Permits & licenses in Chico.
Inside the Chico city line the building permit, the plan review and the inspection belong to the city. California writes one code for the whole state — Title 24, the California Building Standards Code, republished by the Building Standards Commission every three years — and state law hands its enforcement to local government: the city's department inside the line, the county's on the unincorporated land outside it. Hospitals answer to HCAI and public schools to the Division of the State Architect, not to either building counter.
- The Building Division of the Community Development Department reviews plans, issues building permits and inspects construction inside the City of Chico.
- Permit applications, plan check status, fee payments and inspection scheduling run through eTRAKiT, the city's permit portal; plans and documents for permit types outside eTRAKiT go in through the division's Digital Plan Submittal.
- Contractors need a City of Chico business license number and a California contractor's license number to be set up in eTRAKiT.
Talk to a permit specialist — for your Chico project.
Chico sits in Butte County · outline drawn from Census boundaries
What we clear here
- Building permits — new construction, fit-outs, renovations
- Trade permits — electrical, plumbing, gas, mechanical
- Use & occupancy and the inspections behind it
- Business & contractor licensing
- Signs, site work, and right-of-way
How it moves
Your package is reviewed against the current Chico submission requirements before it's filed — forms, editions, scales, signatures. Then it's tracked in the queue and carried through comments. A resubmittal means the back of the line; the pre-filing review is there to help keep you out of it. The habit comes from volume: the team has processed 400+ permits annually across Maryland, D.C., and Virginia counters.
Straight answers
Who issues building permits in Chico?
City of Chico Community Development Department — Building Division — with the trade, health, and fire reviews that attach depending on the project.
Does DaKa work in Chico?
Yes — Chico is one of the California markets we serve. Call (240) 344-5075, or send the project over, and we'll lay out your project's permits and licenses, in order, with what each review will take.
Talk to a permit specialist
Ten minutes on your project. You leave knowing the approvals it needs, in what order, and what each review will take. Or send the address, scope, and plans and we start from there.