Share of new homes that are ADUs
Of every home Menlo Park permitted in 2023–2025, this share was an ADU.
Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports, 2023–2025
Menlo Park
59%
San Mateo County · ADU permit data · Updated 2026-10-20
How long does an ADU permit take in Menlo Park?
75permits a year ADU building permits, 2023–2025 average
- Bay Area
- 6.0 mo
- Status
- Not comparable
- Rank
- unranked
We cannot publish a reliable wait time for Menlo Park. Menlo Park reports the same date for the application and the permit on 59% of matched ADUs, so its wait time cannot be compared with other cities. We leave it out of the ranking.
State limit Bay Area months
60 days
6.0 mo
Permit wait
All 52 ranked citiesMonths from ADU application to building permit
Bay Area figures for reference. Menlo Park reports the same date for the application and the permit on 59% of matched ADUs, so its wait time cannot be compared with other cities. We leave it out of the ranking.
Source: California HCD Annual Progress Reports, filed by the City of Menlo Park
Fast quarter, median and slow quarter, in months
San Mateo County
Bay Area 3.8–10.5 mo
Median Fast quarter to slow quarter
Median wait
- San Mateo County 7.0 mo
- Bay Area 6.0 mo
- Atherton fastest nearby 3.4 mo
- Half Moon Bay slowest nearby 15.9 mo
Median wait in the 52 ranked cities
Other ranked cities Bay Area 6.0
Bay Area
6.0months
median of 5,578 matched Bay Area permits, 2023–2025
Permits issued
226 ADU permits, 2023–2025ADU building permits issued and ADUs finished, by year
Source: units by calendar year, as reported by the City of Menlo Park to California HCD
Menlo Park, units per year
ADU permits a year, 2023–2025 average
- Menlo Park 75
- San Mateo 78
- Redwood City 57
- Unincorporated San Mateo County 56
- San Mateo County, all 662
- Bay Area, all 4,316
ADU permits a year per 1,000 houses, 109 places
Menlo Park 10.4
Menlo Park Other Bay Area places
Menlo Park
75a year
ADU permits, 2023–2025 average
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
Menlo Park
10.4
rank 3 of 92
Change since 2019–2021
Yearly ADU permits in 2023–2025, up 326% from 2019–2021.
Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports
Menlo Park
+326%
Build time
94 finished ADUsBuilding 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
Menlo Park
11.6months
median of 94
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
Menlo Park
14.6months
San Mateo County
21 cities and areas · all citiesMedian Fast quarter to slow quarter Bay Area median, 6.0 months Number is the rank out of 52 cities
06121824
median - 8Atherton 3.4
- 21Hillsborough 5.3
- 27Belmont 6.0
- 32San Carlos 6.3
- 35Unincorporated San Mateo County 7.0
- 47East Palo Alto 8.6
- 49Burlingame 9.1
- 52Half Moon Bay 15.9
Every page in San Mateo County: median wait where we can measure it, otherwise ADU permits a year
- San Mateo 78/yr
- Redwood City 57/yr
- Unincorporated San Mateo County 7.0 mo
- Hillsborough 5.3 mo
- South San Francisco 48/yr
- Burlingame 9.1 mo
- Daly City 32/yr
- San Bruno 32/yr
- San Carlos 6.3 mo
- East Palo Alto 8.6 mo
- Atherton 3.4 mo
- Belmont 6.0 mo
- Woodside 21/yr
- Pacifica 17/yr
- Half Moon Bay 15.9 mo
- Portola Valley 10/yr
- Millbrae 8.7/yr
- Foster City 6.6 mo
- Brisbane 5.3/yr
- Colma 0.3/yr
Planning an ADU in Menlo Park
- 1 After the permit, ADUs here took a median of 11.6 months to reach a certificate of occupancy (Bay Area: 13.0).
- 2 Menlo Park permits about 75 ADUs a year, up 326% from 2019–2021. Local designers and builders have recent examples to show you; ask for permitted ADUs in Menlo Park, not elsewhere.
- 3 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.
- 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 Menlo Park, from the numbers on this page.
Estimate my permit datesNext 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 Menlo Park: an architect, a permit-drawing team, or a design-build firm. About two minutes, no call list.
Find the right first callStart with the city's own rules: ADU rules and process.
- Sheet
- C-146
- Drawing
- ADU permit record, Menlo Park
- Date
- 2026-10-20
- Scale
- Not to scale
- Drawn by
- Bay Area Architect
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 Menlo Park, 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 Menlo Park?
There are not enough comparable records to give a reliable number for Menlo Park. Across the Bay Area the median was 6.0 months.
How many ADUs does Menlo Park approve?
Menlo Park issued 226 ADU building permits in 2023–2025, about 75 a year. ADUs were 59% of all new homes permitted there.
How long does it take to build an ADU in Menlo Park?
The median time from building permit to certificate of occupancy was 11.6 months for ADUs completed in 2023–2025.