ADU permit guide for San Diego, California
San Diego County, California
City of San Diego Development Services Department (DSD) reviews local ADU permits through Development Services Online Permits (Accela Citizen Access). Use this page to plan the local process and the fee questions to verify before you submit.
Prepared by GetYourPermit editorial teamReport an error
Estimated permit fees by size
17 fee lines · low to high
| ADU size | Estimated fees |
|---|---|
| 400 sq ft | $17,000 – $50,950 |
| 500 sq ft | $17,950 – $52,100 |
| 749 sq ft | $20,250 – $54,900 |
| 750 sq ftimpact-fee threshold | $20,300 – $54,950 |
| 751 sq ft | $20,300 – $54,950 |
| 1,000 sq ft | $22,600 – $57,750 |
| 1,200 sq ft | $24,450 – $60,050 |
Getting the permit
- Department
- City of San Diego Development Services Department (DSD)
- Where to apply
- Development Services Online Permits (Accela Citizen Access)
- Typical timeline
- Preapproved-plan applications: 30-day review. Standard/custom applications: state law requires city action within 60 days of a complete application; overall plan check and issuance often takes several weeks longer depending on complexity.
Read before you budget
- Most fee lines are working estimates rather than verified published city rates. Confirm every line with the city before budgeting.
- Some fee items appear more than once, so category totals may double count.
- Some fees are calculated by a formula we could not reproduce and are excluded from the totals.