Where to search County permits
| Tool | Search by | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Accela Citizen Access (no account needed) | Record number or address | Permit record, status and inspections |
| PDS Document Library | Property or project | Permits and archived documents |
| Building Permits (County open data) | Any column: address, parcel, record ID | Status, dates, type, valuation; the County calls it permits "issued by Planning and Development Services since 2005 (updated daily)" |
| Our County firm list | Contractor name | Each firm's permits, CSLB status, share completed and days to completion |
How to look up permits on a County address
- Open Accela Citizen Access and click Search Applications under PDS.
- Enter the record number if you have it; otherwise the street address.
- If the permit is more than two years old, move the Start Date back before searching.
- Open the record and scroll to Inspections to see which passed.
- If nothing comes up, check the address is unincorporated: a City of San Diego, Escondido or other city address is not in the County system.
What the statuses mean
The County's open data (counted 23 October 2026) uses Completed for most permits, and then Issued Invalid Expired, PC Expired, Issued Expired, Issued, Expired, PC Invalid Expired, Open and Issued About to Expire. Our pages count Completed as finished and time it from issue to the County's completed date (San Diego County about page; methodology).
| Trade | Permits | Firms | Completed (a year or more old) | Usual days to completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar | 8,832 | 495 | 82.5% | 81 |
| HVAC | 4,924 | 218 | 59.3% | 163 |
| Electrical | 2,855 | 760 | 80.2% | 63 |
| Roofing | 1,584 | 294 | 80.4% | 41 |
| ADU | 334 | 213 | 85.1% | 351 |
| Pools | 727 | 180 | 90.8% | 185 |
HVAC is where County permits most often stall: 59.3% were completed, against 82.5% for solar. An "Issued About to Expire" status on your job is the moment to get the final inspection booked.
When the record is not online
The County's PDS Public Records page says: "To request PDS records that are not available online, please visit the County Public Records Requests Portal and select Planning & Development Services as the department". File it on the portal under the California Public Records Act. Before you do, check the PDS Document Library, which the County describes as holding "permits and archived documents for properties, projects, and developments in San Diego's unincorporated communities" (read 23 October 2026).
What our County data adds
Accela is organised by record. Ours lists every County permit a firm pulled in three years, with the CSLB license recorded on the permit: the San Diego County permit statistics, and the compare lists for solar, HVAC and ADU builders. The CSLB check is in the San Diego County contractor license lookup; which jobs need a permit is in Do I need a permit?
See every County HVAC contractor by share completed →
How we know this
Search steps are quoted from the County's Accela help guide, and the records process from the PDS Public Records page, read 23 October 2026; the status list is a count of the County's Building Permits open data that day. Our counts are County of San Diego PDS permits on homes in the unincorporated county, October 2023 to September 2026. The City of San Diego and the other 17 cities are not included.
Numbers come from San Diego County Planning & Development Services building permits on homes in the unincorporated county (the County's open-data permit, contractor and status-history files), data through October 20, 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 San Diego County?
Open the County's Accela Citizen Access, click Search Applications under PDS, and search by address or record number; the County's help guide says you do not need an account. Widen the start date if the permit is more than two years old.
- Are San Diego County building permits public record?
Yes. PDS says its public records are available for review online for properties in the unincorporated area, through Accela Citizen Access, the Property Summary Report and the PDS Document Library, and it publishes building permits since 2005 as open data.
- Does the County search cover the City of San Diego?
No. PDS issues permits for the unincorporated areas only. The City of San Diego and the county's other incorporated cities issue and search their own permits.
- What does Issued Expired mean on a County permit?
The permit was issued but expired before it was completed, so the work was never finaled. In the County's open data, Completed is by far the most common status, followed by Issued Invalid Expired, PC Expired and Issued Expired.
- How do I get County permit records that are not online?
Use the County Public Records Requests Portal and select Planning & Development Services as the department. Archived permit documents may already be in the PDS Document Library.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- San Diego County contractor license lookup: CSLB, the County permit search, and what the permits show
- Anaheim building permit search: Anaheim NEXT and the Building Permit Report
- Anaheim contractor license lookup: CSLB classifications, the City's permit report and what it shows
- Elk Grove building permit search: the City's permit lookup map and records
- Heat pump vs furnace: what San Diego County homeowners filed
For one city
- Building Division — County of San Diego Planning & Development Services (2026-10-23)
- Accela Citizen Access — County of San Diego (2026-10-23)
- Researching permits and inspections in Accela Citizen Access — County of San Diego PDS (help guide) (2026-10-23)
- PDS Public Records — County of San Diego (2026-10-23)
- PDS Document Library — County of San Diego (2026-10-23)
- County Public Records Requests Portal (2026-10-23)
- Building Permits — San Diego County open data (2026-10-23)