HOMEFRONT COMPASS / OFFICIAL REFERENCE DESK
Licensing records, building departments, state guidance and building science belong to different authorities. Identify the right source before relying on a claim about your home.
Find the correct starting point ↗THREE DISTINCTIONS
Building permits: Your city or county agency may administer plan review and inspections. A county department is not automatically the permitting office for every incorporated city in that county.
Professional credentials: The California CSLB licenses certain contractors and registers Home Improvement Salespersons. The record is different from a building permit or property-specific approval.
Research references: State and federal materials can explain building systems or general requirements, but they do not certify conditions at a particular address.
REFERENCE DESK / TWO-QUESTION STARTING POINT
Choose a California county and what you know about the property's city status. This is a navigation aid—not an address lookup, permit eligibility decision, or official jurisdiction determination.
Start by selecting where the property is located and which government may have authority. No address or personal information is requested or stored.
Need an exact determination? Use the agency's official jurisdiction/service locator or contact its staff. Incorporated-city rules can differ; no automated result here proves which department has authority.
ARCHIVE / 11 VERIFIED REFERENCE ENTRIES
Open the source itself to check the latest rules and departmental responsibilities. Choose an agency category or search the directory. All entries remain readable if JavaScript is off.
Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety
Inside the incorporated City of Los Angeles only.
Start with the city's plan-check and permit guidance; its zoning and records tools are linked from this official page.
Confirm your address is actually inside City of Los Angeles jurisdiction, not merely in LA County.
LA County Public Works Permits
Unincorporated LA County and some contracted city service areas; verify the service locator first.
The county's official permit reference includes its service locator and EPIC-LA process.
Use the official Service Locator on the agency site to identify the correct office for your property.
Orange County Public Works
Private properties in unincorporated Orange County and county-owned properties.
Building permit information for county-administered work; city properties normally require their own city department.
If your property is inside an incorporated Orange County city, confirm that city's own permitting authority.
Ventura County Resource Management Agency
Unincorporated Ventura County building jurisdiction.
County building-permit information and links to permit process, applications and agency services.
A home in a city such as Ventura, Oxnard, Thousand Oaks or Camarillo may have a city building department instead.
Riverside County Transportation and Land Management Agency
County Building & Safety department; verify jurisdiction before relying on county permit instructions.
Official permit, plan-check, inspection, record-request and guidance entry point.
Confirm whether the property is in unincorporated Riverside County or an incorporated city's jurisdiction.
San Bernardino County Land Use Services
County building and safety authority; incorporated cities can have separate departments.
County building standards, plan-review, inspection, permit guidance and record research.
Identify the actual local authority first; do not treat this page as a city permit approval.
California Contractors State License Board
California contractor licenses and Home Improvement Salesperson registrations.
Open the live official search for license identity and public status details.
A license record is a starting point, not proof of suitability for a particular job.
California Department of Housing and Community Development
State ADU/JADU reference; local review and actual property conditions remain separate.
Consult the updated March 2026 state handbook and official materials rather than relying on old summaries.
Check the handbook version and confirm current local requirements with the responsible jurisdiction.
CAL FIRE / Office of the State Fire Marshal
California fire-hazard maps and official explanatory context.
Find statewide map resources and understand that mapped fire hazard differs from individual property risk.
For local responsibility areas, check adoption and applicability with the local jurisdiction.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
National educational information; not a property inspection or remediation plan.
Understand moisture sources and why an observed stain does not identify a verified cause.
Use this for general evidence questions; real building conditions require appropriate on-site evaluation.
U.S. Department of Energy
National building-science context and teaching resources.
Research building envelopes and how water-control and air-control layers work as systems.
Treat examples as educational diagrams; material choices and installation details are building-specific.
No agency entries match that search. Clear filters or search by a county or subject.
IMPORTANT BOUNDARY
These government links can help you find the responsible office, its published guidance or its public records. They do not establish that a specific plan is allowed, which code provisions apply, that a contractor is suitable, or that an application has been approved. County resources cover their stated jurisdictions, not every city in their geographic area.
SOURCE-LINK RESEARCHED · OCTOBER 9, 2026 · ALWAYS VERIFY CURRENT DETAILS WITH THE ORIGINAL AGENCY
Before you call a planning office about an ADU, see how many ADUs that city has permitted each year: SoCal ADU Permit Index →