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HVAC permits in the City of Santa Barbara, CA

Data through August 2025 · updated 19 Oct 2026

256 HVAC permits were issued in the City of Santa Barbara, September 2023 through August 2025: about 128 a year and 5% of all permits. 127 HVAC permits in the last 12 months on file (Sep 2024–Aug 2025), about the same as the 129 in the 12 months before. The busiest month is January. The usual one took 59 days from issue to the city's final. 93101 has the most, 70.

256permits issued
127last 12 months on file
Janbusiest month
59days, usual issue to final
48%finished
Aug 2025records through

HVAC permits by month

Permits issued each month, September 2023 through August 2025.

Sep 2023: 5Sep2023Oct 2023: 11Nov 2023: 16Dec 2023: 8Jan 2024: 17Jan2024Feb 2024: 11Mar 2024: 6Apr 2024: 11May 2024: 11Jun 2024: 10Jul 2024: 11JulAug 2024: 12Sep 2024: 6Oct 2024: 9Nov 2024: 15Dec 2024: 8Jan 2025: 18Jan2025Feb 2025: 15Mar 2025: 6Apr 2025: 10May 2025: 7Jun 2025: 11Jul 2025: 8JulAug 2025: 14
The same numbers as a table
MonthPermits
Sep 20235
Oct 202311
Nov 202316
Dec 20238
Jan 202417
Feb 202411
Mar 20246
Apr 202411
May 202411
Jun 202410
Jul 202411
Aug 202412
Sep 20246
Oct 20249
Nov 202415
Dec 20248
Jan 202518
Feb 202515
Mar 20256
Apr 202510
May 20257
Jun 202511
Jul 20258
Aug 202514

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When HVAC permits are filed

By calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line). January is the busiest (164), September the quietest (52). A busy month at the permit counter usually means a longer wait for a contractor.

January: 164 (100 = an average month)164February: 122 (100 = an average month)March: 56 (100 = an average month)April: 98 (100 = an average month)May: 84 (100 = an average month)June: 98 (100 = an average month)July: 89 (100 = an average month)August: 122 (100 = an average month)September: 52 (100 = an average month)October: 94 (100 = an average month)November: 145 (100 = an average month)December: 75 (100 = an average month)JFMAMJJASOND
The same numbers as a table
MonthIndex
January164
February122
March56
April98
May84
June98
July89
August122
September52
October94
November145
December75

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How long an HVAC permit takes

Permits issued Sep 2023–Aug 2024, at least 12 months before the file ends. Usual days is the middle permit among the 62 with a final date.

MeasureValue
Permits issued Sep 2023–Aug 2024129
Finished48.1%
Usual days, issue to final59
Middle half, days21–133

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ZIP codes with the most HVAC permits

Counted at the property's ZIP code. Share is the part of the city's 256 HVAC permits.

ZIP codePermitsShare
931017027%
931056626%
931035622%
931093915%
93110177%
9310852%
931172under 1%

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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
Mechanical14456%
Residential5120%
1 & 2 Family Home HVAC System Replacements4518%
Commercial New166%

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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, "HVAC permits in the City of Santa Barbara, CA", https://contractorrecords.com/santa-barbara/hvac-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): HVAC permits by month · HVAC permits by calendar month (index) · HVAC permits: days to final · HVAC permits by ZIP code · HVAC permits by permit type.

Common questions

  • How many HVAC permits does Santa Barbara issue a year?About 128 a year in the City of Santa Barbara: 256 permits issued September 2023 through August 2025, 127 of them in the last 12 months on file (to August 2025).
  • How long does an HVAC permit take in Santa Barbara?The usual one took 59 days from issue to the city's final inspection, and the middle half took 21 to 133 days (62 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 HVAC permits?January (164 against an average month of 100); September is the quietest (52). 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 HVAC permits in Santa Barbara?93101, with 70 of the 256 (27%); then 93105 (66).