San Diego · Buyer and seller guides · Permits

How to look up a home’s permit history in San Diego

Short answer: A permit history is the list of building permits the city has on file for a home. In the City of San Diego, the Development Services Department keeps those files. You can search newer permits online with tools like OpenDSD and Accela, and you can book an appointment to see older files and plans in person.

Before you buy, or before you list, it helps to know what work the city signed off on. A new bathroom, a deck or a converted garage should have a permit behind it. When it doesn’t, you want to know early.

Here’s how I look it up, step by step. You can do it yourself, too.

I’m Weston Clark, Founding Member of the Dickinson-Clark Team at Compass. I look up permit history for buyers and sellers in coastal San Diego, and I’ll walk you through what the files show. You can talk about fees with Weston directly. This form does not give a commission quote.

Talk to Weston Jump to FAQ Unpermitted work guide

Related: Unpermitted work · Remodel rules · Coastal buyer checklist · Home inspection · Guides · Buying and selling · View rights · Selling an oceanfront home

Who keeps the permit files

For homes inside the City of San Diego, the Development Services Department, which the city calls DSD, keeps building permits, plans and maps. That includes La Jolla, Pacific Beach and Mission Hills.

If the home is in another city in the county, or outside any city, that city or the County of San Diego keeps the files instead. The steps are similar, but the tools are different, so ask that office first.

Have one of these ready before you search: the street address, a permit number, or the parcel number, which is the number the county uses for the lot.

Search online first

The city lists a few online tools on its records page. Here’s how I use them:

• OpenDSD. I start here. You can search by address and see past approvals and permits for newer projects. It’s at OpenDSD.
• Accela. Many newer permits live in the city’s Accela system instead. I check both, because a project may show up in one and not the other.
• Permit Finder and the Open Data Portal. These are other city tools that can help you find permit details.
• Subdivision Index Cards. These older cards hold history for some lots.

Write down each permit number, what the work was, and whether it shows as final. “Final” usually means the city inspected the work and signed off.

When to go in person

Online tools don’t cover everything. In the city’s words: “Not all types of property records may be available, as record procedures and legal requirements have changed over the years.” In plain words, older files may not be online, and some may not exist at all.

To see building plans or older paper files, you’ll need an appointment at the city’s records counter in Mission Valley. You can book it online from the records page. There are also self-service stations for permit research without an appointment.

Plans can only be viewed in person, and you can’t photograph them. To get copies, the city needs written permission from the owner and the designer who signed the plans. For very old homes, the city’s page points you to the County Assessor’s Office, the county office that values property for taxes.

Compare the files to the house

Now the useful part. Walk the home with the permit list in hand. Does the number of bedrooms and baths match? Is there a room, a deck or a garage conversion with no permit behind it?

A home inspector looks at condition, not permits, so this step fills a different gap. My home inspection guide explains what an inspector checks.

If a permit is missing

Don’t panic. A missing permit can mean the work was never permitted, or that the file just isn’t online. I’d check in person before drawing any conclusions.

If the work truly had no permit, you have choices. Buyers can ask questions, ask for repairs or a credit, or walk away during their contract windows. Sellers can share what they know in their disclosures, the forms where they tell buyers about the home. My unpermitted work guide walks through each path.

Planning work later

If you plan to remodel or add a guest unit, the permit history is your starting point. It shows what’s already approved. See my remodel rules guide and my guest unit guide.

Near the coast, new work may also need coastal review. My coastal rules guide explains that step.

This guide is general information. It’s not legal advice.

More on sandiego.homes

• Unpermitted work: what to do when past work had no permit
• Home inspection: what an inspector checks
• Coastal buyer checklist: what I check before you buy near the coast
• Remodel rules: building limits for future work
• Coastal rules: coastal review near the water
• Disclosures: what sellers share with buyers

• More: All guides · Buying and selling

Ask Weston to look up a home’s permits

Send me the address. I’ll help you pull the permit history and go over what it shows, in plain words.

Or call (858) 997-8998 · weston@sandiego.homes · Search on Compass

Free tools: What is my home worth? · What would I take home? · Real estate words in plain English

Have another question? Quick answers to common questions

Sources

• City of San Diego DSD — Records
• City of San Diego — Information Bulletin 110: Permit Records and Mapping Information
• City of San Diego — OpenDSD Approval Search
• City of San Diego — Accela Citizen Access
• County of San Diego — Planning & Development Services