Permits / Authority
Santa Monica permits
Santa Monica's Building and Safety reviews plans and issues permits; the City notes that plan review and permit submittals are evaluated under the 2025 California building standards (Title 24), effective January 1, 2026. Coastal and property-regulation questions start with the City's planning resources.
Official starting points
Property regulation lookup
The City's planning resources include a property lookup and Local Coastal Program materials.
Current code cycle
Drawings are reviewed under the current California standards; older drawings may need updating.
ADU and JADU guidance
The City publishes ADU and JADU guidance with local code references.
Who reviews what, and where to start
Planning review (land use, overlays, design) and building review (drawings, permits, inspections) can be separate offices. The current checklist lives on each office's official page; the links below are the starting point, not the checklist itself.
- Planning and land-use context
- Official resource: Santa Monica · Planning resources
- Building permits and plan check
- Official resource: Santa Monica · Building permits and plan review
- ADU guidance
- Official resource: Santa Monica · ADUs
Before you contact the agency
Have the address, parcel number, past permits and a short scope description ready. The printable list on this page summarizes what to bring. Go to the list
What stays parcel-specific
- Zoning and overlays that touch your address
- Whether the work qualifies for a particular path
- Fees calculated on the submitted project
- How many correction rounds follow
What is specific to this authority
The shared stages (authority, planning check, plan check and inspections) are explained once on the permits index; this page records only what differs. See how review usually proceeds
Coastal check
Whether coastal review applies depends on the parcel; check before design, not after.
Checklist to bring
- Property address
- Property lookup printout
- Existing drawings, if any
Questions
- Are older drawings still usable?
- They help document existing conditions, but new work is reviewed under current standards.
Planning a new home or rebuild? Custom home planning in Santa Monica
Official sources
- Santa Monica · Building permits and plan review
The City states plan review and permit submittals are evaluated under the 2025 California standards (Title 24), effective January 1, 2026; moved to this address, read October 13, 2026.
Statement read on the page · 2026-10-13 - Santa Monica · Planning resources
Property lookup and Local Coastal Program.
Official page reached · 2026-10-13 - Santa Monica · ADUs
ADU and JADU guidance.
Official page reached · 2026-10-13
Sources show where to look; they do not confirm what applies to a parcel.
Service pages in these communities
KB Remodeling · Greater Los Angeles
Have a home in mind?
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