Building and Safety
Riverside County Building and Safety manages building permit applications, plan review, permit issuance, building and grading inspections, construction records, and related land-use clearance work within the county’s Transportation and Land Management Agency. Property owners, contractors, designers, engineers, and applicants can use county systems to submit permit applications, review permit status, request inspections, locate permit history, obtain forms, and determine which requirements apply before construction begins. The information below explains the main Building and Safety processes, including online applications, plan check, fees, inspections, grading, records, building codes, appointment procedures, and several project-specific requirements that frequently affect permit approval.
Building and Safety Services
The Riverside County Building and Safety Department administers plan review, building permit issuance, and inspections as part of the county’s integrated land-use process. These functions are intended to help ensure that buildings, structures, grading work, and regulated building systems comply with applicable codes and county requirements.
A Building and Safety permit may involve more than a single approval. Depending on the project, an application may move through intake, payment, plan check, departmental clearances, issuance, construction inspections, grading approval, utility release, and final inspection. Applicants should therefore treat the permit number and the status shown in the county system as the primary reference for an individual project.
The Permit Assistance Center also handles property and permit information, permit status questions, permit guidance, certain condition clearances, emergency meter reset or panel-upgrade matters, fire-damage dwelling cases, and code-violation inspections involving illegal grading. Some permit creation services are handled by appointment, including manufactured homes, patio covers, pools and spas, solar projects, HVAC and reroof projects, and online submittals involving projects such as single-family dwellings, accessory dwelling units, and grading.
When a Building Permit Is Required
County code requirements generally call for a building permit before regulated construction or installation begins. The Building and Safety code and ordinance information states that an owner or authorized agent must apply to the building official when intending to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy of a building or structure.
The requirement also extends to regulated electrical, gas, mechanical, and plumbing systems when they are erected, installed, enlarged, altered, repaired, removed, converted, or replaced. Applicants should obtain required permits before construction or placement of a building, structure, or regulated equipment on the property.
After permitted work is completed, required final inspections must also be obtained. Where applicable, the county requires an approved final building inspection and certificate of occupancy before a building or structure is used or occupied.
Online Building Permit Applications
Riverside County accepts permit applications through its Public Land Use System, commonly called PLUS Online. The county’s building permit application instructions divide the online process into account registration, document preparation, application submission, intake review, payment, and subsequent plan-check or clearance steps.
Registering for PLUS Online
Applicants who do not already have an account must register for PLUS Online. After registration, the applicant can sign in and use the Apply function to begin a permit request. The Building and Safety online-submittal information states that all types of permit application submittals are accepted through the public PLUS Online portal.
The county also uses different application materials for certain project types. A Master Online Application can be used for permit types other than manufactured homes. Separate master applications are available for manufactured or mobile homes and roof-mounted solar permit requests.
Preparing the Initial Submittal
A complete job description must accompany the application. Applicants also need to upload plans and any required supporting documents. The county provides master applications that contain forms used for the initial standard submittal, but a particular project may require additional materials.
Before uploading, applicants should verify that the project description accurately identifies the work. This matters because PLUS includes permit types that can be selected directly, including residential roof-mounted solar. If an applicant does not know the correct permit type, the county permits use of the Universal Permit Application and instructs applicants to provide a detailed description so staff can identify and process the request appropriately.
Application Status After Submission
Building and Safety processes permit applications in the order received by date. The status displayed in PLUS provides useful information about where the application is in that process.
Applied Online: The application has not yet been reviewed.
Pending: Staff is working on the application.
Pending Payment: A payment step remains in the process.
Pending Review: The permit is being worked on and remains under review.
After the initial review, the listed applicant receives notice of the amount due. The applicant is treated as the financially responsible billing contact. According to the county application instructions, payment must be made within 72 hours of the invoice. If payment is not made within that period, the permit is voided and a new application must be submitted when the applicant is ready to pay.
Permit contacts may include the applicant, owner, representative, contractor, or engineer. Those contacts can receive notices when corrections or missing documents must be provided. Once required corrections and submittals are received, the project can move toward plan check, departmental clearances, or readiness for permit issuance.
Plan Check and Project Review
The county’s Building and Safety plan-check section brings together permit applications, forms, fee schedules, adopted codes and standards, Ordinance 457 information, design criteria, and tools for reviewing project-location conditions.
Before or during plan review, location-specific conditions can affect the design and approval process. Building and Safety identifies high-fire zones, flood zones, liquefaction areas, and other project-location conditions as matters applicants may need to check.
