Skip to main content
PermitBase

Building Permit in Fairfield, California

Fairfield moved to a new permitting system called BUILD, and provides public kiosks in the City Hall lobby for applicants who cannot submit from home - bring the files on a flash drive.

Verified 2026-09-20 · Source

When you need this permit

  • THE SYSTEM CHANGED AND THE OLD ONE IS NAMED: "Fairfield BUILD (BUILD) is the City's new online permitting system, replacing our former system, TRAKiT." It covers "permits, plans, and scheduling inspections for various departments including Building, Planning, Fire, and Public Works - all in one convenient place."
  • START BY CREATING AN ACCOUNT: "Begin submitting your building permit application by creating an account in BUILD and attaching plans and additional documentation".
  • A SPECIFIC PDF FAILURE MODE IS CALLED OUT: "please ensure that PDFs are not secured or password protected." A locked PDF is a submittal that cannot be reviewed.
  • IF YOU HAVE USED THE SAME PLATFORM ELSEWHERE, REUSE THE EMAIL: "If you have used EnerGov/Civic Access with a different jurisdiction, please use the same email address when registering for your City of Fairfield BUILD account." The account is portable across jurisdictions running the same product.
  • THERE IS A ROUTE FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT A COMPUTER: "Public access computers/kiosks can be used in the Community Development lobby (2nd floor) at City Hall to submit building permit applications--please load your files, plans, attachments onto a flash drive before visiting us to use the kiosk."
  • WHAT THE DIVISION DOES: "The Building Safety Division reviews all new construction, improvements, and alterations to existing structures in the city of Fairfield. Improvements are checked for safety and building code compliance."

Required documents

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

Fee schedule

Permit feesThe division publishes a "Permit Fee Information" section, which did not resolve to a readable page on the pages read. No fee schedule was opened and no fee basis is stated, so none is asserted. Invoices are paid through BUILD.
NOT TRANSCRIBED for this record.

Review timeline

Plan review
Not published — contact the department

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

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

Inspection process

  1. 1

    Requested through BUILD, alongside permits and plans

    BUILD handles "applying for permits, plans, and scheduling inspections for various departments including Building, Planning, Fire, and Public Works", and the city lists "request an inspection" among the things done through it.

  2. 2

    Morning and afternoon are preferences, and the city says plainly they are not promises

    "Inspections - 8am to 12pm for morning preference and 12pm to 4pm for afternoon preference (please note that your preference is NOT guaranteed--inspectors will do their best to accommodate your preference, be prepared to be available anytime from 8am to 4pm)." The instruction is unusually direct: plan to be available for the whole eight-hour span rather than for your half of it.

  3. 3

    Weekdays only

    "inspections are available Monday - Friday (excluding holidays)". Note that the division itself is closed on alternate Fridays; the pages read do not say whether inspections run on those Fridays.

  4. 4

    NOT PUBLISHED on the pages read: notice period, daily cut-off and cancellation route

    No advance-notice requirement, request cut-off time or cancellation procedure appeared on the pages read for this record. A "How to Request Inspections" section is published on the division's page but did not resolve to readable content; it may carry them.

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

Tips

  • CHECK WHETHER IT IS A CLOSED FRIDAY before travelling - the division works a nine-day fortnight.
  • UNLOCK YOUR PDFs; secured or password-protected files cannot be reviewed.
  • BE AVAILABLE 8AM TO 4PM on inspection day; AM/PM is a preference only.

