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Burbank building permits

Verified

Burbank, California — as published 2026-09-21.

Verified 2026-09-21 · Source

Codes adopted

BURBANK NAMES ITS ADOPTING ORDINANCE AND THE COMMA IN THE NUMBER IS PART OF IT: "ordinance No. 25-4,034 that includes Title 9 with the approved local amendments can be referenced." Searching for "25-4034" without the comma may not find it.THE ADOPTION, VERBATIM: "Burbank adopts and enforces the 2025 California Building Code" and "Local amendments are found in Title 9 of the Burbank Municipal Code". The page adds that it "has adopted the 2025 California Building Code with local amendments and is in effect as of January 1, 2026."THE TRANSITION RULE CARRIES A CLOCK TIME AND TWO CONDITIONS RATHER THAN ONE: "All applications received by Building & Safety prior to December 31, 2025, no later than 12 p.m. (noon), and project files uploaded prior to December 31, 2025, will be reviewed under the 2022 California Building Standards Code. All new projects that submit a building permit application on or after January 1, 2026, are subject to review under the new 2025 California Building Standards Code and local amendments." Note the AND: the application had to be in AND the project files uploaded. Filing without uploading did not qualify.THE LOCAL AMENDMENTS THEMSELVES WERE NOT READ FOR THIS RECORD. Title 9 of the Burbank Municipal Code is named as their home and Ordinance No. 25-4,034 as the instrument, but neither was opened here, so what Burbank changes from the state code is unknown in this record rather than absent.Health and Safety Code 18938(b) provides that building standards in the California Building Standards Code apply to all occupancies throughout the state, so the 2025 suite is the floor in Burbank whatever Title 9 adds.

Permit types & fees

Building Permit

Verified

Burbank publishes one time figure and it is not a plan check figure. Its counter queue shuts fifteen minutes before the hours it advertises, and its soft-story ordinance carries dated deadlines that attach to the property record.

Verified 2026-09-21 · Source

Requirements

PLANNING SCREENS THE PROJECT BEFORE BUILDING REVIEW BEGINS, AND IT IS FAST BUT IT IS NOT PLAN CHECK: "In the first 48 hours of the review process, plans will be screened by the Planning Division for project viability in relation to Burbank's municipal code per zoning standards (Zoning Pre-clearance)." Forty-eight hours is the only interval Burbank publishes anywhere in the permit process.
PROJECTDOX HAS A GATE BEFORE THE GATE. You cannot simply create an account: "an electronic invitation, which you get after submitting a complete application to eplancheck@burbankca.gov, is needed prior to setting-up an account for a new project." So the sequence is complete application by email first, invitation second, account third, upload fourth.
SOME COUNTER BUSINESS IS EXPLICITLY EXEMPT FROM ZONING REVIEW and the page marks which: applying for "a repair and maintenance permit (no Zoning review required)" and "Meet with Plan Check staff for plans (no Zoning review required)". The parenthetical is the useful part - it tells you which errands will not be held up by Planning.
SIMPLE PERMITS GO ONLINE WITHOUT PLAN CHECK: "Residents and contractors can get Simple Permits for residential projects online if they don't require plan check." The qualifier does the work - if your project requires plan check, the online route is not available to you.
YOU CAN JOIN THE COUNTER QUEUE BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME: "Save time by virtually joining the queue from your home or office. Just check in at the Information Desk when you arrive to the Community Services Building." Note the second half - joining virtually does not complete check-in, you still present at the Information Desk.
IF THE PROPERTY IS A 5 TO 10 UNIT APARTMENT BUILDING, CHECK THE SOFT-STORY ORDINANCE BEFORE PLANNING ANY OTHER WORK. A retrofit obligation with recorded consequences reshapes the scope and the economics of anything else you were going to file.

Required documents

Optional
Optional
Optional

Fee schedule

Fee type	Amount	Notes
Permit fees	NOT PUBLISHED as figures on the pages read.	WHAT IS PUBLISHED IS A REFUND SCHEDULE, AND IT IS WORTH MORE THAN A PRICE LIST TO AN AFFECTED OWNER. Show full citationHide WHAT IS PUBLISHED IS A REFUND SCHEDULE, AND IT IS WORTH MORE THAN A PRICE LIST TO AN AFFECTED OWNER. For soft-story retrofits the city refunds "100% building permit-fee for those who fully comply by July 10, 2026" and "50% building permit-fee for those who fully comply by January 10, 2028". As at 21 September 2026 the 100 per cent tier has closed and the 50 per cent tier is open.

Sources & verification

Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-09-21.

City of Burbank Community Development Department, Building & Safety Division — official building department

Fee schedules

City of Burbank Soft-Story Seismic Retrofit (the dated compliance milestones, the permit-fee refund incentives, the grant registration window, and the County Recorder consequence)

Codes & ordinances

Department & other records

Fees, timelines, and adopted codes are researched from each jurisdiction's published records — see how we verify. Requirements change and vary by project, so always confirm the current details with the Burbank building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.

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