Plans and supporting documents submitted to Building and Safety must comply with the adopted California building codes, Riverside County Ordinance 457, applicable California Title 25 regulations, and Building Department submittal and fee requirements in effect when plans are submitted and fees are paid.
Current Building Codes
California law requires counties and cities to enforce state-mandated building standards. Riverside County identifies the following 2025 editions as its adopted model codes, as modified by the State of California:
California Building Code
California Residential Code
California Mechanical Code
California Plumbing Code
California Electrical Code
California Energy Code
California Green Code
The Building and Safety website states that the 2025 California Building Standards Code became effective January 1, 2026. Applicants preparing a new project should therefore base their submittal on the code requirements applicable when the plans and fees are submitted rather than relying on documents prepared under an earlier code cycle.
Permit Fees and Additional Charges
The county publishes separate fee categories for residential, commercial, grading, hourly, tract, BMP, miscellaneous, patio, pool, electrical, reroof, mechanical, plumbing, and wall permits. The Building and Safety fee schedules provide base and fixed-fee information, but the final permit cost is calculated when the permit application is processed.
Additional surcharges and mandated fees may apply depending on the permit type. For fixed-fee permits, applicants should pay particular attention to what the initial charge includes:
Intake review: One initial completeness review is included. Additional charges can apply when corrections are needed because the submittal was incomplete.
Plan review: Up to two plan-review cycles are included. Additional reviews are charged hourly under the adopted fee schedule.
Inspections: One inspection per trade or phase is included. A failed inspection, incomplete work, or a site that is not ready can result in a reinspection fee.
Additional inspection time: Extra inspection time is charged hourly with a minimum of one hour.
Permit extension: The published extension fee is $100 for extending an active permit before expiration.
Because the county describes many published amounts as base fees, applicants should not assume a displayed base figure will equal the final amount due. Project-specific surcharges, additional review, reinspection, and other required charges can change the total.
Building Inspections
Inspections verify that permitted construction proceeds in accordance with approved plans and applicable requirements. The county’s Building and Safety inspection information identifies both standard residential inspection categories and permit types that use mandatory self-certification.
Mandatory Residential Self-Certification
Certain residential permits are handled through mandatory self-certification and must be signed off by a licensed contractor. All required documents for these permit types must be uploaded through the public portal and reviewed before final permit approval.
The county identifies the following work under this process:
Water heaters
Single-family residential plumbing and repiping
Demolition
Residential reroofing
HVAC and heat pumps
Water softeners
Window replacement
Exterior siding, lath, and plaster
Other residential inspections identified by Building and Safety include solar, block walls, electrical service to wells, patios, solar projects of 10 kW or less, pools, mobile homes, cell sites, and tract work.
Inspection Requests Are Not Automatic
An applicant should not assume that submitting an inspection request means an inspection has been scheduled. The county’s inspection request instructions state that no inspection is set or granted until Building and Safety provides confirmation and a date for the confirmed inspection.
Separate county forms are identified for building inspection requests, grading inspection requests, overtime inspection requests, tract building inspections, tract grading inspections, and temporary utility use for tracts. Selecting the correct request form helps prevent a building inspection request from being confused with a grading or tract inspection.
Grading Permits and Site Work
Grading is regulated because earth movement can affect slope stability, drainage, erosion, neighboring property, public roads, streams, and building-pad performance. Riverside County generally requires a grading permit except for a limited scope of earth-moving work.
The county’s grading permit guidance identifies activities that can require a permit, including:
Clearing and grubbing
Grading and excavation
Stockpiling
Fills and embankments
Private-road widening or construction
Private-road and parking-lot paving or repaving
Exploratory excavations
Rough grading
Precise grading
Building and Safety may also require a Best Management Practices permit for inspections such as pre-construction inspections, NPDES construction inspections, Water Quality Management Plan inspections, annual WQMP inspections, bond-release inspections, and air-quality inspections.
Grading Application Documents
A grading permit application requires completion of the applicable grading permit form, required plans and documents, payment of fees, and any required security. In most cases, the county calls for three sets of grading and drainage plans, each including a site plan.
Depending on the project, supplemental documentation may include two site-specific soils reports for habitable structures, geological reports, compaction reports, surveys establishing grades and property lines, erosion-control plans, a Notice of Intent, and a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan.
Grading plans generally must be prepared by a licensed professional, wet-stamped and signed, with supporting design calculations. In some cases involving less than 200 cubic yards, a designer without state licensing can prepare regular grading plans. When grading exceeds 5,000 cubic yards, the plans and specifications must be prepared and signed by a licensed professional engineer and are classified as engineered grading.
