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PermitBase

Building Permit in Richmond, California

Richmond schedules inspections by touch-tone telephone or by text message, keeps a permit counter open only in the mornings, and has written a legalization route for unpermitted residential construction into its adopted code.

Verified 2026-09-20 · Source

When you need this permit

  • WHEN A PERMIT IS NEEDED: "Building permits are required before you construct, erect, enlarge, alter, move, repair, improve, convert, or demolish any building or structure. The code provided exemptions to this are listed on the Work Exempt from Permits handout."
  • WHO MAY HOLD ONE: "Permits may only be issued to property owners or their authorized agents and licensed contractors." Contractor
  • CONTRACTORS REGISTER WITH THREE DOCUMENTS: "Licensed contractors must provide a Contractor's State License Card, a Worker's Compensation Insurance Certificate, and a current City of Richmond Business License at the time of registration." The business licence is required at registration, not at issuance. Contractor
  • APPLICATIONS GO THROUGH iMS: "All permit applications can be made electronically via the iMS portal."
  • THE IN-PERSON ROUTE IS BY APPOINTMENT AND IS FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT SUBMIT ONLINE: "Applicants unable to submit electronically may submit their permit applications in person by appointment", arranged online, by calling (510) 620-6868 during counter hours, or by emailing a contact phone number to permittechs@ci.richmond.ca.us. The city warns that "Customers arriving without an appointment may need to wait for openings, if available."
  • A REROOF NEEDS A PHOTOGRAPH: "Re-roofing requires a photo of the existing roof for Planning Department approval."

Required documents

Check off what you have — your progress is saved on this device.

Fee schedule

Permit and plan check feesNo fee schedule was opened for this record and no fee basis is stated on the pages read, so no amount or basis is asserted.
NOT TRANSCRIBED for this record.
Development impact feesThe division announces that a "Project Development Impact Fee Calculator is now available", alongside a Development Impact Fees Estimator. The calculator was not run for this record, so no figure is recorded.
Estimated through a published calculator.

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Building Permit permit actually take in Richmond?

Anonymous — one question, no email. Answers are combined and only shown once at least 5 people have reported.

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Booked by touch-tone telephone

    "Permit inspections can be scheduled using a touch-tone telephone. Customers should dial the Inspection number, 510-447-1156, and follow the series of prompts by touch tone to schedule or cancel an inspection, or to retrieve inspection results." The same system returns results, not just bookings.

  2. 2

    Or by text message

    The division publishes an SMS number for inspections - 866-535-4016 - alongside the voice line, and its printable instructions cover how "to schedule or cancel an inspection by phone or text." No other jurisdiction in this corpus publishes a text-message route for inspection scheduling.

  3. 3

    Or in the portal

    "Permit Inspections can also be scheduled using the iMS inspection portal." Three routes to the same action, and the city documents all of them.

  4. 4

    Habitability inspections have a threshold

    A complaint does not automatically produce an inspector: "to dispatch a building inspector for a habitability inspection, there must be at least one alleged substandard building violation per 17920.3." Complaints about unpermitted work go through the Issues, Concerns, Violations online portal or by telephone to the Building Division.

  5. 5

    NOT PUBLISHED on the pages read: notice period, daily cut-off and arrival windows

    No advance-notice requirement, cut-off time or arrival window appeared on the pages read for this record. The printable telephone and text instructions were not opened, and may carry them.

See the full Richmond inspection guide — scheduling & re-inspection fees →

Tips

  • THE PERMIT COUNTER IS MORNINGS ONLY - about nineteen and a half hours a week.
  • INSPECTIONS CAN BE BOOKED OR CANCELLED BY TEXT on 866-535-4016.
  • A REROOF NEEDS A PHOTO OF THE EXISTING ROOF for Planning Department approval.

