local building department to find out what's needed in your area. You may want to check city, county and/or town if necessary. See the links below to those agencies.

Building Departments

City Building Departments

County Building Departments

Town Building Departments

City Building Departments

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y

A
City of Adelanto
City of Agoura Hills
City of Alameda
City of Albany
City of Alhambra
City of Aliso Viejo
City of Alturas
City of Amador
City of American Canyon
City of Anaheim
City of Anderson
City of Angels Camp
City of Antioch
City of Arcadia
City of Arcata
City of Arroyo Grande
City of Artesia
City of Arvin
City of Atascadero
City of Atwater
City of Auburn
City of Avalon
City of Avenal
City of Azusa

B
City of Bakersfield
City of Baldwin Park
City of Banning
City of Barstow
City of Beaumont
City of Bell
City of Bell Gardens
City of Bellflower
City of Belmont
City of Belvedere
City of Benicia
City of Berkeley
City of Beverly Hills
City of Big Bear Lake
City of Biggs
City of Bishop
City of Blue Lake
City of Blythe
City of Bradbury
City of Brawley
City of Brea
City of Brentwood
City of Brisbane
City of Buellton
City of Buena Park
City of Burbank
City of Burlingame

C
City of Calabasas
City of Calexico
City of California City
City of Calimesa
City of Calipatria
City of Calistoga
City of Camarillo
City of Campbell
City of Canyon Lake
City of Capitola
City of Carlsbad
City of Carmel-by-the-Sea
City of Carpinteria
City of Carson
City of Cathedral City
City of Ceres
City of Cerritos
City of Chico
City of Chino
City of Chino Hills
City of Chowchilla
City of Chula Vista
City of Citrus Heights
City of Claremont
City of Clayton
City of Clearlake
City of Cloverdale
City of Clovis
City of Coachella
City of Colfax
City of Colton
City of Colusa
City of Commerce
City of Compton
City of Concord
City of Corcoran
City of Corning
City of Corona
City of Coronado
City of Costa Mesa
City of Cotati
City of Covina
City of Crescent City
City of Cudahy
City of Culver City
City of Cupertino
City of Cypress

D
City of Daly City
City of Dana Point
City of Davis
City of Del Mar
City of Del Rey Oaks
City of Delano
City of Desert Hot Springs
City of Diamond Bar
City of Dinuba
City of Dixon
City of Dorris
City of Dos Palos
City of Downey
City of Duarte
City of Dublin

E
City of Eastvale
City of El Cajon
City of El Centro
City of El Cerrito
City of El Monte
City of El Segundo
City of Elk Grove
City of Emeryville
City of Encinitas
City of Escalon
City of Escondido
City of Etna
City of Eureka
City of Exeter

F
City of Fairfield
City of Farmersville
City of Ferndale
City of Fillmore
City of Firebaugh
City of Folsom
City of Fontana
City of Fort Bragg
City of Fort Jones
City of Fortuna
City of Foster City
City of Fountain Valley
City of Fowler
City of Fremont
City of Fresno
City of Fullerton

G
City of Galt
City of Garden Grove
City of Gardena
City of Gilroy
City of Glendale
City of Glendora
City of Goleta
City of Gonzales
City of Grand Terrace
City of Grass Valley
City of Greenfield
City of Gridley
City of Grover Beach
City of Guadalupe
City of Gustine

H
City of Half Moon Bay
City of Hanford
City of Hawaiian Gardens
City of Hawthorne
City of Hayward
City of Healdsburg
City of Hemet
City of Hercules
City of Hermosa Beach
City of Hesperia
City of Hidden Hills
City of Highland
City of Hollister
City of Hughson
City of Huntington Beach
City of Huntington Park
City of Huron

I
City of Imperial
City of Imperial Beach
City of Indian Wells
City of Indio
City of Industry
City of Inglewood
City of Ione
City of Irvine
City of Irwindale
City of Isleton

J
City of Jackson
City of Jurupa Valley

K
City of Kerman
City of King City
City of Kingsburg

L
City of La Canada Flintridge
City of La Habra
City of La Habra Heights
City of La Mesa
City of La Mirada
City of La Palma
City of La Puente
City of La Quinta
City of La Verne
City of Lafayette
City of Laguna Beach
City of Laguna Hills
City of Laguna Niguel
City of Laguna Woods
City of Lake Elsinore
City of Lake Forest
City of Lakeport
City of Lakewood
City of Lancaster
City of Larkspur
City of Lathrop
City of Lawndale
City of Lemon Grove
City of Lemoore
City of Lincoln
City of Lindsay
City of Live Oak
City of Livermore
City of Livingston
City of Lodi
City of Loma Linda
City of Lompoc
City of Lomita
City of Long Beach
City of Los Alamitos
City of Los Altos
City of Los Angeles
City of Los Banos
City of Loyalton
City of Lynwood

M
City of Madera
City of Malibu
City of Mammoth Lakes
City of Manhattan Beach
City of Manteca
City of Maricopa
City of Marina
City of Martinez
City of Marysville
City of Maywood
City of McFarland
City of Mendota
City of Menifee
City of Menlo Park
City of Merced
City of Mill Valley
City of Millbrae
City of Milpitas
City of Mission Viejo
City of Modesto
City of Monrovia
City of Montclair
City of Monte Sereno
City of Montebello
City of Monterey
City of Monterey Park
City of Moorpark
City of Moreno Valley
City of Morgan Hill
City of Morro Bay
City of Mount Shasta
City of Mountain View
City of Murrieta

