San Jose Building Permits

The San José PBCE manages all residential permitting through the SJPermits portal. Most projects now follow the 2025 California Residential Code as of January 2026.

🏛 San José Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement 📅 Updated April 2026

San Jose Permitting Note: San Jose allows up to three ADUs on a single-family lot and waives school and parkland impact fees for any unit under 750 square feet.

About Building Permits in San Jose

Building permits in San Jose are issued by the San José Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE). Most residential permit applications are submitted online through the SJPermits portal at sjpermits.org. Processing times for standard residential projects typically run 6–12 weeks for standard review; same-day for Minor Permits.

2025 California Residential Code (effective January 2026). San Jose allows up to 3 ADUs per single-family lot and waives impact fees for units under 750 sq ft.

Inspections are booked through the SJPermits portal; SJePlans is used for plan submissions.

Project Types in San Jose