La Mirada, CA Building Permit Guide

Permit Authority

La Mirada is a Los Angeles County contract city. The City accepts permit applications through its process, and Los Angeles County Building & Safety performs plan check and inspections for local construction projects. Plan checks are handled through the County's South Whittier District Office at 13523 E. Telegraph Road, Whittier, CA 90605, and in some cases the County Central Office at 900 S. Fremont Avenue, 3rd Floor, Alhambra, CA 91803.

Department

City of La Mirada Community Development Department, Building & Safety/Engineering

Address

13700 La Mirada Boulevard, La Mirada, CA 90638

Phone

(562) 943-0131

Email

No general Building & Safety email published on the City page reviewed

Website

https://www.cityoflamirada.org/departments/community-development/building-safety-engineering

Online Permit Portal

Application Process

1. Confirm whether the project needs City Planning review or zoning clearance first. La Mirada states Planning Division review and approval is required before Building and Safety electronic plan check submittal.
2. Complete the correct City permit application form for the scope of work: building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, pool, grading, sewer, or miscellaneous.
3. Take the completed application to the Building & Safety counter at City Hall for permit processing.
4. If plan check is required, submit plans electronically in PDF format through BSOP. Applicants must register for a BSOP account, search by address or APN, select the parcel, and upload the application and plan files. Separate building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing plan sets must be submitted individually.
5. After County plan check staff accept the submittal, the project is entered into the permitting system, fees are calculated, and plan check fees are posted. BSOP instructions say online payment is available by credit card for fees up to $2,000 and by e-check for fees up to $10,000; higher County fees must be paid in person. Fees due to the City must be paid directly to the City or servicing district office, not online.
6. Once approvals are complete and fees are paid, obtain the permit through the City's process and keep the permit documents and any inspection card available at the jobsite.
7. Request inspections by phone through La Mirada at (562) 943-0131 when work reaches the required stages.

Typical processing time: No city-specific turnaround time was published on the reviewed La Mirada or County pages.

Source: City of La Mirada Community Development Department, Building & Safety/Engineering

General Requirements

La Mirada states a building permit is required to build, modify, remodel, repair, or demolish any building or structure, including garages, open patio covers, fences, accessory buildings, carports, and kitchen or bathroom remodels. Separate electrical, plumbing, mechanical, pool, grading, sewer, and miscellaneous permits are required for the corresponding work categories. Work exempt from permit is listed by Los Angeles County Title 26 through Title 29 exemptions.

Required Documents

• Completed City permit application
• electronic PDF plan set for plan check submittals
• separate applications for each plan type where applicable
• supporting documents and agency approvals required by plan review
• project information entered in BSOP. The County instructions say uploaded PDF files over 100 MB must be split into multiple files.

Permit validity

Los Angeles County states a permit expires if work does not start within 12 months of issuance, or if work lapses for more than 180 days after starting. One or more 180-day extensions may be granted upon written request, and an extension fee of up to 25 percent of the permit fee may apply.

Building code

The City states it uses the 2022 California Building Code with the Los Angeles County 2023 Amendment, including electrical, mechanical, and plumbing codes.

Owner-builder

La Mirada states owner-builder permits may be issued to the property owner in certain instances. Building permits do not need the owner's signature unless the owner is personally performing the work, and the owner-builder becomes the responsible party of record.

Contractor requirements

La Mirada states contractors must be licensed and bonded by the State of California, must hold a valid City business license, and must place their license number on permits they apply for.

Fees

Minimum permit fee

For building permits, the City posts a 2025-2026 Building Code Fee Schedule with a permit issuance fee of $45.99 added to building permit fees. The City fee page also shows the 2025-2026 Building Valuation Fee Table as pending; the currently posted valuation reference table is 2024-2025 and starts at permit fees of $71.07 to $81.66 depending review type, plus a $44.65 issuance fee. Applicants are directed to use DAPTS for actual fee calculation.

