County Guide
Los Angeles County, CA Building Permits: Who Issues
LA County Building and Safety permits unincorporated areas through EPIC-LA. The City of LA and 88 other cities run their own building departments.
Los Angeles County is big and easy to get wrong when it comes to permits. The county's Building and Safety Division only issues permits for unincorporated areas and a set of contract cities. The City of Los Angeles and dozens of other incorporated cities run their own building departments. Here is who covers what, and how to look up a permit without ending up at the wrong office.
Who Issues Building Permits in Los Angeles County?
In unincorporated Los Angeles County, building permits are issued by the Building and Safety Division of the county's Department of Public Works. It reviews plans, issues permits, and runs inspections, acting as the authority having jurisdiction for the areas it covers. For more on that role, see what the AHJ is.
The county's online system is EPIC-LA, short for Electronic Permitting and Inspections for the County of Los Angeles. You can apply, upload plans for review, pay fees, and request inspections through it. A set of smaller contract cities also rely on county Building and Safety district offices rather than staffing their own.
What the County Covers vs. the Cities Inside It
This is where most confusion starts. The county Building and Safety Division issues permits only for unincorporated Los Angeles County, which is home to about a million residents in communities such as East Los Angeles and Altadena, plus the contract cities that hire the county for the service.
Los Angeles County also contains 88 incorporated cities, and the larger ones run their own building departments. The City of Los Angeles is permitted by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, known as LADBS, and cities like Long Beach, Glendale, Santa Monica, and Pasadena each have their own offices. A permit for one of those cities will not appear in county records, so confirm the jurisdiction of your address before you apply.
How to Look Up Permits in Los Angeles County
For an unincorporated address, use EPIC-LA to find the official record. If the property sits inside an incorporated city, search that city's system instead, such as LADBS tools for the City of Los Angeles. Permit records are public, as we cover in are building permits public record.
For a quick read on county-wide residential activity, use Permit Ledger's live Los Angeles County permit tracker, which pulls permits from the official feed every week and summarizes the trend.
Permit Activity in Los Angeles County
Permit Ledger tracked more than 3,800 residential permits in Los Angeles County in the trailing 30 days as of mid-July 2026, up from about 2,900 in the prior 30-day period. That count covers renovation, remodel, addition, solar, and pool work, not new commercial construction.
That is a solid increase from one month to the next across the areas the county covers. For contractors and suppliers, it points to strengthening demand rather than a summer slowdown.
Who Uses This Data
Contractors and suppliers use county permit trends to focus on active submarkets, investors watch them for signals about where work is picking up, and direct mail marketers reach owners who just pulled a permit. Because the records are public, anyone can use them. To research a single property, see how to look up permit history by address.
Frequently asked questions
Who issues building permits in Los Angeles County?
For unincorporated Los Angeles County, permits are issued by the Building and Safety Division of the county Department of Public Works through the EPIC-LA online portal. Incorporated cities run their own building departments.
Does LA County issue permits inside the City of Los Angeles?
No. The City of Los Angeles is permitted by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS). LA County Building and Safety covers unincorporated areas and contract cities, not the City of LA.
What is EPIC-LA?
EPIC-LA is Los Angeles County's online permitting and inspections system. You can apply for permits, submit plans for review, pay fees, and request inspections in unincorporated county areas through it.
How do I know if my address is unincorporated?
Check the property's jurisdiction before applying, since Los Angeles County has 88 incorporated cities plus unincorporated areas. If the address is unincorporated, use EPIC-LA; if it is in a city, use that city's building department.
How do I track Los Angeles County permit activity?
Use Permit Ledger's live Los Angeles County permit tracker for a county-wide view of residential permits, or search EPIC-LA for a specific unincorporated property record.
See Live Los Angeles County Permit Data →More California county permit guides
Related guides
- What Is the AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction)?
- What Is a Parcel Number? Definition and How to Find It
- Unpermitted Work: What Happens If You're Caught
Browse permits by trade
Solar permits Pool & Spa permits Roofing permits HVAC permits Plumbing permits Electrical permits