In the City of Los Angeles, simple permits like a water heater, panel upgrade or reroof are issued the same day to within a week. A kitchen or bath with drawings takes 2 to 6 weeks. A garage conversion ADU takes 6 to 10 weeks for a first review, a custom detached ADU 8 to 14 weeks, and a new house 9 to 18 months from design to permit. Each round of corrections adds another 3 to 6 weeks.
- Same-day permits
- Counter or onlineWater heater, panel, reroof
- Standard plan ADU
- 3 to 10 daysPre-approved plan sets
- Custom ADU
- 8 to 14 weeksFirst review only
- Hard legal deadline
- 60 daysComplete ADU applications only
What it costs
| What | Typical Los Angeles range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Water heater, panel upgrade, reroof | Same day to 1 week | Express or counter permit |
| Pre-approved standard plan ADU | 3 to 10 business days | The fastest route to an ADU permit |
| Kitchen or bathroom with drawings | 2 to 6 weeks | Depends on whether structure changes |
| Garage conversion ADU | 6 to 10 weeks | First review |
| Custom detached ADU | 8 to 14 weeks | First review |
| Residential addition under 500 sq ft | 6 to 12 weeks | First review |
| Each correction round | 3 to 6 weeks | Most projects have at least one |
| New single-family house | 9 to 18 months | Design through permit issue |
The one deadline the city has to meet
A complete ADU application carries a statutory 60-day decision deadline under state law, plus 15 business days for the city to tell you whether the application is even complete. If the city neither approves nor denies within that window, the application is deemed approved.
Nothing else on this page has a legal ceiling. Every other timeline is an observed range, which is why the single biggest thing you control is the quality of the first submittal.
Which department you are actually dealing with
The City of Los Angeles, which includes Hollywood, most of the San Fernando Valley, the westside neighbourhoods inside city limits, South LA and the Harbor, uses the Department of Building and Safety at dbs.lacity.gov. Note the domain: the old ladbs.org address now redirects.
Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Culver City, Pasadena, Burbank, Glendale, Long Beach and the beach cities each run their own departments with their own queues. Unincorporated areas go to LA County Public Works. Mailing addresses mislead constantly, so we confirm jurisdiction by parcel rather than by what the envelope says.
How to get through in one round
- Submit a genuinely complete set: site plan, floor plans, elevations, sections, structural drawings and calculations, energy-code forms, and plumbing and electrical layouts
- Check zoning, setbacks and floor area before design, not after the plan checker tells you
- Use a pre-approved standard plan where one fits the lot, which skips nearly all of the architectural review
- Answer every correction in one coordinated resubmittal rather than trickling responses back
- Start utility applications early, because new meters run on the utility's calendar and often finish last
A clean first submittal that clears in one round beats a fast-but-incomplete one by months.
What permits cost
Permit fees are based on the project valuation. Additions and new units also pay school district fees per square foot, and some projects pay sewer, park and dwelling unit fees on top. A kitchen remodel permit is often a few hundred dollars; an ADU permit package commonly runs $6,000 to $14,000 once all fees are counted.
We put the known fees in the written estimate rather than letting them turn up later.
Los Angeles County figures, reviewed 2026-10-29 by America General Contractors, California contractor licence CSLB 1083262. Planning ranges, not a quote, and not legal advice. We confirm the current rules for your parcel before anything is drawn.
Questions
Can I start work while the permit is in review?
No. Work started before a permit is issued can be ordered stopped, and the city can require you to open up completed work for inspection. It also creates a disclosure problem when you sell.
What is an express permit?
A same-day or online permit for defined simple scopes: water heaters, reroofs, panel upgrades, like-for-like window retrofits and small electrical and plumbing work. No plan check is involved.
Do hillside properties take longer?
Yes. Grading review, geotechnical reports, haul route approval and sometimes fire department review add one to three months on top of the standard queue.
Who should pull the permit, me or the contractor?
The contractor, under their licence. If a contractor asks you to pull an owner-builder permit for work they are doing, that is a warning sign: it shifts liability onto you and often means something is wrong with their licence or insurance.
Does a pre-approved ADU plan really come back in days?
When the plan fits the lot without modification, yes. The architectural review has already been done once, centrally. The site-specific parts, grading, utilities and setbacks, still get reviewed.
Related reading
- How do I get a building permit in Los Angeles?
- What permits do I need for an ADU in Los Angeles?
- What is Title 24?
- Do I Need a Permit in Los Angeles?
- Pre-Approved ADU Plans in Los Angeles
- Building on a Hillside Lot in Los Angeles
