Barstow, CA Building Permit Guide

Permit Authority

Applies within the incorporated City of Barstow. San Bernardino County permit rules do not control work inside city limits.

Department

City of Barstow Community Development Department, Building & Safety Division

Address

220 E. Mountain View St., Suite A, Barstow, CA 92311

Phone

(760) 255-5161

Email

building@barstowca.org , cheldreth@barstowca.org , hriley@barstowca.org

Website

https://www.barstowca.org/departments/community-development-department/building-safety

Online Permit Portal

Application Process

1. Download the current City of Barstow building permit application and plan submittal checklist from the Building Forms and Publications page.
2. Prepare the signed application, project description, valuation, and all required supporting plans and reports. The current checklist requires hard-copy plans and PDF files on a flash drive for applicable projects.
3. Submit the package to the Building Department at 220 E. Mountain View St., Suite A, with plan review fees. The forms page says general applications and plans must be submitted in hard copy with original wet signatures.
4. Respond to plan-check corrections if the City issues comments, then resubmit revised plans/documents.
5. After approval and fee payment, the City issues the permit. Some projects also require related approvals before issuance, such as school fees, development impact fees, waste-management approvals, air district approval for demolitions, or encroachment permits.
6. Schedule inspections with the Building Department and obtain final approval before occupancy or use.

Typical processing time: The City publishes a three-business-day review target for its expedited residential solar process; I did not find a general published turnaround for non-solar building permits.

Source: City of Barstow Community Development Department, Building & Safety Division

General Requirements

Building & Safety states the permit process is used to enforce adopted building laws for residential and commercial construction. The permit application covers new buildings, additions, alterations, demolition, foundations, signs, pools/spas, fire repair, reroofing, grading, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, decks/patio covers, and similar work.

Required Documents

• Completed signed building permit application
• plan submittal checklist
• detailed project description/letter of intended use
• building plans
• site plan
• structural/engineering calculations if applicable
• Title 24 forms
• equipment specs
• truss calculations if applicable
• notarized owner/contractor authorization letters where applicable
• contractor license and workers' compensation information
• business license verification
• and project-specific outside-agency approvals as required

Permit validity

I did not find a Barstow-specific expiration rule posted on the current forms pages. Because Barstow has adopted the 2022 California Building Codes, permit expiration likely follows the default CBC/CRC rule that permits expire if work does not start within 180 days or is suspended/abandoned for 180 days, but this should be confirmed with the Building Department before relying on it.

Building code

City forms state Barstow is currently under the 2022 California Building Codes (all versions). The Building & Safety page cites Ordinance 1021-2023 adopting the 2022 California Building Code.

Owner-builder

Owner-builders assume full responsibility for the project, including permits, inspections, supervision, payment of workers/suppliers, and compliance. For home improvements, the property must be the owner's principal residence for 12 months before completion, the work must be done before sale, and the exemption cannot be used on more than two structures in any three-year period. For new single-family homes, owner-builders are limited to selling four or fewer residential structures in a calendar year, and project work must be performed by licensed subcontractors.

Contractor requirements

The application requires contractor license number, classification, expiration, and workers' compensation carrier/policy information. The checklist also requires business license verification for the general contractor and subcontractors. The owner-builder page warns that consultants acting as contractors must hold a California contractor license.

Fees

Minimum permit fee

The building permit fee schedule is valuation-based; the minimum published bracket starts at total project valuation of $1 to $500. I did not find a separate flat minimum permit fee statement on the City site.

Plan check fee

Section 30 includes plan review fees; the FY 2025-2026 amendment table states a new single-family-dwelling plan review fee of 35% of the building permit fee.

Permit fee formula

Valuation-based under Section 30 of the City Master Fee Schedule for building permits; additional state surcharges also apply, including SMIP and California Building Standards Commission fees.

Reinspection fee

FY 2025-2026 Section 30 lists reinspection fees, outside-normal-hours inspections, inspections not otherwise specified, and additional plan review for changes/revisions at $49.62 per hour; outside consultant review/inspection is charged at actual cost.

Payment note

Current forms direct applicants to contact the Building Department at (760) 255-5161 for fee information and require payment of plan review fees with submittal.

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

Work That Does NOT Require a Permit

• Because Barstow adopts the 2022 California Building Codes, exempt work appears to generally track CBC/CRC permit exemptions rather than a separately posted city list
• Common examples likely include: small detached accessory structures under the code size threshold, certain low fences, some retaining walls under the code height threshold, some finish work such as painting/papering/cabinets/countertops, and minor plumbing/electrical/mechanical work specifically exempted by the California codes

Important: City-specific zoning, fire, historic, floodplain, utility, and right-of-way rules can still apply even if a building permit is not required. Verify exempt-work status with Barstow Building & Safety before starting work.

Inspections

How to Schedule

• https://www.gosolarapp.org/ (online)
• (760) 255-5161 (phone)

Scheduling deadline

Published city inspection guidance states inspection requests are scheduled during normal business hours and typically assigned to morning (8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.) or afternoon (1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.) windows; same-day inspections are not permitted in that guidance.

Inspection hours

Building & Safety office hours are Monday-Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Friday closed.

Typical inspection sequence: Project-specific. Expect required inspections at the stages shown on the approved plans, commonly foundation/slab, framing, rough trade inspections, and final inspection, with additional specialty inspections as applicable.

Additional Resources

• Building code: City forms state Barstow is currently under the 2022 California Building Codes (all versions). The Building & Safety page cites Ordinance 1021-2023 adopting the 2022 California Building Code.
• Verify contractor license: CSLB License Lookup
• Zoning information: View zoning info
• https://www.barstowca.org/departments/community-development-department/building-safety/building-forms-and-publications
• https://www.barstowca.org/government/city-directory
• https://library.municode.com/CA/Barstow/codes/code_of_ordinances
• https://www.barstowca.org/departments/finance/master-fee-schedule-6691
• License lookup guide: California Contractor License Requirements
• Contract template: California Homeowner-Contractor Agreement

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