Permits & licenses in Fremont.

Inside the Fremont 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 and Safety Division, within the Community Development Department, runs two functions — Plans and Permits, which processes planning and building permits, and Building Inspection, which inspects work against the approved plans and finals the permit.
• Planning, building/fire, solar and engineering permits run through Citizen Access, the city's online portal; the Permit Center in the Development Services Center seats Planning, Building and Safety, Engineering, Environmental Services and Revenue at one counter.
• Plans for fire protection systems go to the Plans and Permits counter rather than the Fire Department; the Fremont Fire Department's Fire Prevention Bureau holds fire code enforcement, annual fire safety inspections and the Hazardous Materials/CUPA program.
• Unincorporated Alameda County permits through the Alameda County Public Works Agency, which primarily serves the county's unincorporated areas, on the Alameda County Permit Portal.