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General building work permit checklist — Contra Costa County, California
Assembled from Contra Costa County’s own published permit rules. Every line below is quoted from a city document and linked to it. Nothing here is generated, estimated, or inferred from another jurisdiction.
Do you need a permit?
Contra Costa County requires a permit for general building work.
The county's Construction Work Not Requiring a Building Permit handout lists work that may proceed in unincorporated Contra Costa County without a building permit; items include one-story detached accessory structures with a floor area of 120 square feet or less, fences up to 7 feet tall, retaining walls of 3 feet or less measured from footing top to wall top under limited slope conditions, detached low decks within 200 square feet, sidewalks and driveways under 30 inches above grade, painting and similar finish work, and window awnings projecting 54 inches or less.
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Sources
- building — permit rules ↗verified August 2026
Other permits Contra Costa County publishes rules for
Listed because the city publishes a separate rule for each type — not because this project necessarily triggers one. Whether it does depends on your scope of work.
- Deck permit checklist
- Fence permit checklist
- Shed permit checklist
- Water heater permit checklist
- Re-roof permit checklist
- Retaining wall permit checklist
- Electrical work permit checklist
BuildSpec is a reference, not the authority having jurisdiction. Confirm requirements with Contra Costa County before you build.