Frequently asked questions

Fairfield requires a building permit for: THE SYSTEM CHANGED AND THE OLD ONE IS NAMED: "Fairfield BUILD (BUILD) is the City's new online permitting system, replacing our former system, TRAKiT." It covers "permits, plans, and scheduling inspections for various departments including Building, Planning, Fire, and Public Works - all in one convenient place."; START BY CREATING AN ACCOUNT: "Begin submitting your building permit application by creating an account in BUILD and attaching plans and additional documentation".; A SPECIFIC PDF FAILURE MODE IS CALLED OUT: "please ensure that PDFs are not secured or password protected." A locked PDF is a submittal that cannot be reviewed.; IF YOU HAVE USED THE SAME PLATFORM ELSEWHERE, REUSE THE EMAIL: "If you have used EnerGov/Civic Access with a different jurisdiction, please use the same email address when registering for your City of Fairfield BUILD account." The account is portable across jurisdictions running the same product.; THERE IS A ROUTE FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT A COMPUTER: "Public access computers/kiosks can be used in the Community Development lobby (2nd floor) at City Hall to submit building permit applications--please load your files, plans, attachments onto a flash drive before visiting us to use the kiosk."; WHAT THE DIVISION DOES: "The Building Safety Division reviews all new construction, improvements, and alterations to existing structures in the city of Fairfield. Improvements are checked for safety and building code compliance.". If your project isn't listed, confirm with City of Fairfield Community Development Department, Building Safety Division at NOT PUBLISHED on the pages read for this record - the division routes enquiries to its three published mailboxes rather than to a stated number. before starting work.

Fairfield does not publish a plan-review timeline for this permit. Contact City of Fairfield Community Development Department, Building Safety Division at NOT PUBLISHED on the pages read for this record - the division routes enquiries to its three published mailboxes rather than to a stated number. for current turnaround.

You can ask, and the city is blunt that asking is all it is: morning preference covers 8am to 12pm and afternoon 12pm to 4pm, but "your preference is NOT guaranteed--inspectors will do their best to accommodate your preference, be prepared to be available anytime from 8am to 4pm."

Apply through City of Fairfield Community Development Department, Building Safety Division at City Hall, 1000 Webster Street, Fairfield, CA 94533 (Community Development lobby, 2nd floor). Phone: NOT PUBLISHED on the pages read for this record - the division routes enquiries to its three published mailboxes rather than to a stated number., email: building@fairfield.ca.gov (building applications); planning@fairfield.ca.gov (planning applications); FairfieldBUILD@fairfield.ca.gov (technical problems with the BUILD site). Office hours: FOUR SEPARATE SCHEDULES, AND THE WEEK IS NOT ALWAYS FIVE DAYS. As published: "Monday - Friday; Closed every other Friday". "Office - 8am to 12pm I 1pm to 5:30pm". "Counter - 8am to 11:45am I 1pm to 5:30pm". And a standing weekly closure: "counter is closed weekly on Wednesdays from 8am to 9:30am for staff meetings". So the counter shuts fifteen minutes before the office does for lunch, loses ninety minutes every Wednesday morning, and the whole division is closed on alternate Fridays. The city does not publish which Fridays; confirm before travelling.. Official information: https://www.fairfield.ca.gov/government/city-departments/community-development/building-safety.

Four schedules govern, and they differ. The office runs 8am to 12pm and 1pm to 5:30pm; the counter runs 8am to 11:45am and 1pm to 5:30pm - fifteen minutes shorter before lunch. The counter also closes "weekly on Wednesdays from 8am to 9:30am for staff meetings". And the division is "Closed every other Friday".

Yes. "Public access computers/kiosks can be used in the Community Development lobby (2nd floor) at City Hall to submit building permit applications" - but prepare first: "please load your files, plans, attachments onto a flash drive before visiting us to use the kiosk."

Check whether it is locked. The city asks applicants to "ensure that PDFs are not secured or password protected" - a protected PDF cannot be reviewed even if it uploads.

Possibly. "If you have used EnerGov/Civic Access with a different jurisdiction, please use the same email address when registering for your City of Fairfield BUILD account." The same product runs in several jurisdictions and the city asks you to keep one identity across them.

Sources & verification

Verified against official sources. Last reviewed 2026-09-20.

Applications & forms

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

Fairfield's permit history isn't searchable here yet

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

Building Permit in other cities

Anaheim, CaliforniaAntioch, CaliforniaBakersfield, CaliforniaBerkeley, CaliforniaCarlsbad, CaliforniaChino, CaliforniaChula Vista, CaliforniaCitrus Heights, California

Compare building permit fees across California →

Look up this fee in a different city →

Embed this data card →

Now live

Build your Fairfield project checklist

Describe your project once and get every permit, document, and fee it triggers in Fairfield — in one checklist. Free, for any city and any number of projects.

Get started →