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Permitting Authorities / City of San Rafael - Building Division, Community & Economic Development

Do you need a permit to replace a roof in San Rafael, CA?

Adopted code

City of San Rafael - Building Division, Community & Economic Development

The City of San Rafael's Building Division, part of the Community & Economic Development Department, on the top floor at 1400 Fifth Avenue, takes building permit applications and schedules inspections in San Rafael, in Marin County; the division's page links its OpenGov permitting system. The 2025 California Residential Code applies in San Rafael as it does in every California city and county. This listing covers the office's contact details and the rules state law sets for every California town; it does not cover San Rafael's own permit rules.

Jurisdiction
City of San Rafael, California
Jurisdiction type
city
Address
1400 Fifth Avenue, Top Floor, San Rafael, CA 94901
Contact
  • url: https://www.cityofsanrafael.org/departments/building/
  • phone: 415-485-3367
Permit portal
Permit portal
Contractor registration required
Required
Adopted code
The 2025 California Residential Code (California Code of Regulations, Title 24, Part 2.5), which "incorporates by adoption the 2024 International Residential Code of the International Code Council with necessary California amendments" (California Residential Code section 1.1.1) and took effect on January 1, 2026. It applies to "every detached one- and two- family dwelling and townhouse not more than three stories above grade plane ... throughout the State of California" (section 1.1.3). State law makes it apply in every city and county: "If any city or county does not amend, add, or repeal ordinances or regulations to impose those requirements or make changes or modifications in those requirements upon express findings, the provisions published in the California Building Standards Code ... shall be applicable to it" (Health and Safety Code 17958(a)). A city or county may change the code only where it finds the change "reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geological, or topographical conditions" (Health and Safety Code 17958.5(a)), and "No modification or change shall become effective or operative for any purpose until the finding and the modification or change have been filed with the California Building Standards Commission" (Health and Safety Code 17958.7(a)). From October 1, 2025 to June 1, 2031, a city or county "shall not make changes that are applicable to residential units" unless, among other listed conditions, the changes are "substantially equivalent to changes or modifications that were previously filed by the governing body of the city or county and were in effect as of September 30, 2025" or "relate to home hardening" (Health and Safety Code 17958(b)). So a city may have its own amendments to the state code, and this record did not read this city's local amendments. Everything above is California state law, the same in every city and county. In San Rafael the city's own Building Division, part of the Community & Economic Development Department, enforces the code: its page says that "all new permit applications must be submitted through OpenGov", the city's online permitting system, and that "all inspections must be scheduled through OpenGov".

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Sources

Roofing questions: San Rafael, CA

Do roofing contractors need a license or registration in San Rafael, CA?

Yes.

What building code does San Rafael, CA use?

The 2025 California Residential Code (California Code of Regulations, Title 24, Part 2.5), which "incorporates by adoption the 2024 International Residential Code of the International Code Council with necessary California amendments" (California Residential Code section 1.1.1) and took effect on January 1, 2026. It applies to "every detached one- and two- family dwelling and townhouse not more than three stories above grade plane ... throughout the State of California" (section 1.1.3). State law makes it apply in every city and county: "If any city or county does not amend, add, or repeal ordinances or regulations to impose those requirements or make changes or modifications in those requirements upon express findings, the provisions published in the California Building Standards Code ... shall be applicable to it" (Health and Safety Code 17958(a)). A city or county may change the code only where it finds the change "reasonably necessary because of local climatic, geological, or topographical conditions" (Health and Safety Code 17958.5(a)), and "No modification or change shall become effective or operative for any purpose until the finding and the modification or change have been filed with the California Building Standards Commission" (Health and Safety Code 17958.7(a)). From October 1, 2025 to June 1, 2031, a city or county "shall not make changes that are applicable to residential units" unless, among other listed conditions, the changes are "substantially equivalent to changes or modifications that were previously filed by the governing body of the city or county and were in effect as of September 30, 2025" or "relate to home hardening" (Health and Safety Code 17958(b)). So a city may have its own amendments to the state code, and this record did not read this city's local amendments. Everything above is California state law, the same in every city and county. In San Rafael the city's own Building Division, part of the Community & Economic Development Department, enforces the code: its page says that "all new permit applications must be submitted through OpenGov", the city's online permitting system, and that "all inspections must be scheduled through OpenGov".