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Santa Clara County · ADU permit data · Updated 2026-10-20

How long does an ADU permit take in Campbell?

7.8months median, application to building permit, 2023–2025

Bay Area
6.0 mo
Slow quarter
12.9+ mo
Rank
40 of 52

That is 29% longer than the Bay Area median of 6.0 months. One in four applicants waited more than 12.9 months.

State limit
60 days
Campbell
7.8 mo
Bay Area
6.0 mo
months
Months from application to ADU permit, 2023–2025, drawn to one scale. The state's 60-day clock starts once an application is complete.

Months from ADU application to building permit

ADUs permitted in 2023–2025, 57 matched on parcel number. Includes time owners spent revising plans.

Source: California HCD Annual Progress Reports, filed by the City of Campbell

Estimate my dates

Fast quarter, median and slow quarter, in months

Campbell 4.1–12.9 mo

Santa Clara County

Bay Area 3.8–10.5 mo

Median Fast quarter to slow quarter

Median wait

  • Campbell 7.8 mo
  • Santa Clara County 6.0 mo
  • Bay Area 6.0 mo
  • Sunnyvale fastest nearby 4.6 mo
  • Santa Clara slowest nearby 8.4 mo

Where Campbell sits among 52 ranked cities

Campbell 7.8

Campbell Other ranked cities Bay Area 6.0

Campbell

7.8months

median wait, 2023–2025

Took longer than 60 days

State law gives the city 60 days to act once an application is complete. Counted from first submission, this share of ADUs took longer. Ask for the completeness letter, which is due within 15 business days, and keep its date.

Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports, 2023–2025; Gov. Code 66317

Campbell

95%

of matched ADUs

Slow quarter waited longer than

One applicant in four took longer than this. Plan on it if the city sends your plans back for another round of corrections.

Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports, 2023–2025, 75th percentile

Campbell

12.9months

Fast quarter had a permit within

One applicant in four had a building permit within this time from first submission.

Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports, 2023–2025, 25th percentile

Campbell

4.1months

Permits issued

148 ADU permits, 2023–2025

ADU building permits issued and ADUs finished, by year

Source: units by calendar year, as reported by the City of Campbell to California HCD

Campbell, units per year

0 27.5 55 2018: 5 Permits issued2019: 8 Permits issued2020: 51 Permits issued2021: 38 Permits issued2022: 52 Permits issued2023: 46 Permits issued2024: 55 Permits issued2025: 47 Permits issued 2018: 3 ADUs completed2019: 4 ADUs completed2020: 16 ADUs completed2021: 3 ADUs completed2022: 29 ADUs completed2023: 44 ADUs completed2024: 43 ADUs completed2025: 55 ADUs completed 47 Permits issued 55 ADUs completed 20182020202220242025

ADU permits a year, 2023–2025 average

  • Campbell 49
  • San Jose 402
  • Palo Alto 129
  • Santa Clara County, all 1,239
  • Bay Area, all 4,316

ADU permits a year per 1,000 houses, 109 places

Campbell 5.8

Campbell Other Bay Area places

Campbell

49a year

ADU permits, 2023–2025 average

Share of new homes that are ADUs

Of every home Campbell permitted in 2023–2025, this share was an ADU.

Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports, 2023–2025

Campbell

70%

ADU permits per 1,000 houses

Permits a year for every 1,000 detached houses, so small and large cities can be compared.

Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports; DOF housing estimates

Campbell

5.8

rank 13 of 92

Change since 2019–2021

Yearly ADU permits in 2023–2025, up 53% from 2019–2021.

Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports

Campbell

+53%

Build time

124 finished ADUs

Building permit to finished ADU

Median time from building permit to certificate of occupancy for ADUs finished in 2023–2025. Add it to the permit wait for a full timeline.

Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports, 2023–2025

Campbell

11.5months

median of 124

Slow quarter of builds took longer than

One ADU in four took longer than this to reach a certificate of occupancy after the permit.

Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports, 2023–2025, 75th percentile

Campbell

18.2months

Months from ADU application to building permit

Median Fast quarter to slow quarter Bay Area median, 6.0 months Number is the rank out of 52 cities

06121824
median
  1. 15Sunnyvale
    4.6
  2. 19Palo Alto
    5.1
  3. 22Mountain View
    5.4
  4. 24San Jose
    5.4
  5. 31Milpitas
    6.2
  6. 33Los Gatos
    6.3
  7. 37Los Altos
    7.2
  8. 40Campbell
    7.8
  9. 43Unincorporated Santa Clara County
    8.2
  10. 44Saratoga
    8.3
  11. 46Santa Clara
    8.4

Planning an ADU in Campbell

  1. 1 State law gives the city 60 days to act once your application is complete. Counting from first submission, 95% of ADUs here took longer than 60 days to reach an issued permit (Bay Area: 93%). Ask for the completeness letter, which the city owes you within 15 business days, and keep its date.
  2. 2 Plan for about 7.8 months to get your permit, and up to 12.9 if the city sends your plans back for another round. Those numbers include the time owners spent revising drawings.
  3. 3 After the permit, ADUs here took a median of 11.5 months to reach a certificate of occupancy (Bay Area: 13.0).
  4. 4 Campbell permits about 49 ADUs a year, up 53% from 2019–2021. Local designers and builders have recent examples to show you; ask for permitted ADUs in Campbell, not elsewhere.
  5. 5 The part of the wait you control is the first submission. Complete drawings, a site plan that matches the survey, and answers to the city's ADU checklist cut down on correction rounds.
  6. Read next: why home plans get sent back · permit drawings vs. full plans · architect fee calculator

Timeline tool

When would your permit come through?

Pick a start date and see the fast, likely and slow dates for Campbell, from the numbers on this page.

Estimate my permit dates

Next step

Not sure who to call first?

Answer a few questions about your lot and your plans. We point you to the right kind of help for an ADU in Campbell: an architect, a permit-drawing team, or a design-build firm. About two minutes, no call list.

Find the right first call

Start with the city's own rules: ADU bulletin (PDF).

Sheet
C-114
Drawing
ADU permit record, Campbell
Date
2026-10-20
Scale
Not to scale

Source: Bay Area ADU Permit Clock 2026, our analysis of the California HCD Housing Element Annual Progress Reports (data.ca.gov) filed by the City of Campbell, and DOF housing estimates. Wait times are matched on parcel number and include applicant revision time. The 60-day rule is in Government Code section 66317. How we measured it · See all 109 jurisdictions

Common questions

How long does it take to get an ADU permit in Campbell?

For ADUs permitted in 2023–2025, the median time from application to building permit in Campbell was 7.8 months (237 days), based on 57 permits we could match. A quarter took longer than 12.9 months.

How many ADUs does Campbell approve?

Campbell issued 148 ADU building permits in 2023–2025, about 49 a year. ADUs were 70% of all new homes permitted there.

How long does it take to build an ADU in Campbell?

The median time from building permit to certificate of occupancy was 11.5 months for ADUs completed in 2023–2025.