San Jose building department

The City of San José Development Services Permit Center handles building, planning, fire and public works permits for property inside San José city limits. It’s on the first floor of City Hall. Some Santa Clara County addresses are in other cities or in unincorporated county land, so confirm your parcel is in San José before you apply.

Projects that don’t need a building permit

San José publishes its own list of exempt work, based on Section 105 of the California Building Code:

Project	Exempt when
Shed or other detached accessory structure	120 sq ft or less with no electrical wiring
Fence	7 ft tall or less
Retaining wall	4 ft or less, measured from bottom of footing to top of wall
Roof repair or replacement	Under 25% of the existing roof, no framing involved, and no more than once in 12 months
Window replacement	Frame, nailing flange and weather protection stay as they are
Driveway or walkway	Not over a basement and no more than 30 in. above grade
Above-ground pool	Prefabricated, 5,000 gallons or less, at a single-family home
Awning	Projects no more than 54 in., Group R-3 or U occupancy
Cosmetic work	Painting, flooring, tile, countertops, and cabinet replacement with no wall, plumbing or electrical changes
Minor electrical and plumbing	Replacing outlets, switches, breakers or fuses, and repairing or replacing faucets or toilets

Replacing a main electrical disconnect does need a permit. Driveway aprons and sidewalks may need a Public Works permit.

Picking a permit service

The city’s Start Your Project tool helps you find the right service. For single-family and duplex properties, the options are:

Service	How it works	Typical qualifying work
Online Building Permits	Download the permit at SJPermits.org, any time	56 simple project types, such as reroofs, water heaters, EV chargers, service changes up to 400 A, solar, and brace-and-bolt retrofits
Simple Projects Service	Walk in	Chimney repair, skylight replacement with no roof changes, standby generator safety assessment, reroofs on historic properties
Over-the-Counter (OTC)	Walk in. Upload plans before your visit	One-story additions under 500 sq ft; remodels of 750 sq ft or less with conventional framing; sheds over 120 sq ft; like-for-like siding or stucco
Residential Express	Virtual appointment, at a higher fee	Same size limits as OTC, plus accessory buildings under 500 sq ft
Residential Service	Start the application at SJPermits, then upload plans to SJePlans	New construction, larger additions, structural or roof-framing changes, code cases

The walk-in and express services aren’t available if the property is in any of these:

• a Planned Development zoning district
• flood zone A, AE, AH or AO
• a geohazard or seismic landslide zone
• a Wildland Urban Interface area

OTC and Residential Express also exclude properties on the Historic Resources Inventory, properties with open code violations, and projects that remove an ordinance-size tree. Commercial projects use Standard Plan Review, the STAR tenant-improvement service, or the Streamlined Restaurant Program for food and beverage spaces under 3,000 sq ft.

The ePlan portal (SJePlans, built on ProjectDox) is only for projects that need plan review.

Who can pull permits

Only property owners and licensed contractors can download an online permit. Contractors also need a valid City of San José business tax certificate. They can only pull permits that match their California license classification. The city recommends having your contractor pull the permit, because whoever pulls it is liable for the work.

If an inspector finds work beyond what the online permit covers, you’ll have to get additional permits. Reroof permits for properties on the Historic Resources Inventory can’t be issued online.

Fees

The Building and Structure Permits Fee Schedule took effect August 11, 2025. It covers Building, Fire and Public Works plan review and permit fees. Construction-tax valuation rates in the schedule took effect July 1, 2025.

A beta fee estimator covers ADUs, new single-family homes and commercial tenant improvements. For other projects, email [email protected] with a Permit Cost Estimate Worksheet.

You can pay:

• online by credit card (2.66% third-party fee) or eCheck
• by wire transfer
• by check, at the first-floor cashier by appointment or by mail

Fees of $100,000 or more must be paid by check or wire.

Inspections

Schedule inspections at SJPermits.org. For scheduling help, call (408) 535-3555, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Inspection notices are posted to the permit’s documents in SJPermits. Print any notices and have them ready for the inspector, or the inspection may be canceled.

The Building Division publishes 2025 Residential Construction Guidelines for common single-family and duplex projects, plus trade checklists such as reroof, water heater and repipe. For code and inspection questions, email [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (408) 535-7641.

Hours

Service	Hours
Permit Center counter	Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri: 8 a.m.–noon and 1–5 p.m. Wed: 9 a.m.–noon and 1–5 p.m.
Counter tickets	Not issued 11 a.m.–1 p.m. or after 3 p.m.
Permit phone line	Mon–Fri, 7 a.m.–4 p.m.

Codes

As of January 1, 2026, the city enforces the 2025 California codes: Building, Residential, Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, Energy, Wildland-Urban Interface, Historical, Fire, Existing Building and Green Building Standards. These apply to plans submitted on or after that date, along with city amendments adopted by ordinance.

Records

Search SJPermits by address, APN, tract or permit number to see permit history, inspection notices and documents. For permit numbers, enter the full year and number sequence (for example, 2024123456).