NEWS RELEASE: San José Makes Building Easier with New Project-Based Building Permit Webpages

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT
Marika Krause, Public Information Manager, Planning, Building and Code Enforcement Department
408-534-2946; [email protected]

San José Makes Building Easier with New Project-Based Building Permit Webpages
More than 60 types of projects are available in the step-by-step guides, ranging from kitchen remodels to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

SAN JOSE, Calif. (April 16, 2026) - The City of San José launched a new tool this week to help homeowners, businesses, and design professionals navigate permitting. The Building Permit Project Pages, available at bit.ly/BuildingPermitSJ, provide step-by-step guides for home and business owners to easily access permitting and bring their projects to reality.

"Providing clear tools that help residents and businesses navigate the permitting process is an important part of how we serve our community," said City Manager Jennifer Maguire. "This new resource reflects our commitment to delivering excellent customer service by making City services more accessible and simple. By helping people move through the process with confidence, we are supporting our strategic goals and helping our neighborhoods and local economy thrive."

The new project-based pages feature more than 60 options, including kitchen remodels, home additions, swimming pools, reroofs, decks, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations and more. Applicants can easily find the right permit and instructions for applying using icon-based buttons and built-in accessibility and language tools.

"First impressions matter. San José is a pro-growth city, and that should be felt as soon as someone wants to turn an idea into reality," said Mayor Matt Mahan. "Our new project-based webpages help homeowners and businesses move through the permitting process faster because our goal should be to help people build - not stand in their way."

More than 200,000 people visit the Building Division permit webpage yearly, with nearly 18,000 applications and building bulletins downloaded each month. The Building Division issued more than 24,700 permits last year and has introduced several new programs aimed at speeding up permitting including Pop-Up Permits, Streamlined Restaurant Program, and Streamlined Tenant Alteration Review (STAR) Service.

"Making it easier for applicants to submit complete and accurate applications the first time helps us move permits through review faster," said Christopher Burton, Director of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement. "These permit pages are meant to help people get things right at the start so the process works better for applicants, staff and our community overall."

Applicants can visit bit.ly/BuildingPermitSJ and select their property type to get started.

About the City of San José
With almost 1 million residents, San José is one of the most diverse large cities in the United States, Northern California's largest city, and the 12th largest city in the nation. San José's transformation into a global innovation center has resulted in one of the largest concentrations of technology companies and expertise in the world.

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