General building work permit checklist — Santa Ana, California
Assembled from Santa Ana’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?
Santa Ana requires a permit for general building work.
Santa Ana does not publish an exemption list inside its fee schedule; it applies the California Building and Residential Code exemptions adopted in the Santa Ana Municipal Code, which cover one-story detached accessory structures up to 120 sq ft, fences up to 7 feet, retaining walls up to 4 feet from the bottom of the footing without a surcharge, and platforms and walks not more than 30 inches above grade. Planning Division approval is required in advance for the majority of building permit applications.
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Sources
- building — permit rules ↗verified August 2026
Other permits Santa Ana 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 Santa Ana before you build.