N
City of Napa
City of National City
City of Needles
City of Nevada City
City of Newark
City of Newman
City of Newport Beach
City of Norco
City of Norwalk
City of Novato

O
City of Oakdale
City of Oakley
City of Oakland
City of Oceanside
City of Ojai
City of Ontario
City of Orange
City of Orange Cove
City of Orinda
City of Orland
City of Oroville
City of Oxnard

P
City of Pacific Grove
City of Pacifica
City of Palm Desert
City of Palm Springs
City of Palmdale
City of Palo Alto
City of Palos Verdes Estates
City of Paramount
City of Parlier
City of Pasadena
City of Paso Robles
City of Patterson
City of Perris
City of Petaluma
City of Pico Rivera
City of Piedmont
City of Pinole
City of Pismo Beach
City of Pittsburg
City of Placentia
City of Placerville
City of Pleasant Hill
City of Pleasanton
City of Plymouth
City of Point Arena
City of Pomona
City of Port Hueneme
City of Porterville
City of Portola
City of Poway

R
City of Rancho Cordova
City of Rancho Cucamonga
City of Rancho Mirage
City of Rancho Palos Verdes
City of Rancho Santa Margarita
City of Red Bluff
City of Redding
City of Redlands
City of Redondo Beach
City of Redwood City
City of Reedley
City of Rialto
City of Richmond
City of Ridgecrest
City of Rio Dell
City of Rio Vista
City of Ripon
City of Riverbank
City of Riverside
City of Rocklin
City of Rohnert Park
City of Rolling Hills
City of Rolling Hills Estates
City of Rosemead
City of Roseville

S
City of Sacramento
City of Salinas
City of San Bernardino
City of San Bruno
City of San Carlos
City of San Clemente
City of San Diego
City of San Dimas
City of San Fernando
City of San Francisco
City of San Gabriel
City of San Jacinto
City of San Joaquin
City of San Jose
City of San Juan Bautista
City of San Juan Capistrano
City of San Leandro
City of San Luis Obispo
City of San Marcos
City of San Marino
City of San Mateo
City of San Pablo
City of San Rafael
City of San Ramon
City of Sand City
City of Sanger
City of Santa Ana
City of Santa Barbara
City of Santa Clara
City of Santa Clarita
City of Santa Cruz
City of Santa Fe Springs
City of Santa Maria
City of Santa Monica
City of Santa Paula
City of Santa Rosa
City of Santee
City of Saratoga
City of Sausalito
City of Scotts Valley
City of Seal Beach
City of Seaside
City of Sebastopol
City of Selma
City of Shafter
City of Shasta Lake
City of Sierra Madre
City of Signal Hill
City of Simi Valley
City of Solana Beach
City of Soledad
City of Solvang
City of Sonoma
City of Sonora
City of South El Monte
City of South Gate
City of South Lake Tahoe
City of St. Helena
City of South San Francisco
City of Stanton
City of Stockton
City of Suisun City
City of Sunnyvale
City of Sutter Creek

T
City of Taft
City of Tehachapi
City of Temecula
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Torrance
City of Tracy
City of Trinidad
City of Tulare
City of Tulelake
City of Turlock
City of Tustin
City of Twentynine Palms

U
City of Ukiah
City of Union City
City of Upland

V
City of Vacaville
City of Vallejo
City of Ventura
City of Vernon
City of Victorville
City of Villa Park
City of Visalia
City of Vista

W
City of Walnut
City of Walnut Creek
City of Wasco
City of Waterford
City of Watsonville
City of Weed
City of West Covina
City of West Hollywood
City of West Sacramento
City of Westlake Village
City of Westminster
City of Westmorland
City of Wheatland
City of Whittier
City of Wildomar
City of Williams
City of Willits
City of Willows
City of Winters
City of Woodlake
City of Woodland

Y
City of Yorba Linda
City of Yreka
City of Yuba City
City of Yucaipa

County Building Departments

County of Alameda

County of Alpine

County of Amador

County of Butte

County of Calaveras

County of Colusa

County of Contra Costa

County of Del Norte

County of El Dorado

County of Fresno

County of Glenn

County of Humboldt

County of Imperial

County of Kings

County of Lassen

County of Los Angeles

County of Madera

County of Marin

County of Mariposa

County of Mendocino

County of Modoc

County of Monterey

County of Nevada

County of Orange

County of Placer

County of Plumas

County of Riverside

County of Sacramento

County of San Benito

County of San Bernardino

County of San Diego

County of San Francisco

County of San Joaquin

County of San Luis Obispo

County of San Mateo

County of Santa Barbara

County of Santa Clara

County of Santa Cruz

County of Shasta

County of Sierra

County of Siskiyou

County of Solano

County of Sonoma

County of Stanislaus

County of Sutter

County of Tehama

County of Trinity

County of Tulare

County of Tuolumne

County of Ventura

Town Building Departments

Town of Apple Valley

Town of Atherton

Town of Corte Madera

Town of Danville

Town of Fairfax

Town of Hillsborough

Town of Los Altos Hills

Town of Los Gatos

Town of Mammoth Lakes

Town of Paradise

Town of Portola Valley

Town of San Anselmo

Town of Tiburon

Town of Truckee

Town of Windsor

Town of Woodside

Town of Yountville

Town of Yucca Valley