Contractor Records
Home › Santa Barbara › Electrical

Electrical permits in the City of Santa Barbara, CA

Data through August 2025 · updated 19 Oct 2026

693 electrical permits were issued in the City of Santa Barbara, September 2023 through August 2025: about 346 a year and 13% of all permits. 302 electrical permits in the last 12 months on file (Sep 2024–Aug 2025), 23% fewer than the 391 in the 12 months before. The busiest month is May. The usual one took 30 days from issue to the city's final. 93109 has the most, 232.

693permits issued
302last 12 months on file
Maybusiest month
30days, usual issue to final
58%finished
Aug 2025records through

Electrical permits by month

Permits issued each month, September 2023 through August 2025.

Sep 2023: 21Sep2023Oct 2023: 35Nov 2023: 31Dec 2023: 9Jan 2024: 33Jan2024Feb 2024: 32Mar 2024: 36Apr 2024: 47May 2024: 60Jun 2024: 36Jul 2024: 28JulAug 2024: 23Sep 2024: 25Oct 2024: 42Nov 2024: 14Dec 2024: 20Jan 2025: 29Jan2025Feb 2025: 24Mar 2025: 23Apr 2025: 35May 2025: 26Jun 2025: 19Jul 2025: 20JulAug 2025: 25
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Sep 202321
Oct 202335
Nov 202331
Dec 20239
Jan 202433
Feb 202432
Mar 202436
Apr 202447
May 202460
Jun 202436
Jul 202428
Aug 202423
Sep 202425
Oct 202442
Nov 202414
Dec 202420
Jan 202529
Feb 202524
Mar 202523
Apr 202535
May 202526
Jun 202519
Jul 202520
Aug 202525

Download this table (CSV)

When electrical permits are filed

By calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line). May is the busiest (149), December the quietest (50). A busy month at the permit counter usually means a longer wait for a contractor.

January: 107 (100 = an average month)February: 97 (100 = an average month)March: 102 (100 = an average month)April: 142 (100 = an average month)May: 149 (100 = an average month)149June: 95 (100 = an average month)July: 83 (100 = an average month)August: 83 (100 = an average month)September: 80 (100 = an average month)October: 133 (100 = an average month)November: 78 (100 = an average month)December: 50 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
MonthIndex
January107
February97
March102
April142
May149
June95
July83
August83
September80
October133
November78
December50

Download this table (CSV)

How long an electrical permit takes

Permits issued Sep 2023–Aug 2024, at least 12 months before the file ends. Usual days is the middle permit among the 227 with a final date.

MeasureValue
Permits issued Sep 2023–Aug 2024391
Finished58.1%
Usual days, issue to final30
Middle half, days7–86

Download this table (CSV)

ZIP codes with the most electrical permits

Counted at the property's ZIP code. Share is the part of the city's 693 electrical permits.

ZIP codePermitsShare
9310923233%
9310517625%
9310114922%
9310310014%
93108152%
93110132%
931172under 1%

Download this table (CSV)

The city's own permit types

How the city filed these permits. We group its types into kinds of work; this is the split.

Permit typePermitsShare
Electrical29743%
1 & 2 Family Home Electrical Panel Replacement19328%
Residential18126%
Commercial New223%

Download this table (CSV)

How Santa Barbara compares with other cities

From our cross-city data studies: the same measure, read the same way, for every city we cover.

How these numbers are made

Source: City of Santa Barbara GIS, Building Permits layer (Building_Permits FeatureServer, Accela BLD records), read 19 Oct 2026. We count permits issued September 2023 through August 2025; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.

Building and trade permits the City of Santa Barbara issues inside city limits: new homes and ADUs, additions, alterations, re-roofs, solar, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, pool, demolition and sign permits. Revisions to an earlier permit, flood-elevation determinations and other administrative records, and grading and paving sitework are not counted. Goleta, Montecito and the rest of unincorporated Santa Barbara County are permitted by other offices and are not in this file.

  • The city's layer names no contractor, so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Santa Barbara.
  • The layer has no declared job value, so we show no costs.
  • The city has not added permits to this layer since early September 2025, so these pages end with August 2025.
  • A permit counts as finished when the city marks it complete; the final date is the layer's completed date.
  • Homes are permits the city codes as one- or two-family dwellings (its R and R-3 codes) and its 1 & 2 family express permits; apartment buildings count as other.
  • Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are separate from the building permit for the same job, so one project can count more than once.

Counts are permits, not jobs: one job can need several permits. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. Sources and definitions →

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please credit Contractor Records and link to this page. Suggested citation:

Contractor Records, "Electrical permits in the City of Santa Barbara, CA", https://contractorrecords.com/santa-barbara/electrical-permits, data through August 2025, from City of Santa Barbara Community Development, Building & Safety building-permit records.

Link to a table: By month · Season · Days to final · By ZIP code · Permit types.

Download the tables (CSV): Electrical permits by month · Electrical permits by calendar month (index) · Electrical permits: days to final · Electrical permits by ZIP code · Electrical permits by permit type.

Common questions

  • How many electrical permits does Santa Barbara issue a year?About 346 a year in the City of Santa Barbara: 693 permits issued September 2023 through August 2025, 302 of them in the last 12 months on file (to August 2025).
  • How long does an electrical permit take in Santa Barbara?The usual one took 30 days from issue to the city's final inspection, and the middle half took 7 to 86 days (227 permits issued Sep 2023–Aug 2024 that reached a final). The wait to get the permit issued is not in this file.
  • When do people in Santa Barbara file the most electrical permits?May (149 against an average month of 100); December is the quietest (50). If you can choose, a quiet month at the permit counter can mean contractors have more room in their schedules.
  • Which ZIP code has the most electrical permits in Santa Barbara?93109, with 232 of the 693 (33%); then 93105 (176).