Sausalito, CA Building Permit Guide

Permit Authority

The City of Sausalito Community Development Department administers building permits within the incorporated City of Sausalito; Marin County handles unincorporated county areas outside city limits.

Department

City of Sausalito Community Development Department, Building Division

Address

Sausalito City Hall, 420 Litho Street, Sausalito, CA 94965

Phone

(415) 289-4128

Email

cdd@sausalito.gov

Website

https://www.sausalito.gov/departments/community-development/building-division

Online Permit Portal

Application Process

1. Prepare the application package. Sausalito requires a completed building permit application, a coordinated plan set, and all required supporting documents and disclosures.
2. Determine the required attachments. The city says applicants must use its Plan Review Attachment Matrix to identify the drawings, reports, and supporting documents triggered by the project scope and site conditions.
3. Fully disclose the scope of work. The city requires plans to clearly identify demolition, finish removal, altered construction, replacement work, and new work.
4. Organize electronic files correctly. Sausalito requires one document per PDF, a single combined plan-set PDF, separate supporting PDFs, and file names keyed to the project address; piecemeal uploads may be rejected as incomplete.
5. Submit the application electronically through the city's Community Development submission page using the "CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT" building link, or apply in person during public counter hours at City Hall.
6. Respond to completeness comments and plan-review corrections if requested. The city states plan review does not begin until an application is deemed complete.
7. After approval and permit issuance, keep the approved plans and job card on site and request inspections as work progresses.

Typical processing time: The city pages reviewed do not publish a general plan-review turnaround estimate.

Source: City of Sausalito Community Development Department, Building Division

General Requirements

Sausalito states all building permit applications are submitted and processed electronically, and its adopted 2025 California Building Standards Code package governs building, residential, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, energy, fire, existing-building, CalGreen, and referenced standards work. In practice, permits are generally required before constructing, enlarging, altering, repairing, moving, demolishing, or changing occupancy, except for specifically exempt work posted by the city. Separate plumbing, electrical, and mechanical permits may still be required even where a building permit is not.

Required Documents

• Completed building permit application
• coordinated plan set
• all supporting documents and disclosures required by the city's Plan Review Attachment Matrix
• and properly organized PDF uploads. The city's plan submittal checklist also calls for project information, site plan, floor plans, roof/ceiling framing, elevations/sections, and foundation information, plus project-specific supporting materials such as Title 24 documentation and reports where applicable

Permit validity

Under Sausalito's current local code amendments, a permit becomes invalid if work does not commence within 180 days of issuance, or if more than 180 days pass after issuance without a City inspection approval. The Building Official may grant written extensions for circumstances outside the permit holder's control, but no permit may remain active for more than 6 years. Plan review expires if no permit is issued within 180 days after application, with one written extension of up to 180 days.

Building code

Sausalito Municipal Code Chapter 8.02 adopts the 2025 California Building Code, California Residential Code, California Electrical Code, California Mechanical Code, California Plumbing Code, California Energy Code, California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, California Historical Building Code, California Fire Code, California Existing Building Code, California Green Building Standards Code, and California Referenced Standards Code, with local amendments adopted by Ordinance 09-2025 on November 4, 2025.

Owner-builder

The city publicly identifies owner-builders as a professional-account category in eTRAKiT and publishes a Property Owner's Package in its forms library. The reviewed public pages do not clearly restate the city's owner-builder affidavit requirements, so applicants acting as owner-builders should confirm required disclosures with the Building Division before submittal.

Contractor requirements

Sausalito's public materials state that contractors doing work within the city need a City of Sausalito business license, and the city's building forms library includes a subcontractor list form requiring California contractor license numbers. The city also says Building Division staff verify valid Sausalito business licenses before final inspection. eTRAKiT professional accounts are used for contractors and owner-builders.

Fees

Minimum permit fee

$92.36 base building permit fee for valuation from $1 to $2,000; related trade permits have adopted minimums of $185 each for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing permits

Plan check fee

consultant/external plan check is 75% of the building permit fee; in-house plan check is $137.00 per plan review; over-the-counter plan check is $137.00; expedited plan check is 160% of the normal plan check fee; additional plan check is $93.00 per hour with a 1-hour minimum

Permit fee formula

valuation-based for building permits, using the FY2025-2026 adopted fee table: $92.36 for the first $2,000, then bracketed base amounts plus an added amount per $1,000 of valuation

Trade permit fee

$92.36 base building permit fee for valuation from $1 to $2,000; related trade permits have adopted minimums of $185 each for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing permits

Reinspection fee

reinspection fee is $82.00 per hour with a 1-hour minimum in the FY2025-2026 fee schedule, while the Building Inspections page still states $75.00 for failed inspections or no-shows

Penalty (no permit)

investigation fee for work without a permit is $82.00 minimum per building permit fee; work-beyond-scope penalty is 200% of the total permit fee; reinstatement of a building permit is 50% of the original building permit fee

Payment note

The reviewed city sources do not publish online card-processing details for building permit payments. The fee schedule includes finance charges on past-due invoices of 0.83% per month and collection service fees at actual cost.

