Shed permit checklist — San Francisco, California
Assembled from San Francisco’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 Francisco does not require a permit for a shed.
San Francisco Building Code Section 106A.2 exempts a detached, single-story storage shed, playhouse, or comparable accessory structure from a building permit if its floor area stays at or under 120 square feet, measured to the inside face of the exterior walls, and San Francisco Planning Code Section 136(c)23 caps its height at 10 feet, measured from the perimeter grade of the shed to the top of its roof. Only one exempt shed is allowed per lot or yard, it cannot be attached or connected to the house, garage, or other buildings or structures on the lot, and its use is limited to non-habitable storage, storage of tools and equipment, or a children's playhouse. No property line setback is required if the shed is built with 1-hour fire rated exterior walls; a 5-foot minimum property line setback applies when the exterior walls have less than a 1-hour fire resistance rating. Window and door openings are not allowed in exterior walls located less than three feet from an adjacent property line. The San Francisco Planning Code limits the roof overhang to one foot, and a roof overhang cannot be located closer than two feet from an adjacent property line, so a shed with a one-foot overhang needs a minimum three-foot setback. Exemption from the permit requirement does not authorize work that violates the building code or other laws. The Department of Building Inspection's Frequently Asked Questions on Storage Sheds Exempt from a Building Permit gives the limits as 120 square feet of floor area and 10 feet in height; the department's guidance on checking if a construction project needs a permit describes the same exemption as a projected roof area less than 100 square feet and no taller than 8 feet.
Loading the full checklist…
Sources
- shed — permit rules ↗verified August 2026
Other permits San Francisco 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
- 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 Francisco before you build.