Permit Center

Welcome to the City of Alameda Permit Center  

The Permit Center is your central hub for Building, Fire, Planning, and Special Events permits. While in-person assistance is still available, the entire permit process is now fully online including:

  • Applying for permits
  • Plan reviews
  • Payments

Paper plans are no longer accepted. All submittals must be completed through Permit Portal.

Permit Portal      Forms & Handouts

Fraud Alert

Beware of scammers are calling and sending texts pretending to be from the City of Alameda. We will never ask for credit card information over the phone. If you are unsure if you're speaking to a city employee, hang up and call us directly at (510)747-6800. 

Low and Moderate-income Homeowner:

View Homeowner Residential Rehabilitation Programs(PDF, 223KB).

Earthquake Soft-Story:

The California Residential Mitigation Program has now opened registration for Earthquake Soft-Story (ESS)seismic retrofit grant program. See if your house qualifies for Earthquake Soft-Story (ESS).

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): 

FEMA has identified over 1,000 properties in Alameda within Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs), or 100-year floodplains. If your property is in an SFHA, you may be required to carry flood insurance and take steps to reduce flood risk. 

 Learn more about flood zones and home renovation considerations.

Register for an account or login to the Permit Portal to apply for building permits. 

Learn more about applying for building permits:

  • Type of permits required (Express, Fire, Certificate of Occupancies, and non-residential).
  • How to register and use our Permit Portal.
  • Pre-application processes.

 

We now accept, review, receive payments, and issue Planning entitlements through our online Permit Portal).

Planning & Zoning Applications

  • Certificate of Approval
  • Design Review
  • Development Plan/Amendment
  • Home Occupation Permit
  • Preliminary Review Application
  • Sign Permit
  • Subdivision/Parcel Maps
  • Use Permit
  • Work Live Permit
  • Zoning Clearance
  • Zoning Letter/Compliance Determinations

Public Works Permits include: 

  • Encroachment
  • No Parking Signs
  • On-site Development
  • Parklets and Outdoor Dining
  • Public Right of Way

For more information visit the Public Works Permit Page.

(Direct link: alamedaca.gov/pwpermits)

Special event permits are required for street fairs, races, block parties and other events, as well as permits for specific activities, such as filming, charitable solicitation, street banners, and bingo. 

Learn more about Special Events Permits. 

To search a property's permit history

There are multiple options to search for permit history of a property located in the "Reports" tab at the very top of the Permit Portal.

Permit Records 

You can look up permit records for Building, Fire, Planning, and Public Works by address, assessor's parcel number (APN# in 9-digit format: 00-0000-000), permit number, or date range. Use the Permit Portal for permit records issued after 1995.  

View instructions on how to look up permit records.(PDF, 266KB)

Historical Permit Building Records

Permits issued before 1995 are available on microfiche and are now available online. You can also view microfiche records in the Permit Center.

Building Eye - Permit Activity

BuildingEye displays permit info from ACA in a map display. Search by address, or use the filters on the left sidebar to filter by permit number, date, or permit type.

Zoning and Other Parcel info

Use CommunityView to look up zoning and other information about a parcel.

Can't find it?  If you can't find the permit record in the methods above, then very likely the record does not exist in City archives. If you believe the City has the record and that you can provide specific information to help the City locate it, you may submit a Public Records Request. 

Online Services

Guides & Resources

 

 

Contact Us

Phone

(510) 747-6800

Email

permits@alamedaca.gov

Location

2263 Santa Clara Ave. Rm 190
Alameda
94501
View Map

Permit Center Hours

Monday - Thursday

8:00am - 12:30pm*
1:30pm - 3:30pm*

 

FRIDAY - CLOSED


*Walk-ins must sign in at least 15 mins before closing time. 

Construction Hours

Construction is allowed during the following hours:

Monday - Friday
7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

 

Saturday
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

 

AMC 4-10.5 for additional details. 

To Schedule an Inspection

Call (510) 747- 6830

 

Monday - Thursday

7:30-8:30 AM

 

FRIDAY - CLOSED

How To Videos

ADU Permits

Tree Removal

 

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