Do you need a deck permit in California?
By Mario Bailey Last checked
- Always required
- 3
- of 14 jurisdictions
- Conditional
- 11
- depends on size or scope
- Not required
- 0
- exempt outright
Deck Permit rules nationwide, beyond California.
Requirements and size thresholds for deck permits vary by locality. The table below compares what each California county or city requires. Always confirm with the local office before starting.
Comparing states? See deck permit rules across every locality we cover.
The application steps and inspection sequence for deck permits come from the model code rather than from California law, so they read the same wherever you build. We keep that walkthrough in one place: how a deck permit application and its inspections work, start to finish. What changes between California jurisdictions is below: who requires a permit, what they charge, and which office you file with.
Swipe sideways to see thresholds and confidence.
| Locality | Permit required? | Typical threshold | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda County | Conditional | Height of a raised deck above adjacent grade at which the building permit exemption stops, and only where the deck is not over a basement or story below and is not part of an accessible route | Confirmed on official page |
| Contra Costa County | Conditional | area of a deck that is also no more than 30 inches above grade at any point, is not attached to a dwelling, and does not serve a code-required exit door | Confirmed on official page |
| Fresno County | Yes | Not specified | From an official source |
| Los Angeles | Yes | Not specified | From an official source |
| Los Angeles County | Conditional | height of the deck surface above grade; the exemption also requires the deck not to be over any basement or story below and not to be part of an accessible route | Confirmed on official page |
| Orange County | Yes | Not specified | Confirmed on official page |
| Riverside County | Conditional | A deck is exempt only if it is 200 square feet or less in area, no more than 30 inches above grade at any point, not attached to a dwelling or townhouse, and does not serve the required exit door | Confirmed on official page |
| Sacramento | Conditional | uncovered deck 30 inches or more above grade requires a building permit | Based on building code |
| Sacramento County | Conditional | deck area, where the deck is also no more than 30 inches above grade at any point, is not attached to a dwelling, and does not serve a required exit door | Confirmed on official page |
| San Bernardino County | Conditional | floor area of a detached residential accessory structure | Confirmed on official page |
| San Diego | Conditional | deck over 200 sq ft or over 30 inches above grade or attached to a dwelling requires a permit | Confirmed on official page |
| San Diego County | Conditional | A deck needs a building permit when it is more than 30 inches above adjacent grade, or sits over a basement or story below, or forms part of an accessible route. | Confirmed on official page |
| San Jose | Conditional | deck over 200 sq ft or over 30 inches above grade or attached to dwelling or serving required exit requires a permit | Based on building code |
| Santa Clara County | Conditional | deck area, paired with a 30-inch height limit, no attachment to the dwelling, and no required exit door served | Confirmed on official page |
| No localities match your filter. | |||
What a deck permit costs in California
13 California jurisdictions we cover publish a fee figure for this work. Each line is quoted from that office's own schedule and linked to its citation. The figures are not comparable to one another: some are flat minimums, some a percentage of job value, some charged per fixture, so what you pay depends on which schedule applies and on your job's valuation.
No deck line item appears in the Building Inspection Department Service Fee Schedule (Schedule A, effective July 1, 2024). A deck permit is priced from construction valuation using the Schedule A building permit fee table (for example, '$381.46 for the first $10,000 plus $8.88 for each additional $1,000.00 or fraction thereof, to and including $50,000'), plus building plan review at 80% of the building permit fee with a $140.00 minimum, plus a $20.00 single-permit processing fee.
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No deck-specific flat fee is published. The Building Valuation Data Supplement values a "Deck" at $25.13 per square foot, and the permit fee is then computed from that valuation using the S-001 plan review and S-002 building permit tables (from $49.00 plan review and $75.00 building permit at the lowest tier). The supplement carries a 7 percent increase effective 08/10/2022 and a 5 percent increase effective 01/01/2025. Fee schedule adopted May 24, 2022, effective August 10, 2022.
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No flat deck permit fee is published. The Table of Construction Valuation (Section 2500, Miscellaneous) lists 'Wood Decks $12.00' as a construction valuation rate per square foot, which is run through Section 2501 Building Construction Permits: for FY 2026-27 a $166.28 minimum charge, then $166.28 for the first $4,000.00 plus $18.85 for each additional $1,000.00 of valuation or fraction thereof to and including $25,000.00. Plan review for single family and duplex dwellings is 65 percent of the building permit fee.
