ADU section · Bay Area ADU Permit Clock 2026 · Updated 2026-10-20

How long an ADU permit takes in your Bay Area city

Median 6.0 months from application to building permit, 2023–2025, from the reports each city files with the state. Pick your city for its wait and its own ADU pages.

San Francisco13.0 mo San Jose5.4 mo Oakland7.3 mo Palo Alto5.1 mo All 109 by county ↓

San Francisco

City and county · median, application to permit

51st fastest of 52

13.0mo

Middle half 7.1–22.7 mo · 232 ADUs timed · 680 permitted, 2023–2025

Official ADU pages on the city's own site

Estimate my permit dates San Francisco ADU architects

State limit

60 days

Bay Area median

6.0 mo

Middle half

3.8 to 10.5 mo

months

Every ranked city, one dot each Full ranking

Median months from application to ADU permit for 52 cities and counties with 20 or more timed permits, 2023–2025.

Bay Area median, application to ADU permit, 2023–2025: 6.0 mo; Bay Area median, application to ADU permit, 2023–2025
Middle half of ADU applicants: 3.8–10.5 mo; Middle half of ADU applicants
Took longer than the state's 60 days, counted from first submission: 93%; Took longer than the state's 60 days, counted from first submission
ADUs as a share of all new homes permitted, 2025: 25%; ADUs as a share of all new homes permitted, 2025

ADU permit wait in every city, by county

Median months from application to building permit, 2023–2025. Each city's name opens its page with permits, build time and neighbors; the button beside it goes straight to the city's own ADU page.

All city pages

Alameda County

15 cities and areas · 2,666 ADUs permitted

6.3mo county median

Too few comparable permits for a median: Berkeley, Dublin, Emeryville, Newark, Pleasanton, Union City, Unincorporated

Contra Costa County

20 cities and areas · 1,665 ADUs permitted

5.5mo county median

Too few comparable permits for a median: Antioch, Brentwood, Clayton, Danville, Hercules, Martinez, Pinole, Pittsburg, San Ramon

Marin County

12 cities and areas · 696 ADUs permitted

5.5mo county median

Too few comparable permits for a median: Belvedere, Fairfax

Napa County

6 cities and areas · 322 ADUs permitted

5.6mo county median

Too few comparable permits for a median: Calistoga, St. Helena, Yountville

San Francisco

1 city and county · 680 ADUs permitted

13.0mo county median

San Francisco 13.0mo Rules San Francisco official ADU page (opens in a new tab)

San Mateo County

21 cities and areas · 1,985 ADUs permitted

7.0mo county median

Too few comparable permits for a median: Brisbane, Colma, Daly City, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Pacifica, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Mateo, South San Francisco, Woodside

Santa Clara County

16 cities and areas · 3,718 ADUs permitted

6.0mo county median

Too few comparable permits for a median: Gilroy, Morgan Hill

Solano County

8 cities and areas · 411 ADUs permitted

6.1mo county median

Too few comparable permits for a median: Dixon, Rio Vista, Suisun City, Vacaville

Sonoma County

10 cities and areas · 805 ADUs permitted

4.7mo county median

Too few comparable permits for a median: Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Sebastopol, Sonoma, Windsor

Bars run from zero to 15.9 months; the thin line on each is the Bay Area median of 6.0 months. * Fewer than 20 timed permits, so read it as rough. Source: California HCD Annual Progress Reports, ADUs permitted 2023–2025. Official city links checked 2026-10-20.

In the ADU section

Permit data for every Bay Area city, a timeline tool, and the San Francisco firms with the most ADU permits.

San Francisco architects with the most ADU permits

Ranked by ADU building permits the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection issued since 2018 with the firm named on the record. 149 architects and designers have two or more. Nobody pays to be ranked.

San Francisco recorded 3,439 ADU permits in that time. The 1,454 plan-review ADU permits issued so far took a median 13.5 months from filing to issue, by the city's own permit dates. That measure starts at the building permit filing, so it differs from the Permit Clock, which starts at the application in the state report.

Full ADU architect ranking All San Francisco architects San Francisco ADU permit data

Architect or designer ADU permits issued

ADUs in Bay Area housing since 2018

4,533 ADUs were permitted in 2025, 25% of all new homes permitted in the Bay Area. From the Annual Progress Reports every city files with the state housing department.

ADUs as a share of new home permits ADU permits divided by all new home permits, Bay Area

12%

13%

18%

16%

19%

30%

25%

20182019202020212022202320242025

Source: California HCD Annual Progress Reports, Table A2.

ADUs finished each year Units issued a certificate of occupancy, Bay Area

764

1,395

1,717

2,046

2,282

2,944

3,261

3,638

20182019202020212022202320242025

Source: California HCD Annual Progress Reports, Table A2.

Your city's own ADU rules

ADU pages, permit portals, pre-approved plans, fee schedules and checklists on each city's own site. 103 of 109 cities and counties have an ADU page on file. Links checked 2026-10-20.

Official links for every city

Looking for an ADU builder?

This site covers permit times and the architects who draw ADUs. For builders and design-build firms, see our sister site.

Bay Area ADU Builders

Common questions

How long does an ADU permit take in the Bay Area?

For ADUs permitted in 2023–2025, the median time from application to building permit was 6.0 months across 5,578 timed ADU permits in 99 Bay Area cities and counties. Half of applicants waited between 3.8 and 10.5 months. Pleasant Hill was fastest at 1.5 months; San Francisco took 13.0.

How long does it take to build an ADU after the permit?

The Bay Area median from building permit to certificate of occupancy was 13.0 months for ADUs finished in 2023–2025. Added to the permit wait, a typical ADU takes about 19 months from application to a finished unit.

Which San Francisco architects get the most ADUs permitted?

Ranked by ADU permits the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection issued since 2018 with the firm named on the record: Xie Associates (51), Syncopated Architecture (49), Openscope Studio (42). The full ranking lists 149 architects and designers.

Sheet: A-500
Drawing: ADU permits in the Bay Area, section overview
Source: California HCD Annual Progress Reports; San Francisco DBI building permits
Date: 2026-10-20
Scale: Not to scale
Drawn by: Bay Area Architect