Do you need a permit for a shed in Los Angeles County, California?

Q: Do you need a permit for a shed in Los Angeles County, California?

Los Angeles County does not require a permit for a shed. A one-story detached accessory building used as a tool or storage shed, playhouse or similar use is exempt from a building permit when the gross floor area is 120 square feet or less and the height is 12 feet or less. Go over either limit and a permit is required. The exemption is only from the building permit, so if you run power or plumbing to the shed you still need an electrical or plumbing permit. Related exemptions in the same Title 26 Section 106.3 list cover animal shelters, coops, kennels and pens up to 400 square feet and 6 feet high, and livestock shelters up to 300 square feet and 12 feet high with three or more open sides. Zoning setbacks, hillside restrictions, Fire Hazard Severity Zone construction standards and Coastal Zone rules still apply to an exempt shed in unincorporated territory.

California › Los Angeles County

Shed permit checklist — Los Angeles County, California

Assembled from Los Angeles 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?

Los Angeles County does not require a permit for a shed.

When a permit is not required

A one-story detached accessory building used as a tool or storage shed, playhouse or similar use is exempt from a building permit when the gross floor area is 120 square feet or less and the height is 12 feet or less. Go over either limit and a permit is required. The exemption is only from the building permit, so if you run power or plumbing to the shed you still need an electrical or plumbing permit. Related exemptions in the same Title 26 Section 106.3 list cover animal shelters, coops, kennels and pens up to 400 square feet and 6 feet high, and livestock shelters up to 300 square feet and 12 feet high with three or more open sides. Zoning setbacks, hillside restrictions, Fire Hazard Severity Zone construction standards and Coastal Zone rules still apply to an exempt shed in unincorporated territory.

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Sources

shed — permit rules ↗verified August 2026

Other permits Los Angeles 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.

All Los Angeles County permit requirements Los Angeles County permit costs Apply with the city ↗

BuildSpec is a reference, not the authority having jurisdiction. Confirm requirements with Los Angeles County before you build.