Do you need a shed permit in California?
By Mario Bailey Last checked
- Always required
- 0
- of 14 jurisdictions
- Conditional
- 14
- depends on size or scope
- Not required
- 0
- exempt outright
Shed Permit rules nationwide, beyond California.
Requirements and size thresholds for shed 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 shed permit rules across every locality we cover.
The application steps and inspection sequence for shed 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 shed 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 | Floor area of a one-story detached tool or storage shed accessory to a house, at which the building permit exemption stops | Confirmed on official page |
| Contra Costa County | Conditional | floor area of a one-story detached accessory structure | Confirmed on official page |
| Fresno County | Conditional | One-story detached accessory structures used as tool and storage sheds, playhouses and similar uses are exempt from a building permit when the floor area is not greater than 120 square feet | Confirmed on official page |
| Los Angeles | Conditional | one-story shed under 120 sq ft and under 12 ft in height with no electrical or plumbing does not require a permit | Based on building code |
| Los Angeles County | Conditional | gross floor area of a one-story detached accessory building; the exemption also requires the height not to exceed 12 feet and the maximum roof projection not to exceed 24 inches | Confirmed on official page |
| Orange County | Conditional | One-story detached accessory buildings used as tool and storage sheds, play houses and similar uses are exempt from a building permit only when the floor area does not exceed 120 square feet and the structure sits at least 3 feet from the property line and 6 feet from other buildings on the same property | Confirmed on official page |
| Riverside County | Conditional | A one-story detached accessory structure with a floor area of 120 square feet or less is exempt from a building permit, other than a storm shelter | Confirmed on official page |
| Sacramento | Conditional | detached storage shed under 120 sq ft without electrical or plumbing does not require a permit | Based on building code |
| Sacramento County | Conditional | floor area of a one-story detached structure designed for storage with no electrical or plumbing installed | Confirmed on official page |
| San Bernardino County | Conditional | floor area of a detached residential accessory structure | Confirmed on official page |
| San Diego | Conditional | one-story detached accessory structure under 120 sq ft used as non-habitable storage does not require a permit | From an official source |
| San Diego County | Conditional | One-story detached non-habitable accessory structures such as tool or storage sheds need a building permit once floor area exceeds 120 square feet. | Confirmed on official page |
| San Jose | Conditional | shed under 120 sq ft without electrical or plumbing does not require a permit | Based on building code |
| Santa Clara County | Conditional | floor area of a one-story detached tool or storage shed | Confirmed on official page |
| No localities match your filter. | |||
What a shed 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 shed line item appears in the Building Inspection Department Service Fee Schedule (Schedule A, effective July 1, 2024). A shed permit is priced from construction valuation using the Schedule A table and the Schedule B square-foot valuation table, with a stated minimum of '$140.00 service fee or hourly rate' for any plan review, permit or inspection service, plus a $20.00 single-permit processing fee. Building plan review is charged at '80% of the Building Permit fees, $140.00 minimum.'
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No shed-specific flat fee is published. Sheds fall under the valuation-based building fees in the Land Development Fee Schedule: S-001 Plan Review starts at $49.00 for improvement value up to $2,000 plus $8.94 for each additional $1,000, S-001 Permit Review and Processing starts at $19.00 plus $3.44 for each additional $1,000, and S-002 Building Permit inspection starts at $75.00 plus $13.75 for each additional $1,000. The county states a "$75.00 minimum fee on all charges." Fee schedule adopted May 24, 2022, effective August 10, 2022.
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For a shed between 120 and 240 square feet the county charges for the Item No. 18 exemption application, not a building permit: 'The cost for the permit will be $153.44 (a $21.85 internet fee is added for permits applied for online).' A shed that exceeds the exemption is a building permit priced from the Table of Construction Valuation line 'Private Garages, Residential Accessory Structures: (U) Wood Frame Type VB $38.00' (per square foot of valuation), run through Section 2501, which for FY 2026-27 has a $166.28 minimum charge.
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No shed-specific valuation multiplier printed; a shed requiring a permit takes the valuation-based building permit fee per LAMC 91.113 Table 1-A off declared project valuation, posted base $65 for valuation $100.01 to $2,000
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No shed line item is published. A shed that exceeds the exemption 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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The OC Development Services Fee Schedule 2024-2027 (effective July 21, 2024) publishes no shed-specific line item. A detached accessory structure that exceeds the exemption is a valuation-based building permit, starting at $148 for a total valuation of $1 to $3,000 under Table 2, Valuation-Based Fee Table, with plan check at 65% of the building permit fee.
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Accessory Building 1,000 SQ FT (BAS-ACB1): $1,628.78 deposit; Accessory Building 1,001 to 3,000 SQ FT (BAS-ACB3): $1,917.22 deposit; Accessory Building Final Inspection (BAS-ACFNL): $370.90 fixed, per Appendix A to Ordinance No. 457 as amended by Ordinance No. 457.108 (adopted June 23, 2026, effective July 23, 2026). Deposit-based permits are billed against actual staff time, so the figure shown is a starting deposit rather than a final cost.
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Valuation-based building permit per CDD-0245 (rev 07-12-2026), $75 minimum permit plus $32 plan review; detached sheds under 120 sq ft are permit-exempt per the accessory structures handout
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Sheds 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 Accessory-Barn or Shed": for Construction Type VA/VB the base cost is $3,091 at the 200 sq ft project-size threshold plus $77.84 for each additional 100 sq ft, rising to $3,714 at the 1,000 sq ft threshold. Construction Types IIA-IV are $3,864 and Types IA/IB are $4,637 at the same 200 sq ft threshold. A $57.00 intake processing fee under 16.0204(h)(1) is applied to each permit.
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No dedicated shed line in the fee schedule; the closest official category in IB-501 Table 501C effective May 2026 is Garage/Storage for a single dwelling at $1,501.42 plan check per structure with inspection billed hourly
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PDS 613 (effective 07/10/2026, FY 25/26) bills a permitted shed under "Residential Garage, Carport, Storage Bldg, Cabana, Pool House or Recreational Room Simple Enough for OTC review" at a Plan Review Fee of $578.00 plus $0.121 per square foot and a Permit Fee of $1,310.00 plus $0.114 per square foot. If the project is not simple enough for over-the-counter review, "Residential Garage, Carport or Storage Bldg. Requiring Plan Check Submittal" is $1,262.00 plus $0.431 per square foot for plan review with the same permit fee.
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Base permit issuance $227 plus base plan review $325 plus base inspection $367 for a shed needing a permit; sheds 120 sq ft or less without wiring need no permit, per the FY2025-26 Building Division Fee Schedule
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No shed-specific flat fee is published. A shed that needs a permit is charged off the Building Section Valuation-Based Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2025 (from $249.00 building permit fee plus $186.00 residential plan check at $1.00 to $2,000.00 of valuation), and the county's Building Section Services Fee Schedule sets the minimum valuations used for accessory structures, for example Garage, Rough at $67.20 per square foot and Stable Or Barn, Rough at $33.60 per square foot. 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 shed permits in California
- Do I need a shed 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 shed work, 0 require a permit outright, 14 depend on the size or scope of the job, and 0 require none.
- Is there a shed permit exemption in California?
- 14 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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