Garage

Introduction

Most one- and two-car garages fall under the California Residential Code (CRC) as U occupancies when detached, or as part of the R-3 dwelling when attached; larger or mixed-use garages may trigger the full California Building Code (CBC). Your permit application must include a scaled site plan, foundation and framing details, roof design, and CALGreen and Energy Code documentation for lighting and insulation. Although conventional, single-story wood-frame garages can often be built using CRC prescriptive tables, any design that exceeds those limits—such as tall walls for RV storage, heavy tile roofs, or engineered truss systems—must be stamped and signed by a California-licensed architect or engineer.

Minimum Documents for Permit Submittal

The following documents are required for all permit applications for a new garage. If you are unsure what these documents are or how to get them see our Construction Documents page. It will describe what the document is, why it is required, and how you can get it.

Forms

Design Documents

NOTICE: Other documents will likely be required depending on where and how complex of a structure you are building. For example, if you are using trusses for your roof framing you will need to provide the truss calculations. See the Construction Documents page to see if other documents may be required for your permit submittal.

Quick Steps to Permit Issuance

Follow the below steps to start a permit application for a new garage.

  1. Register for an Accela account (see our Accela Support Resources).
  2. Upload your required documents (see our Accela Support Resources and Step 3 on First Time Applying for Building Permit).
  3. Move through step 4 Preliminary Site Inspection and step 5 Plan Check described on First Time Applying for a Building Permit webpage.
  4. Once the permit is issued use the Inspections page to schedule inspections and change your issued permit if necessary.