Where to search Sacramento County permits
| Tool | Search by | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Accela Citizen Access (free account) | Building record search, after you log in | Building permits and inspections |
| Public Records Act Requests | Your description | Permit files and plans not online |
| Our Sacramento County firm list | Contractor name | Each firm's permits, share finaled, days to final and CSLB license |
The division "only accepts electronic plans submittal and review of all types of building projects large and small" (Building Permits & Inspection Division), and the portal's home page says "Sacramento County now uses SolarApp+ for Solar PV installations" (both read 23 October 2026).
How to look up permits on a Sacramento County address
- Make sure the home is unincorporated. If it is inside an incorporated city such as Elk Grove or Citrus Heights, that municipality's building department has the permit.
- Open Accela Citizen Access, choose Register for an Account, and log in.
- Go to the building records search and search your address.
- Open each record and read the permit type and status.
- Check that contractor's CSLB license and classification: the steps are in the Sacramento County contractor license lookup.
What the statuses mean
Our pages count a permit as finished when its status is Completed, Final, Finaled, Final Processing, Closed - Complete, Closed, Final with C of O or Change Complete, timed to the finaled date. Expired counts as not finished; cancelled, withdrawn, refunded and revoked permits are left out (Sacramento County about page; methodology).
| Trade | Permits | Firms | Finaled (a year or more old) | Usual days to final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC | 7,937 | 581 | 84.1% | 56 |
| Roofing | 5,397 | 748 | 88.1% | 19 |
| Solar | 2,001 | 236 | 86.5% | 50 |
| Water heater | 3,553 | 365 | 71.7% | 38 |
| Remodel | 2,933 | 864 | 90.2% | 85 |
| ADU | 207 | 134 | 92.8% | 254 |
Water-heater permits are the ones most often left open here: 71.7% of year-old ones were finaled. If yours is open, ask the plumber to book the final inspection.
When the record is not online
The Building Permits & Inspection Division's page links "Public Records Act Requests" to the County's request portal (read 23 October 2026). Give the address, the permit number if you have it, and the years you need.
What our Sacramento County data adds
Accela is organised by record. Ours groups the same permits by firm: the Sacramento County permit statistics, and the compare lists for HVAC, roofers, solar and remodelers. Which jobs need a permit: Do I need a permit?
See every Sacramento County HVAC contractor by share finaled →
How we know this
Portal and records links are from Sacramento County's Building Permits & Inspection Division page and the Accela Citizen Access home page, read 23 October 2026; the login requirement is what the building search did when we tried it that day. Our counts are Sacramento County permits on homes in unincorporated areas, October 2023 to September 2026.
Numbers come from Sacramento County building permits on single-family, duplex and townhouse homes in the unincorporated county (the County's Accela permit layer), data through October 18, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- How do I find out if a permit was pulled on my house in unincorporated Sacramento County?
Register a free account on the County's Accela Citizen Access portal (aca-prod.accela.com/SACCO), log in, and search building records by address. When we tried on 23 October 2026, the building search sent guests to the login page.
- Are Sacramento County building permits public record?
Yes. Permits are kept by the County's Building Permits & Inspection Division, and records not available online can be requested through the County's Public Records Act request portal.
- Does Sacramento County issue permits for Elk Grove or Citrus Heights?
No. The County's Building Permits & Inspection Division covers unincorporated areas; homes inside an incorporated city get permits from that city. Our Sacramento County pages cover unincorporated permits only.
- Can I search Sacramento County permits by contractor?
Our pages group 33,488 unincorporated-county permits from October 2023 to September 2026 under 4,829 firms, each matched to its CSLB license.
- How do I request old Sacramento County permit records?
Submit a request through the County's Public Records Act portal (saccounty.nextrequest.com), which the Building Permits & Inspection Division links from its page.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Home improvement costs in unincorporated Sacramento County, CA (2026): what 14 kinds of jobs were filed at
- Home improvement costs in Palo Alto, CA (2026): what 12 kinds of jobs were filed at
- Anaheim building permit search: Anaheim NEXT and the Building Permit Report
- Bellingham building permit search: eTRAKiT, the permit dashboard and public records
- Denton building permit search: eTRAKiT and the yearly permit files
For one city
- Hiring an HVAC contractor in Sacramento County: the CSLB C-20 license, the permit, and what 7,900 HVAC permits show
- Sacramento County contractor license lookup: CSLB, the County permit portal, and what the permits show
- Do I need an HVAC permit in Sacramento County? Yes, and it issues online: who pulls it, inspections, and timing
- Building Permits & Inspection Division — Sacramento County (2026-10-23)
- Accela Citizen Access — Sacramento County (2026-10-23)
- Public Records Act Requests — Sacramento County (2026-10-23)