Santa Clara County · ADU permit data · Updated 2026-10-20
8.3months median, application to building permit, 2023–2025
That is 37% longer than the Bay Area median of 6.0 months. One in four applicants waited more than 12.4 months.
ADUs permitted in 2023–2025, 90 matched on parcel number. Includes time owners spent revising plans.
Source: California HCD Annual Progress Reports, filed by the City of Saratoga
Fast quarter, median and slow quarter, in months
Saratoga 4.7–12.4 mo
Santa Clara County
Bay Area 3.8–10.5 mo
Median Fast quarter to slow quarter
Median wait
Where Saratoga sits among 52 ranked cities
Saratoga Other ranked cities Bay Area 6.0
Saratoga
8.3months
median wait, 2023–2025
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
Saratoga
98%
of matched ADUs
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
Saratoga
12.4months
One applicant in four had a building permit within this time from first submission.
Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports, 2023–2025, 25th percentile
Saratoga
4.7months
Source: units by calendar year, as reported by the City of Saratoga to California HCD
Saratoga, units per year
ADU permits a year, 2023–2025 average
ADU permits a year per 1,000 houses, 109 places
Saratoga Other Bay Area places
Saratoga
89a year
ADU permits, 2023–2025 average
Of every home Saratoga permitted in 2023–2025, this share was an ADU.
Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports, 2023–2025
Saratoga
60%
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
Saratoga
9.3
rank 5 of 92
Yearly ADU permits in 2023–2025, up 103% from 2019–2021.
Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports
Saratoga
+103%
Too few finished ADUs here have matching permit dates to give a number. The Bay Area median is shown for reference.
Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports, 2023–2025
Bay Area
13.0months
median of 7,223
Median Fast quarter to slow quarter Bay Area median, 6.0 months Number is the rank out of 52 cities
Every page in Santa Clara County: median wait where we can measure it, otherwise ADU permits a year
Timeline tool
Pick a start date and see the fast, likely and slow dates for Saratoga, from the numbers on this page.
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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 Saratoga, 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
For ADUs permitted in 2023–2025, the median time from application to building permit in Saratoga was 8.3 months (252 days), based on 90 permits we could match. A quarter took longer than 12.4 months.
Saratoga issued 268 ADU building permits in 2023–2025, about 89 a year. ADUs were 60% of all new homes permitted there.
There are too few completed ADUs with matching permit dates to say. The Bay Area median was 13.0 months from permit to completion.