Santa Rosa Building Permit Office

Jurisdiction also affects related reviews. A project under City jurisdiction may be routed among Santa Rosa divisions, while an unincorporated project can have a different building, zoning, well, septic, fire and grading path through Sonoma County.

A useful feature of Santa Rosa’s building-permit system is that a single building permit application may cover the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing work associated with a project. Separate application packages for every trade are therefore not automatically required.

The City normally creates a separate permit for each separate building on a property unless staff determines that one permit is appropriate. Projects involving multiple buildings, addresses or master plans can require specific intake instructions.

• Building application records may be created through Accela Citizen Access.
• Electronic submittal files must be PDFs.
• Separate forms and supporting documents should remain separate PDF files rather than being merged into one document.
• Drawings are submitted as a complete plan set.
• Issued-permit revisions must show changed work clearly; Santa Rosa instructs applicants to cloud plan changes, date affected sheets and provide a transmittal describing the revisions.
• Approved plans and permit documents can be downloaded through the online system after issuance.

For an owner-builder application, authorization and owner-builder documents may be required depending on who is acting for the property owner. Santa Rosa also publishes project-specific forms for residential alterations, water-demand issues and other scopes, so the Building Division’s current checklist for the exact permit type should be used.

Other agencies can enter the process when the site or scope requires them. For example, Santa Rosa identifies Sonoma County Environmental Health as the agency involved with well and septic systems when applicable. Utility, water-conservation and school-related reviews can also arise from particular development proposals.

Building inspections can be scheduled through Santa Rosa’s permit system. The Building Division also operates an automated inspection service: requests can be made by texting MENU to 833-692-5526 or by calling 707-543-3006 and following the prompts. The confirmation number should be retained because it verifies that the inspection request was successfully entered.

The City provides the requester with an inspection window on the morning of the inspection date. Santa Rosa states that requesters can expect a call between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. with a two-hour arrival window. The general Building Division inspection information also specifies that advance notice is required and that a specific inspection time cannot simply be selected.

Changes to approved construction documents require Building Division approval. Santa Rosa directs issued-permit revisions into the Digital Plan Room rather than treating altered field drawings as automatically approved work.

• Prepare an electronic version of the proposed revision.
• Cloud the portions of the drawings that changed.
• Date the affected sheets.
• Provide a transmittal identifying the affected pages and describing the changes.
• Wait for review and approval before relying on the revised plans for regulated construction.

Santa Rosa published a policy change effective January 8, 2026 for reroof work involving removal and replacement of photovoltaic panels. The reroof permit application must include a plan showing the panel layout, anchorage spacing and anchorage type or detail even when the panels will return to the same locations.

The City also cautions that roofing and solar work can involve different California contractor-license classifications. When the roofing contractor will also remove and reinstall photovoltaic panels, licensing for the complete scope should be checked before the work proceeds.

Santa Rosa’s current Planning and Economic Development fee schedule is dated July 1, 2026. Building plan-review fees and building permit fees are separate components, and the schedule includes different tables for new construction, miscellaneous work and mechanical, plumbing and electrical permits.

The amount can depend on the project category, occupancy, size, construction valuation and other applicable City charges. Development projects can also generate planning, engineering, utility, impact or Fire Department fees that are not represented by the base building permit charge alone. The City notes that its development fee schedule can be revised on January 1 and July 1, so current figures should be used rather than older permit estimates.