LA ADU Permit Fee Calculator
Estimate the City and County permit fees for an Accessory Dwelling Unit project in Los Angeles County. Powered by LADBS and LA County DPW fee schedules with the SB 543 impact-fee waiver applied. Every line item links back to the underlying LAMC or state code citation.
Project details
About this calculator
ADU permit fees in Los Angeles County are built from a sliding-bracket building permit fee (LAMC 91.107 Table 1-A in the City of LA, LA County Code Title 26 in unincorporated areas), a plan check fee that runs at 90% of the building permit fee for the City and 85% for the County, separate electrical / plumbing / mechanical sub-permits, two state fees (the Building Standards Commission fee created by SB 1473 and the Strong Motion Instrumentation fee), and a handful of project-specific lines that only show up if your parcel triggers them (hillside, fire sprinkler, new utility connections). In the City of Los Angeles, the General Plan Maintenance Surcharge adds 7% on top of the building permit fees (LAMC 98.0418), and this calculator applies it to the building permit and plan check fees. The City raised the surcharge on City Planning fees to 10% on June 9, 2026, but that change did not reach LADBS building permits.
Impact fees and school fees
California law (Gov. Code 66311.5, most recently amended by SB 543) bars local impact fees on an ADU with 750 square feet or less of interior living space. Above 750 square feet, impact fees are allowed but must be charged in proportion to the size of the main house. School district fees follow a different line: only an ADU under 500 square feet is exempt (Education Code 17620). At 500 square feet or more, this calculator charges the Los Angeles Unified School District rate of $5.38 per square foot, in effect since August 11, 2026. Your parcel may sit in a different school district with its own rate.
Coverage
Real line-item schedules are seeded for the City of Los Angeles and unincorporated LA County. Other LA-area incorporated cities (Pasadena, Glendale, Long Beach, Burbank, Santa Monica, Culver City, Beverly Hills, Inglewood, West Hollywood, Manhattan Beach) are scaled from the LA City baseline using city-specific per-category multipliers and return with a note that they are approximations. Confirm exact fees with each city's building department.