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Building permit fee is graduated by declared project valuation per LAMC 91.113 Table 1-A, posted base $65 for total valuation $100.01 to $2,000, rising by bracket above that; no deck-specific valuation multiplier is printed in the LADBS Valuation Table
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No deck line item is published. A deck more than 30 inches above grade is priced from the valuation-based Table 1-A Building Permit Fees ($65.36 for a total valuation of $0 to and including $700; $98.09 for more than $700 to and including $25,000 plus $25.27 for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof in excess of $1,000), plus the $41.35 permit issuance fee. Building Code Fee Schedule (Title 26, Ord. No. 2013-0048), effective July 1, 2026.
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Decks are priced under the patio line items in the OC Development Services Fee Schedule 2024-2027 (effective July 21, 2024): Patio, Standard: Covers, Decks, Balconies, Enclosures is $768 for FY 2024-25, $803 for FY 2025-26 and $819 for FY 2026-27; Patio, Custom: Covers, Decks, Balconies, Enclosures is valuation-based.
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Deck County Standard (BPT-DEKCS): $586.60 fixed fee; Engineered Deck (BPT-DEKE): $721.53 deposit, per Appendix A to Ordinance No. 457 as amended by Ordinance No. 457.108 (adopted June 23, 2026, effective July 23, 2026). The department's still-posted 284-035 fee sheet (09/2025) shows the older figures of $479.30 and $849.91.
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Valuation-based building permit per CDD-0245 (rev 07-12-2026), printed minimum $75 permit plus $32 plan review at the lowest bracket; decks 200 sq ft or smaller, detached and 30 inches or less above grade are permit-exempt
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Decks are priced off the FY 2026/27 Construction Fee Schedule adopted under County Code 16.0204(a)(1), which combines plan check and inspection fees. The line item is "U Other - Awning/Canopy, Deck, Carport, Patio Cover": for Construction Type VA/VB the base cost is $691 at the 50 sq ft project-size threshold, $810 at 250 sq ft, $1,054 at 500 sq ft and $1,436 at 1,000 sq ft, with a per-100-sq-ft add-on between thresholds. A $57.00 intake processing fee under 16.0204(h)(1) is applied to each permit.
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Per IB-501 Table 501C effective May 2026: Deck with pre-approved plans $1,148.29 plan check plus $264.25 inspection per building, custom plans up to 500 sq ft $1,677.99 plan check plus $264.25 inspection, over 500 sq ft $2,649.60 plan check plus $440.82 inspection
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PDS 613 (effective 07/10/2026, FY 25/26) publishes no line item named "deck." Under "PROJECT TYPES NOT LISTED IN THE TABLES ABOVE" the fee is calculated from the Schedule of Building Permit Fees Based on Valuation, which is $374.00 for the first $10,000.00 of total valuation plus $1.00 for each additional $1,000.00 or fraction thereof up to $50,000.00, with a plan review fee of 65% of the building permit fee.
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Base permit issuance $227 plus base plan review $325 plus base inspection $367, rising to $682 total inspection when a plumbing, mechanical or electrical permit is also required, per the FY2025-26 Building Division Fee Schedule
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Decks are charged by valuation, not by a flat fee. The county's Building Section Services Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2025 sets the minimum construction valuation for a Deck/balcony at $25.20 per square foot and for a Covered Deck/Porch at $33.60 per square foot, and that valuation is then run through the Building Section Valuation-Based Fee Schedule, where the residential plan check fee is 75% of the calculated permit fee. Adopted by the Board of Supervisors on January 23, 2024.
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Jurisdictions not listed publish no dollar figure we could quote. Absence does not mean a permit is free.
Common questions about deck permits in California
- Do I need a deck permit in California?
- In California it depends on the size of the job. Permits are issued locally, so the answer comes from your California city or county rather than a single statewide rule. Of the 14 California jurisdictions we have verified for deck work, 3 require a permit outright, 11 depend on the size or scope of the job, and 0 require none.
- Is there a deck permit exemption in California?
- 11 of the 14 California jurisdictions we cover set a threshold rather than a flat rule, so the same job can be exempt in one California county and permitted in the next. The table above lists each California jurisdiction's published threshold in its own words, with the source and the date we verified it.
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