Retaining wall permit checklist — San Diego County, California
Assembled from San Diego 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?
San Diego County requires a permit for a retaining wall.
San Diego County draws the retaining wall exemption differently from the State. PDS 110 exempts walls that retain not more than 3 feet of soil and are not more than 6 feet in total height. The State default is a single 4-foot measurement from the bottom of the footing, so the County test is a two-part one: retained soil depth and overall wall height must both be satisfied. Any surcharge behind the wall, such as sloping backfill, a driveway, a pool or a structure footing, defeats the exemption. On unincorporated hillside parcels a wall that moves earth will also trigger separate grading review, and walls near an onsite wastewater system need DEHQ septic clearance.
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Sources
- retaining wall — permit rules ↗verified August 2026
Other permits San Diego 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
- Electrical work permit checklist
- General building work permit checklist
BuildSpec is a reference, not the authority having jurisdiction. Confirm requirements with San Diego County before you build.