San Diego building & ADU permits
Recent permit activity, updated continuously.
San Diego, California's second-largest city, publishes a bulk open-data export under an explicit public-domain (PDDL) license — among the cleanest sourcing terms of any jurisdiction Igni tracks. Many records lack an address ZIP, so Igni recovers it from each permit's coordinates, then applies SB-9/SB-10 flags and typed ADU classification.
Igni is tracking 13,767 residential and building permits in San Diego, CA — including 713 classified accessory-dwelling-unit (ADU) filings. The most active ZIP is 92101. The most recent filing Igni tracked was Nov 2, 2026. All records come from data.sandiego.gov bulk open data (CSV), an official government open-data feed, and are refreshed continuously.
13767
Permits tracked
713
ADU permits
31
Distinct ZIP codes
Nov 2, 2026
Newest permit
Recent permits
A sample of the freshest permits in this jurisdiction — ZIP and city only (no street addresses).
| ZIP | Permit type | ADU type | Valuation | Applied |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 92120 | Other | — | — | Aug 12, 2025 |
| 92105 | Residential | — | $12,000 | Jul 14, 2026 |
| 92126 | Residential | Junior ADU | $98,592 | Jul 6, 2026 |
| 92105 | Commercial | — | — | Mar 23, 2026 |
| 92116 | Residential | Garage conversion | — | Aug 27, 2025 |
| 92116 | Residential | Garage conversion | — | Aug 27, 2025 |
| 92116 | Residential | Garage conversion | — | Aug 27, 2025 |
| 92116 | Residential | Garage conversion | $81,952 | Aug 27, 2025 |
| 92109 | Residential | — | $641,143 | Jan 8, 2026 |
| 92106 | Residential | Garage conversion | $71,032 | Nov 3, 2025 |
| 92106 | Residential | — | $161,013 | Nov 3, 2025 |
| 92037 | Other | — | — | Oct 30, 2023 |
| 92154 | Residential | Detached ADU | $198,804 | Oct 20, 2025 |
| 92102 | Other | — | — | Nov 12, 2024 |
| 92110 | Commercial | — | $286,728 | Jun 4, 2026 |
| 92111 | Commercial | — | — | Aug 11, 2026 |
| 92111 | Commercial | — | $66,872 | Aug 11, 2026 |
| 92111 | Commercial | — | — | Aug 11, 2026 |
| 92110 | Other | — | — | Jun 12, 2026 |
| 92109 | Residential | Junior ADU | $82,835 | Feb 18, 2026 |
Top ZIP codes by recent activity
ADU types in the recent set
Permit activity in San Diego
Igni counted 50,998 permits issued in San Diego over the last 12 months (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026) — down 1.1% on the 51,550 in the 12 months before. The forecast expects about 24,745 over the next 6 months.
Forecast: seasonal naive, typical error ±8% in backtests one to six months ahead. How we forecast
| Permit type | Last 12 months | Year over year | Forecast, next 6 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| All permits | 50,998 | Down 1.1% | ≈ 24,745 |
| Residential building | 16,069 | Down 1.0% | ≈ 7,852 |
| Commercial building | 3,528 | Down 2.7% | ≈ 1,764 |
| Trade (electrical, plumbing, mechanical) | 14,201 | Down 9.4% | ≈ 6,381 |
| ADU | 2,513 | Up 8.1% | ≈ 1,254 |
Monthly figures
| Month | Permits | 10th–90th percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2023 | 4,926 | — |
| Nov 2023 | 4,379 | — |
| Dec 2023 | 3,751 | — |
| Jan 2024 | 4,649 | — |
| Feb 2024 | 4,259 | — |
| Mar 2024 | 4,500 | — |
| Apr 2024 | 4,826 | — |
| May 2024 | 4,930 | — |
| Jun 2024 | 4,348 | — |
| Jul 2024 | 4,352 | — |
| Aug 2024 | 4,433 | — |
| Sep 2024 | 4,245 | — |
| Oct 2024 | 4,564 | — |
| Nov 2024 | 3,903 | — |
| Dec 2024 | 3,867 | — |
| Jan 2025 | 4,317 | — |
| Feb 2025 | 4,216 | — |
| Mar 2025 | 4,664 | — |
| Apr 2025 | 4,514 | — |
| May 2025 | 4,320 | — |
| Jun 2025 | 4,200 | — |
| Jul 2025 | 4,402 | — |
| Aug 2025 | 4,338 | — |
| Sep 2025 | 4,583 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 4,950 | — |
| Nov 2025 | 3,741 | — |
| Dec 2025 | 4,215 | — |
| Jan 2026 | 4,062 | — |
| Feb 2026 | 3,574 | — |
| Mar 2026 | 4,470 | — |
| Apr 2026 | 4,629 | — |
| May 2026 | 4,123 | — |
| Jun 2026 | 4,419 | — |
| Jul 2026 | 4,631 | — |
| Aug 2026 | 3,601 | — |
| Sep 2026 (provisional) | 1,430 | — |
| Oct 2026 (forecast) | ≈ 4,897 | 4,132–5,503 |
| Nov 2026 (forecast) | ≈ 3,701 | 3,128–4,161 |
| Dec 2026 (forecast) | ≈ 4,170 | 3,543–4,537 |
| Jan 2027 (forecast) | ≈ 4,019 | 3,408–4,320 |
| Feb 2027 (forecast) | ≈ 3,536 | 2,993–3,763 |
| Mar 2027 (forecast) | ≈ 4,422 | 3,712–4,702 |
Counts are permits issued per calendar month as San Diego publishes them to its open-data feed — not a complete census; a change in what the city publishes moves them too. The current month is left out, and the most recent months are provisional. A forecast is a statistical estimate with a range, not a prediction for any project. Informational only.
