Permits & licenses in Kern County.
Outside every city line in Kern County, the building permit, the plan review and the inspection belong to the county. 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 county's department on the unincorporated land, each city's department inside its own line. Hospitals answer to HCAI and public schools to the Division of the State Architect, not to either building counter.
- The Building Inspection Division of the Kern County Public Works Department issues building permits for the unincorporated county; applications, electronic plan review, fees and inspections run through the county's Accela Citizen Portal with ePlanCheck.
- The City of Bakersfield runs its own building department inside the city line.
Talk to a permit specialist — for your Kern County project.
county seat: Bakersfield
Kern County · 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 Kern County 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 Kern County?
Kern County Public Works Department — Building Inspection Division — with the trade, health, and fire reviews that attach depending on the project.
Does DaKa work in Kern County?
Yes — Kern County 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.