Permits & licenses in San Francisco.
San Francisco is a city and county in one: one government, and one building department on every parcel. California writes one code for the whole state — Title 24, the California Building Standards Code — and here the Department of Building Inspection holds the building permit, the plan review and the inspection. Hospitals answer to HCAI and public schools to the Division of the State Architect.
- City and county are consolidated; the Department of Building Inspection (DBI) issues building permits and enforces the building and housing codes across San Francisco.
- Permit applications run through the PermitSF portal, and DBI schedules building, plumbing, mechanical and electrical inspections.
Talk to a permit specialist — for your San Francisco project.
city & county seat: San Francisco
San Francisco · 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 San Francisco 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 San Francisco?
San Francisco Department of Building Inspection — with the trade, health, and fire reviews that attach depending on the project.
Does DaKa work in San Francisco?
Yes — San Francisco 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.