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Accessory Dwelling Unit / Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit Permit in San Diego, California

San Diego runs ADUs and JADUs through the building permit with no way around it: 'A Building Permit is required to create an ADU or JADU. There are no exemptions.' Which permit issues depends on scale - 'Depending upon the number of dwelling units created by the ADU(s), either a Combination Building Permit or a Building Permit will be issued.'

Verified 2026-09-11 · Source

When you need this permit

  • The unit must be self-contained: an ADU 'is an attached or detached residential dwelling unit that provides complete independent living facilities for one or more persons and is located on a lot with a proposed or existing primary residence.'
  • It 'must include permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation on the same lot as the primary residence.'
  • A JADU is a narrower category: it 'is a unit that is no more than 500 square feet in size and contained entirely within a single-family residence.'
  • OWNER-OCCUPANCY APPLIES TO ONE CASE ONLY: 'The JADU or single-family residence must be owner-occupied if the JADU shares sanitation facilities with the existing structure.' Owner-builder
  • Size bands differ by type - the City's comparison table gives an ADU '150 - 1200 square feet' and a JADU '150 - 500 square feet'.

Required documents

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Fee schedule

General Plan Maintenance FeeCharged once per project at application, per Information Bulletin 501.
$737.00
Plan check and inspection - Res-SDU/DUPFee Table 501A's residential row expressly names ADUs: 'Res-SDU/DUP (Single Dwelling Unit /Duplex/detached Group R-3 ADU over 500 or addition/remodel, including attached ADU/JADU over 1,100 SF)'. Table footnotes govern; smaller ADUs may fall outside this row.
Plan check base $8,085.26; inspection base $8,401.90

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

How long did your Accessory Dwelling Unit / Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit Permit permit actually take in San Diego?

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

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Construction inspections

    As for any building permit; see Information Bulletin 120.

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

Tips

  • THERE IS NO SMALL-ADU EXEMPTION HERE. San Diego says there are no exemptions at all, which is stronger than the usual size or valuation threshold.
  • THE COASTAL OVERLAY ZONE IS A DIFFERENT PATH - the City directs those properties to a separate Coastal ADU webpage, so a coastal lot should not assume this page applies.
  • OWNER-OCCUPANCY IS NOT A GENERAL ADU RULE IN SAN DIEGO. It attaches only to a JADU that SHARES sanitation facilities with the house - a JADU with its own facilities, or an ADU, is not caught.
  • COUNT LIMITS DIFFER BY ZONE: the comparison table gives 2 ADUs for single-dwelling unit zones and 2+ for multiple dwelling unit zones, against one JADU.

Frequently asked questions

San Diego requires an accessory dwelling unit / junior accessory dwelling unit permit for: The unit must be self-contained: an ADU 'is an attached or detached residential dwelling unit that provides complete independent living facilities for one or more persons and is located on a lot with a proposed or existing primary residence.'; It 'must include permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation on the same lot as the primary residence.'; A JADU is a narrower category: it 'is a unit that is no more than 500 square feet in size and contained entirely within a single-family residence.'; OWNER-OCCUPANCY APPLIES TO ONE CASE ONLY: 'The JADU or single-family residence must be owner-occupied if the JADU shares sanitation facilities with the existing structure.'; Size bands differ by type - the City's comparison table gives an ADU '150 - 1200 square feet' and a JADU '150 - 500 square feet'.. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of San Diego - Development Services Department (DSD) at 619-446-5000 before starting work.

In San Diego, the published General Plan Maintenance Fee is: $737.00. Additional published fees: Plan check and inspection - Res-SDU/DUP — Plan check base $8,085.26; inspection base $8,401.90. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

San Diego does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of San Diego - Development Services Department (DSD) at 619-446-5000 for current turnaround.

You'll need: Building permit application (or Combination Building Permit). See the required-documents checklist on this page for details on each.

San Diego requires 1 inspection(s) for an accessory dwelling unit / junior accessory dwelling unit permit, in order: Construction inspections. Schedule each through City of San Diego - Development Services Department (DSD) (619-446-5000).

Apply through City of San Diego - Development Services Department (DSD) at 7650 Mission Valley Road, MS# DSD-1A, San Diego, CA 92108 - the Mission Valley office, which the City calls 'This office is the primary location for in-person customer assistance, with most services requiring an appointment .' A second office at 550 West C St., 12th Floor (MS# DSD-2A), San Diego, CA 92101 serves pre-scheduled appointments for existing projects and permits only; 'Walk-in services are not available.'. Phone: 619-446-5000. Office hours: Mission Valley building hours Monday - Friday 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. Front Counter Customer Service Mon-Thu 8 - 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 - 3 p.m., Fri 10 - 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 - 3 p.m. Records Mon-Thu 7 - 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 - 4 p.m. Cashiers Mon-Thu 7 - 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. The Customer Service Line is listed separately as 619-446-5000, MONDAY - FRIDAY: 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. NOTE: 'All in-person services at the Mission Valley location are closed on business days between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.'. Official information: https://www.sandiego.gov/development-services.

San Diego, California has adopted: 2025 California Building Standards Code (CBSC), Title 24 California Code of Regulations - the City's own document records that it 'has been adopted by the State of California and will be effective on a statewide basis on January 1, 2026.'; San Diego's local amendments to the 2025 CBSC are published by DSD. CAUTION: the adoption document is headed 'Proposed Local Amendments 2025 California Building Standards Code' and says the City 'proposes to adopt by reference certain parts of the CBSC'. It is dated Thursday August 28, 2025 and revised 2-13-2026. Confirm the enacted status with DSD before relying on any individual local amendment.. Local amendments apply — see the San Diego overview page for the full list.

No. The City states it without qualification: 'A Building Permit is required to create an ADU or JADU. There are no exemptions.'

Sources & verification

Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-09-11.

Fee schedules

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 San Diego building department before you submit. PermitBase is an independent reference and is not affiliated with any government agency.

San Diego's permit history isn't searchable here yet

This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for San Diego 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.

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Other permits in San Diego

Residential Building Permit (Combination Building - Single Dwelling Units, ADUs and Duplexes)Commercial Building Permit (Building - All other buildings)Electrical PermitPlumbing/Gas PermitMechanical PermitDemolition/Removal Permit

Accessory Dwelling Unit / Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit Permit in other cities

Fresno, CaliforniaLong Beach, CaliforniaOakland, CaliforniaSacramento, CaliforniaSan Jose, CaliforniaAult, ColoradoBennett, ColoradoBerthoud, Colorado

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