Before Grading Begins
Once grading plans have been approved, issuance conditions cleared, and required fees paid, the grading permit can be issued. The permit holder receives an approved, stamped, and dated plan set and an inspection card. Both should remain at the job site.
Many grading projects require professional inspection, compaction testing, and a final grading report prepared by a licensed engineer. Applicants should arrange for the appropriate consultant before grading starts because the engineer may need to observe operations and perform soil testing while the work is underway.
The final grading documentation may need to verify that work follows the approved plan, areas receiving fill were prepared as required, fill achieved at least 90 percent relative compaction throughout its depth, and any building pad is suitable for its intended use.
Rough and Precise Grade Approval
Completed rough grading must receive Building and Safety approval before a building permit can be issued where that approval is required. Rough-grade approval can involve a wet-signed soils compaction report, a wet-signed rough-grade certification from a registered civil engineer, and a county rough-grade inspection.
Precise-grade approval is tied to the end of construction. The county states that precise grading must be approved before building final approval can be obtained. Requirements can include grading inspection approval, soils compaction documentation for paved areas, a registered civil engineer’s sub-grade certification, a precise final-grade certification, and a WQMP certification confirming that treatment-control BMPs were installed according to the approved WQMP.
Stages of Grading Inspection
Grading approvals occur in stages, and the permittee is expected to obtain approval before proceeding beyond required inspection points. Depending on the work, stages can include:
Pre-construction inspection before clearing, brushing, or grading begins
Rough-grade inspection after approximate final elevations and drainage features are established
Intermittent inspections considered necessary by the Building Official
Rough-grade final inspection
NPDES inspections
Precise-grade inspection
Sub-grade inspection before base placement
Base inspection before paving
Final paving inspection
WQMP or LID inspections
Security improvement release inspections where required
For construction disturbing less than one acre when a grading or construction building permit is required, the project must provide effective year-round control of erosion, sediment, and other pollutants. Projects disturbing one acre or more, or qualifying portions of a larger common plan of development, are subject to additional stormwater documentation requirements described by the county, including proof of a WDID number and keeping a current SWPPP available at the construction site.
Permit Records and Property History
Building and Safety maintains permit records dating to approximately 1963. Records before that period were destroyed. The county’s Building and Safety Records Division instructions explain several ways to locate permit numbers, review property history, obtain archived records, and access commercial building plans.
Searching by Address or APN
Property owners can use the county’s Map My County public self-service system to generate a parcel report. The search can be performed using a single Assessor’s Parcel Number, multiple APNs, or an address.
After locating the property, users can open the full parcel report and review the Building and Safety Cases section for permit information. The county advises users to disable their pop-up blocker when completing the report-opening step.
PLUS Online and the county’s public lookup system can also be used to search public records. Permit information issued after 1997 is available to view or print online. Individual inspection history can also be reviewed when the applicable permit number is known.
Archived Record Requests
A Building and Safety archived-record request must identify at least one of two key property fields: the address to be researched or the Assessor’s Parcel Number. The request form also allows the requester to provide the year built, indicate whether all permits are requested, or identify particular permit types.
Archived requests that require copies or research are subject to a fee. Applicants seeking historical permit information should provide the most precise property information available so the Records Division can distinguish the correct parcel and permit history.
Residential and Commercial Plans
Building and Safety does not retain residential building plans. According to the county, residential plans are returned to the applicant or destroyed after the project is completed.
Commercial building plans are retained and can be viewed by appointment, but copying requires additional authorization. For a request to copy commercial plans, the requester must complete the required affidavit and obtain written permission from both the certified, licensed, or registered professional who signed the original documents, or that professional’s successor, and the original or current building owner.
This distinction is significant when requesting records. A building permit history may be available even when the original residential construction drawings are no longer maintained by the department.
Permit Ready ADU Projects
Riverside County offers Permit Ready ADU standard plans at no charge, although permit submission, construction, and site-specific work still involve costs. The program includes four plan sizes: a 499-square-foot studio, a 625-square-foot one-bedroom unit, a 749-square-foot two-bedroom unit, and a 909-square-foot two-bedroom unit.
Eligibility is limited to specified single-family residential zoning classifications, and the site must already contain or be proposed for development with a single-family dwelling. A property in a flood hazard area requires additional Flood Control review of the standard plans, and sites within specified environmental constraint areas do not qualify under the stated program criteria.
The applicant must select a plan, prepare the required preliminary site information and cover sheet, complete the Hold Harmless Agreement and Permit Ready Clearance Form, and submit the permit application through PLUS Online. Required ADU plans, the completed cover sheet, preliminary site plan, and agreement form must be uploaded with the application.
