Required Building Safety Permits
Permits are required for any project involving the construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, relocation, demolition, or change in occupancy of a building or structure. Additionally, permits are necessary for the installation, enlargement, alteration, repair, removal, conversion, or replacement of any electrical, gas, mechanical, or plumbing systems. The following types of work require permits from the Building Safety Division. This list is not exhaustive; additional items may also require permits. All work, regardless of permit requirements, must comply with Federal laws, California laws, and the Culver City Municipal Code.
This list provides an overview of projects typically needing permits, but other unlisted items may also require them. Any project submitted for review and approval may require the applicant to apply for one or more of the permits listed below.
Please feel free to contact the Building Safety Division whether a permit is needed or not.
Required Building Permits List
- Block wall over 3 ft.-6 inch (all fences/walls require Planning Division approval, regardless of height)
- Carport, new or conversion
- Deck above grade
- Demolition, interior or exterior
- Door, in new location
- Door, replacement if size is increased
- Fence, wood/vinyl, over seven ft. in height (all fences/walls require Planning Division approval, regardless of height)
- Fireplace
- Garage, new or conversion
- New Construction
- Parking lots; paving, improving, stripping, or restriping
- Partition wall
- Patio cover/trellis/arbor
- Patio enclosure
- Pool and or spa
- Porch or sun room
- Re-roof
- Remodel/alteration
- Retaining wall
- Roof change, flat to sloped
- Room addition
- Shower walls, repair or enclosures
- Skylight
- Sliding glass door, new or replacement
- Spray booth (Fire Dept. permit only if no architectural work)
- Stairway
- Storage loft/platform
- Storage shed greater than 120 sq. ft.
- Termite/dry rot repair
- Vinyl siding, if removing existing stucco and/or lateral bracing
- Windows, new or replacement
Required Mechanical Permits List
- Air conditioning
- Central vacuum system
- Commercial kitchen hood
- Duct system, extension or relocation
- Exhaust fan, new or relocation (bathroom, kitchen, laundry, etc.)
- Exhaust fan, replacement if type, size, or rating is changed
- Fireplace
- Heating unit (central furnace, wall furnace, floor furnace, unit heater)
- Make-up air unit
- Paddle/ceiling fan
- Product conveying system
- Ventilation system
- Wood stove/pellet stove
Required Electrical Permits List
- Exterior lighting for commercial buildings, new or replacement
- Garage door opener only if adding outlet or wiring
- Pool related electrical
- Service panel or sub panel (new, replacement, relocated, or upgraded)
- Signs, illuminated
- Solar panels
- Spa/hot tub related electrical (outdoor only)
- Temporary power poles
- Wiring and wiring devices for appliances such as air conditioners, space heaters, dishwashers, washing machines, water heaters, clothes dryers, etc.
- Wiring and wiring devices for motors, generators, transformers, industrial heating, air conditioners and heat pumps, cooking and baking equipment, etc.
- Wiring devices, new, replacement, or relocation (light, switch, outlet, smoke detector, ceiling fan, and etc.)
Required Plumbing Permits List
- Backflow device
- Dishwasher, new or replacement
- Fixtures, new, replacement or relocation (bathtub, bidet, laundry tray, lavatory, shower, sink, toilet, urinal)
- Garbage disposal, new or replacement
- Gas piping, new, replacement, or extension
- Gas service
- Grease trap/industrial waste interceptor
- Hose bib
- Lawn sprinkler anti-siphon valves (AVB), new or replacement
- Pool related plumbing
- Seismic gas shutoff valve
- Sewage ejector
- Sewer cap/clean-out
- Sewer line, new, repair or replacement
- Solar panels for water heating
- Spa/Hot tub related plumbing (outdoor only)
- Sprinkler (residential sources of ignition)
- Standpipe for washing machine or water softener
- Steam units
- Sump pump
- Water heater, new, replacement or relocation
- Water piping, new, replacement or extension
- Water pressure regulator
- Water service
Permit Required
The following is a partial list of items that DO require a permit from Building Safety. There are additional projects and items that could require a permit. Work shall not begin before the permit has been issued. Note that all work, regardless of whether or not a permit is required, shall comply with California Codes, Culver City Municipal Codes and City Ordinances.
- Accessory building or dwelling
- Awning
- Deck, new or replacement
- Demolition
- Fence, new or replacement
- Foundation
- Garage conversion
- Access ramp
- Accessibile restroom
- Lighting fixtures
- Patio enclosure
- Patio room
- Pool
- Porch enclosure
- Porch, new or replacement
- Re-roof
- Remodel
- Retaining wall
- Seismic (earthquake) retrofit
- Sign
- Spa/hot tub
- Storage shed, attached
- Suspended ceiling
- T-bar ceiling
- Tenant improvement
- Trellis/patio cover/arbor
- Wall, new, replacement or removal (interior or exterior)
Permit Not Required
The following is a partial list of items that DO NOT require a permit from Building Safety. All work, regardless of whether or not a permit is required, shall comply with California Codes, Culver City Municipal Codes and City Ordinances. Please check with other City departments for their requirements. Other departments may require approval and/or permits for work not mandated to have a permit by the Building Safety Division.
- Awnings accessory to single family and 54” maximum in projection
- Block wall less than 3 ft. 6 inch
- Cabinets
- Carpet
- Clean up, interior
- Concrete sitework on grade, non-accessible path of travel
- Counter tops
- Driveway (see Engineering Division)
- Floor coverings
- Landscaping (excluding sprinkler systems)
- Minor Sheetrock repair
- Movable racks and partitions not over 5 ft. 9 inch
- Portable plug in equipment and appliance
- Painting, interior or exterior
- Playhouse/tree house
- Playground equipment accessory to one- and two-family dwellings
- Prefabricated swimming pools accessory to a single-family dwelling that are less than 24 inches deep, are not greater than 5,000 gallons and are installed entirely above ground
- Retaining wall less than 4 ft. in height measured from bottom of the footing on a flat site
- Stopping leaks and clearing clogs; without replacing pipe.
- Storage shed less than 120 square ft.
- Tile, floor or wall
- Wall coverings
- Water tanks
- Wood/vinyl fence less than 7 ft.