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Building Permit in Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara publishes a first-review schedule banded by project size, with worked examples for each band - and then publishes two other answers to the same question in the same document. Its expiry rule discards your submittal and forfeits your fees, with no notice.

Verified 2026-09-21 · Source

When you need this permit

  • PLANNING APPROVAL COMES FIRST AND IS A SEPARATE APPLICATION: "Planning approvals must be granted before you can apply for a building permit." Those fees "are separate from the building permit fees."
  • SIX DIVISIONS REVIEW SIMULTANEOUSLY, NOT IN SEQUENCE. The Land Development Team is Building & Safety, Fire, Public Works Engineering / Water Resources / Transportation, Planning, Environmental Services, and Parks & Recreation Creeks Division. "All building permit reviews are completed by all City reviewers simultaneously."
  • A PAYMENT GATE SITS BETWEEN YOUR FIRST REVIEW AND YOUR RECHECK: "Other division plan check fees will be invoiced after your first review, and must be paid before rechecks can begin, with any remaining fees due before permit issuance." An unpaid invoice stops the clock and the city does not chase it.
  • A RESUBMITTAL CAN RESET YOU TO THE FIRST-REVIEW CLOCK: "The City's goal is to process rechecks within 5 days. If the initial plans were considered incomplete, another first review timeline may be instituted." So an incomplete first submittal does not merely delay the recheck - it can put you back on a 5-to-28-working-day band.
  • A LICENSED PROFESSIONAL IS REQUIRED ABOVE STATED THRESHOLDS: "required for projects that are greater than two residential units on a lot, or greater than two stories in height. A licensed professional is required for all structural commercial tenant improvements and any work that alters the safety of a building."
  • SOME WORK NEEDS NO PERMIT AT ALL, with numbers: "one-story detached accessory structure (sheds, playhouse, etc.) not exceeding 120 square feet, fences not over 42 inches high, retaining walls not over 4 ft. in height (measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall) with no surcharge." The complete list is at SBMC 22.04.

Required documents

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

Fee schedule

Plan check and permit fees
The structure is published even though the amounts are not, and the structure is the part that bites. Show full citationThe structure is published even though the amounts are not, and the structure is the part that bites. Fees are invoiced after submittal rather than paid at the counter - "City Staff will follow up electronically with an invoice for the appropriate fee amount." Other divisions' plan check fees are invoiced only AFTER the first review and must be paid before any recheck begins. Remaining fees are due before permit issuance. And on expiry "all fees forfeited".
NOT PUBLISHED as figures on the pages read.

Review timeline

Plan reviewSanta Barbara’s published plan-review target
5–28 business days

How long did your Building Permit permit actually take in Santa Barbara?

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

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Book by 5:00 p.m. the day before

    "Building inspectors will conduct an inspection on any City working day you request, provided you call or email a request for an inspection by no later than 5:00 p.m. the day before you wish the inspection to take place." The Inspection Request Line is (805) 564-5492 or Inspections@SantaBarbaraCA.gov. A cut-off TIME is a different and more useful commitment than a lead time in days, because it tells you exactly when tomorrow stops being available.

  2. 2

    But not on every Friday

    "(Building & Safety is closed every other Friday of the month.)" The guide does not say which Fridays, so a Thursday 5:00 p.m. booking for a Friday inspection needs checking against the closure calendar first.

  3. 3

    Keep the Inspection Record Card and approved plans on site

    "you must have the inspection card and the approved plans available during all inspections. PDF format of these documents is acceptable." Inspector approval is required before covering or concealing work.

  4. 4

    A milestone inspection every 180 days or the permit expires

    "Once construction begins, you must have passed at least one 'milestone inspection' approval every 180 days to avoid permit expiration." The guide names them: "foundation, rough framing or combination frame, insulation, lath/drywall, final building inspection." Ordinary progress inspections are not milestones.

  5. 5

    Other departments may also need to sign off before final

    "you must obtain approvals from all City departments listed on the Inspection Record Card before final inspection. Your job card will identify if any inspections are required from other City departments."

  6. 6

    A Certificate of Occupancy is issued for new non-residential buildings only

    "we will provide a Certificate of Occupancy for new non-residential buildings only. All other projects can obtain an Inspection Summary, available through the Accela Citizen Access Portal (ACA)." Building & Safety separately authorises "utility releases" allowing electricity and gas to be connected.

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

Tips

  • PAY THE POST-FIRST-REVIEW INVOICE PROMPTLY - rechecks cannot begin until it clears.
  • DIARISE SIX MONTHS. No activity and the application expires, materials are discarded and fees are forfeited, unannounced.
  • A MILESTONE INSPECTION EVERY 180 DAYS keeps the permit alive; ordinary progress visits do not count.