Plan check fee

The current City fee page posts the 2025-2026 Building Code Fee Schedule and states the 2025-2026 valuation table is pending. The posted 2024-2025 valuation reference table lists plan check fees by project valuation and review type, and the 2025-2026 Building Code Fee Schedule lists a minimum plan check fee for standardized plans of $250.90.

Permit fee formula

Building permit and plan check fees are valuation-based per the City's Building Valuation Fee Table. Trade permits use flat schedule fees by fixture, equipment, or system count under the electrical, mechanical, and plumbing schedules.

Trade permit fee

Building permit and plan check fees are valuation-based per the City's Building Valuation Fee Table. Trade permits use flat schedule fees by fixture, equipment, or system count under the electrical, mechanical, and plumbing schedules.

Penalty (no permit)

2025-2026 Building Code Fee Schedule: inspections outside normal hours $163.51 per hour; inspections with no specific fee $163.51 per hour; additional review due to complexity or revisions $182.42 per hour; services beyond the first and second plan checks $182.42 per hour; investigation fee for work without a required permit equals the permit fee but not less than $560.49, except $280.25 for one- or two-family dwellings when work is by owner-builder; noncompliance fee $168.50 for Group R-3 occupancy and $337.23 for all other occupancies.

Payment note

BSOP instructions say online payment is available only after plan check acceptance, by credit card up to $2,000 and e-check up to $10,000. Fees above $10,000 must be paid in person at the responsible district office. Fees due to the City must be paid directly to the City or servicing district office rather than online.

Fees change. Verify current amounts at the official fee schedule.

Work That Does NOT Require a Permit

• One-story detached accessory buildings such as tool sheds, storage sheds, playhouses, or shade structures not over 120 square feet, not over 12 feet high, and with roof projection not over 24 inches
• Certain fences and monument signs not over 6 feet, subject to material and setback limits, except pool barriers
• Retaining walls retaining not more than 4 feet and not supporting surcharge or certain liquid storage
• Decks, walks, and driveways not more than 30 inches above grade, not over a basement or story below, and not part of an accessible route
• Prefabricated pools for Group R-3 occupancy that are less than 18 inches deep or do not exceed 5,000 gallons and are entirely above adjacent grade; pool safety barriers and similar devices are not exempt
• Painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, countertops, and similar finish work where disabled-access requirements do not apply
• Minor electrical repairs such as replacement of lamps, switches, receptacles, sockets, and similar devices
• Plumbing leak repairs and drain clearing where no trap, drainpipe, soil, waste, or vent pipe is replaced or rearranged
• Portable heating, ventilating, cooling, and evaporative units, plus certain like-for-like mechanical component replacements

Important: Los Angeles County states separate plumbing, electrical, and mechanical permits may still be required even when building work is exempt, and all exempt work must still comply with zoning, code, and other applicable laws and ordinances.

Inspections

How to Schedule

• the City says voicemail and email requests are not accepted. Daily inspection status can be checked on the pre-recorded hotline at (562) 902-2927. General County inspection guidance for contract cities is at (online)
• (562) 943-0131 (phone)
• (562) 902-2927 (phone)

Inspection hours

Inspection requests may be made Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and alternate Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Inspections are conducted Monday through Friday except holidays. The hotline is updated daily at 6:00 p.m. with the next day's schedule and is available 24 hours a day.

Typical inspection sequence: Los Angeles County states inspections occur when work reaches each required phase shown on the inspection record card, must generally occur before work is covered, and end either with corrections, approval to continue to the next phase, or final approval. The number of inspections depends on project complexity.

Additional Resources

• Building code: The City states it uses the 2022 California Building Code with the Los Angeles County 2023 Amendment, including electrical, mechanical, and plumbing codes.
• Zoning information: View zoning info
• Planning applications and zoning clearance forms
• Community Development fee page
• Work exempt from permits
• Building Permit Viewer
• License lookup guide: California Contractor License Requirements
• Contract template: California Homeowner-Contractor Agreement

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