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

Work That Does NOT Require a Permit

• One-story detached accessory structures used as tool sheds, storage sheds, playhouses, and similar uses when floor area does not exceed 120 square feet
• Fences not over 6 feet high, per the city's public exemption page
• Non-fixed and movable fixtures, cases, racks, counters, and partitions not over 5 feet 9 inches high
• Retaining walls not over 4 feet high measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of wall, unless supporting a surcharge or impounding Class I, II, or III-A liquids
• Sidewalks and driveways not more than 30 inches above grade, not over a basement or story below, and not part of an accessible route
• Painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, countertops, and similar finish work
• Window awnings for Group R-3 occupancies that project no more than 54 inches and do not require additional support
• Prefabricated above-ground swimming pools accessory to Group R-3 occupancies that are less than 24 inches deep and do not exceed 5,000 gallons
• Swings and other playground equipment accessory to detached one- and two-family dwellings

Important: Separate plumbing, electrical, and mechanical permits may still be required for exempt items. The city also warns that permit exemptions do not authorize code violations or override other city laws. The current exemption webpage lists fences not over 6 feet as exempt, while current Chapter 8.02 local amendments revise the adopted CBC exemption to fences not over 7 feet except certain concrete, masonry, or stone fences over 3 feet; applicants should confirm which standard the Building Division is currently applying.

Inspections

How to Schedule

• (415) 289-4128 (phone)
• online daily inspection list (online)
• https://www.sausalito.gov/departments/community-development/building-division/building-inspections (online)

Scheduling deadline

Inspection requests must be made by 4:00 p.m. the day before the inspection date, and Monday inspections must be called in by Thursday at 4:00 p.m. The Building Inspections page lists inspection windows on Monday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The eTRAKiT inspection page also states requests received after 7:30 a.m. on the inspection day are pushed to the next inspection day; the city should be contacted directly if this timing discrepancy matters for scheduling.

Inspection hours

Inspection requests must be made by 4:00 p.m. the day before the inspection date, and Monday inspections must be called in by Thursday at 4:00 p.m. The Building Inspections page lists inspection windows on Monday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The eTRAKiT inspection page also states requests received after 7:30 a.m. on the inspection day are pushed to the next inspection day; the city should be contacted directly if this timing discrepancy matters for scheduling.

Time windows

Inspection requests must be made by 4:00 p.m. the day before the inspection date, and Monday inspections must be called in by Thursday at 4:00 p.m. The Building Inspections page lists inspection windows on Monday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The eTRAKiT inspection page also states requests received after 7:30 a.m. on the inspection day are pushed to the next inspection day; the city should be contacted directly if this timing discrepancy matters for scheduling.

Typical inspection sequence: Sausalito's public pages reviewed here do not publish a universal inspection-card sequence for every project. Inspections are permit-specific and generally proceed through the applicable stages of work shown on the approved plans and job card until final approval. Reinspection note: The city states reinspection fees apply for failed inspections and no-shows, and the approved plans plus the job card must be on site during inspection. Work without a permit can trigger an additional investigation fee and related penalties.

Additional Resources

• Building code: Sausalito Municipal Code Chapter 8.02 adopts the 2025 California Building Code, California Residential Code, California Electrical Code, California Mechanical Code, California Plumbing Code, California Energy Code, California Wildland-Urban Interface Code, California Historical Building Code, California Fire Code, California Existing Building Code, California Green Building Standards Code, and California Referenced Standards Code, with local amendments adopted by Ordinance 09-2025 on November 4, 2025.
• Zoning information: View zoning info
• Building permit submittal process
• Building inspections
• Building forms and guidelines
• Local building ordinances
• Municipal code Chapter 8.02
• eTRAKiT portal page
• Community Development overview
• License lookup guide: California Contractor License Requirements
• Contract template: California Homeowner-Contractor Agreement

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