Less guesswork, more clarity.
Permit360 takes the guesswork out of building permits. Whether you’re remodeling a kitchen, building an ADU, or replacing a furnace, our tools tell you what permits you need, what they’ll cost, what forms to expect, and how long it’ll take — before you make a single phone call to your building department.
What we do
Three tools, all sourced directly from public records:
- A fee calculator that gives an itemized breakdown of permit fees — building permit, plan check, trade permits, and every surcharge — surgically close to what your building department will actually charge.
- A scope guide that takes a project description and tells you exactly what permits are required, what departments are involved, what forms you’ll need, and what to expect at each step.
- Plain-English articles that explain how the system works — how building departments operate, when you don’t need a permit, what plan check actually checks for, and how to avoid the corrections that trip up most homeowners.
Where the data comes from
Every fee, formula, and procedural fact on Permit360 is sourced from public documents:
- Municipal codes published by each jurisdiction
- Trade permit fee schedules published by building departments
- State codes including the California Building Code and California Public Resources Code where applicable
- Official building department fee calculator outputs, used to validate every formula at multiple project valuations
We don’t scrape competitor sites. We don’t make up numbers. When fee schedules update, we update Permit360.
What we’re not
We’re not a permit expediter. We’re not a contractor. We’re not an architect, engineer, or attorney. We’re a research tool.
Permit360 estimates are informational. Final permit fees are determined by your issuing department at the time of submission and can differ from our estimates due to project-specific factors, fee schedule updates, and plan-checker discretion. Always confirm with your building department before relying on any estimate for budgeting purposes.
For complex projects, hire qualified professionals. We’ll point you toward what kind of expert you need.
Coverage
Permit360 expands jurisdiction by jurisdiction. Project types and cities are added continuously. If you don’t see your jurisdiction yet, we either haven’t gotten to it or are actively working on it.
Get in touch
Found a fee that doesn’t match your real permit receipt? Have a project type we haven’t covered? Want to suggest a jurisdiction we should add next? Contact us — we read everything.