Frequently asked questions

Richmond requires a building permit for: WHEN A PERMIT IS NEEDED: "Building permits are required before you construct, erect, enlarge, alter, move, repair, improve, convert, or demolish any building or structure. The code provided exemptions to this are listed on the Work Exempt from Permits handout."; WHO MAY HOLD ONE: "Permits may only be issued to property owners or their authorized agents and licensed contractors."; CONTRACTORS REGISTER WITH THREE DOCUMENTS: "Licensed contractors must provide a Contractor's State License Card, a Worker's Compensation Insurance Certificate, and a current City of Richmond Business License at the time of registration." The business licence is required at registration, not at issuance.; APPLICATIONS GO THROUGH iMS: "All permit applications can be made electronically via the iMS portal."; THE IN-PERSON ROUTE IS BY APPOINTMENT AND IS FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT SUBMIT ONLINE: "Applicants unable to submit electronically may submit their permit applications in person by appointment", arranged online, by calling (510) 620-6868 during counter hours, or by emailing a contact phone number to permittechs@ci.richmond.ca.us. The city warns that "Customers arriving without an appointment may need to wait for openings, if available."; A REROOF NEEDS A PHOTOGRAPH: "Re-roofing requires a photo of the existing roof for Planning Department approval.". If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Richmond Community Development Department, Building Division at 510-620-6868 (Building Division); 510-447-1156 (inspection scheduling); 510-620-6630 (Ayuda en Espanol); 510-690-8260 (Residential Rental Inspection Program help line) before starting work.

Richmond does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Richmond Community Development Department, Building Division at 510-620-6868 (Building Division); 510-447-1156 (inspection scheduling); 510-620-6630 (Ayuda en Espanol); 510-690-8260 (Residential Rental Inspection Program help line) for current turnaround.

Yes. The Building Division publishes an SMS number, 866-535-4016, beside its voice line on 510-447-1156, and its instructions cover scheduling or cancelling "by phone or text". The iMS portal is a third route.

Apply through City of Richmond Community Development Department, Building Division at 450 Civic Center Plaza, 2nd Floor, Richmond, CA 94804. Phone: 510-620-6868 (Building Division); 510-447-1156 (inspection scheduling); 510-620-6630 (Ayuda en Espanol); 510-690-8260 (Residential Rental Inspection Program help line), email: permittechs@ci.richmond.ca.us. Office hours: THE PERMIT COUNTER IS OPEN MORNINGS ONLY. "Permit Counter Hours: Monday - Thursday 8:30 am - 12:30 pm; Friday 9:00 am - 12:30 pm", with a separate published holiday schedule. That is four hours a day Monday to Thursday and three and a half on Friday - about nineteen and a half hours a week, the narrowest counter window in this corpus. Nothing on the pages read states a wider span for telephone contact.. Official information: https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/2099/Building-Division.

Mornings only: Monday to Thursday 8:30 am to 12:30 pm, and Friday 9:00 am to 12:30 pm, with a separate holiday schedule. Turning up in the afternoon will not work, and in-person submittal is by appointment in any case.

Often the same visit. "Most single-trade permits and residential remodels, which do not require drawings, are issued upon receipt and verification of the required permit application documents" - the city names minor in-kind repairs from termites or deterioration, minor interior alterations with no structural work, and plumbing, mechanical or electrical repairs or change-outs.

Richmond has written one into its adopted code. Its 2025 adoption carries a "local amendment, adding section 109.4.2 to the Building Code administrative provisions, for legalization of residential construction." The text of that section was not read for this record, so call the Building Division on 510-620-6868 for what it requires.

Three documents: "a Contractor's State License Card, a Worker's Compensation Insurance Certificate, and a current City of Richmond Business License at the time of registration." The city business licence is needed to register, not merely to be issued a permit.

Richmond's permit history isn't searchable here yet

This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Richmond yet is the record of permits actually issued — the history you'd search by street address. That is a gap in our coverage, not a statement about any particular property.

Your email, and the place — never an address. We only use it to tell you when Richmond lands. Privacy.

Building Permit in other cities

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