Frequently asked questions

Santa Barbara requires a building permit for: PLANNING APPROVAL COMES FIRST AND IS A SEPARATE APPLICATION: "Planning approvals must be granted before you can apply for a building permit." Those fees "are separate from the building permit fees."; SIX DIVISIONS REVIEW SIMULTANEOUSLY, NOT IN SEQUENCE. The Land Development Team is Building & Safety, Fire, Public Works Engineering / Water Resources / Transportation, Planning, Environmental Services, and Parks & Recreation Creeks Division. "All building permit reviews are completed by all City reviewers simultaneously."; A PAYMENT GATE SITS BETWEEN YOUR FIRST REVIEW AND YOUR RECHECK: "Other division plan check fees will be invoiced after your first review, and must be paid before rechecks can begin, with any remaining fees due before permit issuance." An unpaid invoice stops the clock and the city does not chase it.; A RESUBMITTAL CAN RESET YOU TO THE FIRST-REVIEW CLOCK: "The City's goal is to process rechecks within 5 days. If the initial plans were considered incomplete, another first review timeline may be instituted." So an incomplete first submittal does not merely delay the recheck - it can put you back on a 5-to-28-working-day band.; A LICENSED PROFESSIONAL IS REQUIRED ABOVE STATED THRESHOLDS: "required for projects that are greater than two residential units on a lot, or greater than two stories in height. A licensed professional is required for all structural commercial tenant improvements and any work that alters the safety of a building."; SOME WORK NEEDS NO PERMIT AT ALL, with numbers: "one-story detached accessory structure (sheds, playhouse, etc.) not exceeding 120 square feet, fences not over 42 inches high, retaining walls not over 4 ft. in height (measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall) with no surcharge." The complete list is at SBMC 22.04.. If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Santa Barbara Community Development Department, Building & Safety Division at (805) 564-5485 Building & Safety counter (extension x4371 is given on the division page); (805) 564-5492 Inspection Request Line; (805) 564-5578 Planning Counter, which is the number for a Review After Final; fax (805) 564-5476. before starting work.

In Santa Barbara, the published Plan check and permit fees is: NOT PUBLISHED as figures on the pages read.. These are the jurisdiction's own published figures — see the fee schedule table and source citations on this page.

Santa Barbara publishes a size-banded schedule, which is unusual and useful: "The City's goal is to complete the initial plan check within the following number of working days" - SMALL 5 days, MEDIUM 10 days, LARGE 15 days, X-LARGE 28 days, with examples for each band. A pool or a sub-1,000 sq ft single-storey addition is SMALL; new multi-unit housing is X-LARGE. Note the unit is WORKING days. Be aware the same guide also says "Within 10 to 33 days" on one page and "2 - 4 Weeks" on another, and those three do not reconcile - ask the counter which governs if a deadline depends on it.

Yes, if you ask in time and it is not a closed Friday. "Building inspectors will conduct an inspection on any City working day you request, provided you call or email a request for an inspection by no later than 5:00 p.m. the day before you wish the inspection to take place." Call (805) 564-5492 or email Inspections@SantaBarbaraCA.gov. But "Building & Safety is closed every other Friday of the month" and the guide does not say which, so check the closure calendar before relying on a Friday.

Apply through City of Santa Barbara Community Development Department, Building & Safety Division at 630 Garden Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Phone: (805) 564-5485 Building & Safety counter (extension x4371 is given on the division page); (805) 564-5492 Inspection Request Line; (805) 564-5578 Planning Counter, which is the number for a Review After Final; fax (805) 564-5476., email: CDBuildingCode@SantaBarbaraCA.gov for the Building & Safety counter, time extensions and expiring applications; Inspections@SantaBarbaraCA.gov to book an inspection; PlanningCounter@SantaBarbaraCA.gov for planning approvals and Review After Final.. Office hours: COUNTER HOURS ARE NOT STATED on the division page, which points to a separate Counter Hours and Services page that was not read for this record. WHAT IS PUBLISHED, AND MATTERS MORE, IS A RECURRING CLOSURE: "Building & Safety is closed every other Friday of the month." Which Fridays alternate is not stated in the Application Guide, so a Friday visit needs checking first.. Official information: https://santabarbaraca.gov/building-safety.

The city published two dates rather than one: "Last day to submit a building permit application under the 2022 Codes: Wednesday, December 17, 2025" and "The new code takes effect on January 2, 2026." Note that the effective date is 2 January, not 1 January as several other California cities use. Note also that sixteen days sit between those two rules - an application submitted between 18 December 2025 and 1 January 2026 is not addressed by either sentence, and what governs in that window is not stated on the page read.

You lose everything, and nobody warns you. "If there is no case activity within 6 months, your application will automatically be expired, all submittal materials will be discarded, and all fees forfeited." The guide is explicit that the burden is yours: "The City is not responsible for sending you notification of pending application or approval expirations." If you are approaching six months, ring (805) 564-5485 or email CDBuildingCode@SantaBarbaraCA.gov to discuss a time extension BEFORE it lapses.

Most likely an unpaid invoice. "Other division plan check fees will be invoiced after your first review, and must be paid before rechecks can begin, with any remaining fees due before permit issuance." Those other-division fees are billed only after the first review, so they arrive at the point most applicants think they are waiting on the City. Also note that if your first submittal was judged incomplete, "another first review timeline may be instituted" - you may be back on a 5-to-28-working-day band rather than the 5-day recheck goal.

Santa Barbara's permit history isn't searchable here yet

This page covers what the permit requires. What we don't have for Santa Barbara 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 Santa Barbara lands. Privacy.

Building Permit in other cities

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