How long do permits take in San Diego?
Based on 157,605 San Diego permits applied for between Nov 2023 and Aug 2026, the typical (median) permit was issued 5 days after application, and the middle half of permits took 0–127 days. One in ten took longer than 1,063 days.
| Permit type | Median | Typical range | Permits |
|---|---|---|---|
| All permits | 5 days | 0–127 days | 157,605 |
| Residential building | 1 day | 0–173 days | 50,009 |
| Commercial building | 88 days | 24–273 days | 11,580 |
| Trade (electrical, plumbing, mechanical) | 2 days | 0–146 days | 47,614 |
| ADU | 346 days | 157–948 days | 7,763 |
Typical, not guaranteed: individual permits vary with project scope, application completeness and plan-review workload. Days are calendar days from application to issuance; applications still pending are counted as not-yet-issued rather than dropped. Informational only, not legal advice. How we calculate approval times.
Housing law — California
California mandates ministerial (by-right) approval of accessory dwelling units statewide, with a 60-day decision deadline and one ADU plus one junior ADU allowed on most single-family lots; owner-occupancy is generally not required.
SB 9 allows by-right duplexes and urban lot splits on single-family lots, and newer transit-oriented upzoning (SB 79) phases in from 2026.
San Diego ADU rules
San Diego permits accessory dwelling units under California's ministerial, by-right framework — detached and attached units, conversions, and junior ADUs — with no owner-occupancy requirement for standard ADUs (a junior ADU still requires it) and a 60-day decision deadline. A standard ADU is generally capped at 1,200 square feet, while a conversion of existing space is exempt from that cap.
The city is best known for its Accessory Dwelling Unit Bonus Program, a local incentive layered on top of the state rules: for each income-restricted, deed-restricted affordable ADU a homeowner builds, the program lets them add an additional market-rate 'bonus' ADU, with the most generous allowances near transit. The program drove a surge of permits, and in 2025 the city refined it — adding per-lot caps that scale with lot size and narrowing where it applies — so the exact number of units a given parcel can support now depends on its size and location.
Different rules can apply inside San Diego's Coastal Overlay Zone, where some recent changes await Coastal Commission certification. The city also offers an expedited path for pre-approved ADU plans under California's AB 1332.
This is an informational summary — verify current rules with the city's planning/permitting department; not legal advice.
See also: California ADU law and what is an ADU?
Data source
Sourced from data.sandiego.gov bulk open data (CSV). PDDL — Open Data Commons Public Domain.
Nearby cities — California
Learn more about ADUs & building permits
Background reading on accessory dwelling units, building permits, and how Igni turns San Diego permit records into leads.
San Diego permit data — FAQ
Where does Igni get San Diego permit data?
How fresh is San Diego permit data?
How long does it take to get a building permit in San Diego?
Is construction activity growing in San Diego?
Does San Diego allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs)?
Get permit leads — San Diego
Fresh, filterable residential and ADU permit leads from San Diego — delivered before your competitors even know.
Informational only, not legal advice. Headline counts reflect all permits Igni has tracked for this jurisdiction; the table shows recent activity. Housing law changes — verify current statutes before relying on this.