After departmental review, the applicant receives an email and can download the project Progress Report through the permit portal. Conditions identified in that report must be completed before issuance. Once required conditions are cleared and fees are paid, the building permit is issued and the approved plans become available for construction.
Fire Damage Repair and Rebuilding
Building and Safety also maintains a process for repairing or replacing previously permitted structures damaged by fire. The process can begin with a property review through Land Use and creation of a fire-damage assessment permit. Building plans for fire-rebuild projects are submitted electronically through PLUS.
Unpermitted structures that remain on a property must be legalized and included in the plans and permit application. If an existing concrete slab or foundation is proposed for reuse, the county requires an engineer’s letter certifying that the slab or foundation remains structurally sound and describing the method used to verify its condition.
Additional grading plans are not required solely because a property is being rebuilt after a fire, but they can be required when additional grading will occur. Projects in high-fire hazard areas are also subject to the applicable construction requirements for those locations.
In-Person Permit Appointments
Building and Safety provides in-person office appointments Monday through Friday. The county’s appointment notice states that beginning September 15, 2025, permit creation is handled by appointment. Applicants can select either the Riverside office or Desert office when scheduling an in-person appointment.
The Permit Assistance Center continues to identify certain walk-in services, including property and permit information, permit status or guidance, school-letter and mitigation-fee condition clearances, specified emergency meter or panel cases, and certain code-violation inspections. For ordinary permit applications, the county also recommends electronic submission through PLUS Online.
Common Permit Mistakes to Avoid
Several county requirements can cause a permit to stop moving when they are overlooked. A detailed job description and required plans should be included with the initial online submission. Selecting the wrong permit type can also cause confusion; applicants who are unsure can use the Universal Permit Application with a sufficiently detailed description.
Payment deadlines are another significant issue. Once an invoice is sent after initial review, the county requires payment within 72 hours. Failure to pay causes the permit to be voided and requires a new application.
Applicants should also monitor correction notices sent to permit contacts. Plan check or issuance cannot proceed until missing documents and corrections have been supplied. For grading projects, beginning work before arranging required professional inspections can create additional problems because the engineer may need to observe fill placement, compaction, and other work while it occurs.
Inspection scheduling deserves similar attention. Submitting an inspection request does not itself create a confirmed appointment. Construction should be coordinated around the inspection date confirmed by Building and Safety, and the site should be ready for the applicable phase because failed inspections, incomplete work, or a site that is not ready can result in reinspection fees.
Building and Safety Offices
Riverside County Department of Building and Safety — 4080 Lemon St, 9th Floor, Riverside, CA 92502 — 951-955-1800 Ext. 5
Department of Building & Safety Records Division — 4080 Lemon Street, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box 1629, Riverside, CA 92502-1629 — 951-955-2017
Building and Safety FAQs
Can I get a copy of a 433A or 413 certificate?
Riverside County Building and Safety maintains copies of 433A/413 certificates for mobile homes placed on permanent foundations through October 18, 2007. Certificates issued after that date are handled through other government agencies rather than Building and Safety. The department also states that it does not retain engineering certificates or permanent-foundation plans, so owners looking for those documents may need to obtain them from the contractor who installed the foundation. See the county’s Building and Safety records guidance before requesting archived material.
Does the county have septic plans for my property?
Building and Safety may have a basic drawing or sketch showing the approximate location of a septic tank and leach lines. These records are commonly associated with a mobile-home site-preparation permit or dwelling permit. Availability varies by property, so locating the related permit history first can make the search easier.
How long is a building permit valid?
For fire repair and rebuilding projects, county guidance states that a permit can expire one year after issuance or 180 days after the last inspection. An approved inspection generally extends the permit for another six months. The related permit application and building plan check have a one-year validity period in which the applicant must obtain Building and Safety approval and complete required pre-issuance clearances. Project-specific requirements are available through the county’s fire repair and rebuild guidance.
Do separate buildings need separate permits?
When a property has multiple structures, Riverside County states that each structure requires its own permit application. The structures may still be shown together within the same blueprint or plan set. Applicants should distinguish each structure clearly so the permit records and review requirements can be associated with the correct building.
Is a soils report always required?
Not necessarily. Riverside County’s fire-rebuild guidance states that a soils report is not required when the project uses the minimum soil values prescribed by the applicable building code. Site conditions, grading, structural design, or other project-specific circumstances can still lead to additional engineering or documentation requirements.