All States / California
Permit Fees in California
2 cities tracked. 2 verified from published fee schedules. Building permit fees range from $411.02 to $624.19 across 2 cities.
2
Cities
$518.00
Avg Building
$411.02
Cheapest
$624.19
Most Expensive
2
Verified
| City | Bathroom | Kitchen | Roof | HVAC | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | $624.19 | $838.55 | $369.40 | $98.10 | ✓ |
| San Diego | $411.02 | $411.02 | - | $164.63 | ✓ |
How permits work in California
California's 2025 Building Standards Code (Title 24) took effect January 1, 2026, with the residential part built on the 2024 IRC. Cities and counties enforce it through their own building departments, and for once the code is unusually uniform: under AB 130, local governments are frozen out of amending residential building standards from October 1, 2025 through June 1, 2031, outside narrow health-and-safety exceptions. The code in Fresno is the code in Los Angeles for the next five years.
Permitted mechanical work carries a California-only companion: HERS field verification. Depending on scope, permitted work triggers mandatory testing by a certified HERS rater, with duct leakage testing on HVAC changeouts the classic case. Budget for the rater alongside the permit.
From the published schedules: Los Angeles charges $624.19 for a bathroom remodel permit, $838.55 for a kitchen, and $98.10 for an HVAC changeout; San Diego runs $411.02 for either remodel and $164.63 for HVAC.
Building an ADU? State law gives the permitting agency 60 days from a complete application to approve or deny, ministerially. Silence past 60 days means the application is deemed approved. That clock is one of the strongest homeowner levers in any state code we track.
Sources: CBSC 2025 Title 24 · HSC 17958.7 (local amendment freeze) · Gov. Code 66317 (ADU 60-day rule) · CEC HERS program · verified 2026-06