Clovis, CA Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Base code adopted
- 1997 Uniform Administrative Code, local amendments
- Building code in force
- 2025 California Building Code, § 8.1.02
- Permit expiration
- 180 days without starting or continuing work
- Plan review fee
- 65% of building permit fee
- Unpermitted-work fee
- Equal to permit fee, up to 10x on repeats
- Violation penalty
- Misdemeanor; each day a separate offense
Summary
Clovis requires a building permit for nearly any construction activity through Municipal Code Section 8.1.01, which adopts the Uniform Administrative Code to regulate the erection, alteration, repair, conversion, demolition, and maintenance of buildings citywide. Local amendments in Section 8.1.01.1 set the permit's 180-day expiration clock, tie fees to City-adopted tables, and escalate an investigation fee for anyone who builds without pulling a permit first.
For the purposes of regulating the erection, construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, moving, removal, conversion, demolition, occupancy, equipment, use, height, area, and maintenance of buildings and structures in the City and providing for the issuance of permits and the collection of fees therefor, the 1997 Edition of the Uniform Administrative Code and Appendices, as prepared by the International Conference of Building Officials, three (3) copies of which have been filed for use and examination by the public in the office of the City Clerk as provided by Sections 50022.1 et seq. of the Government Code of the State, is hereby adopted by reference thereto as if fully set forth in this chapter.
Full Breakdown
1 then amends that adopted code with Clovis-specific rules. 4 if work does not start within 180 days of issuance, or if it is suspended or abandoned for 180 days, and a missed inspection every 180 days also counts as abandonment; restarting after expiration costs a new permit fee, though restarting within a year on unchanged plans costs only half the fee for a new permit. 3: plan review is 65 percent of the building permit fee, 25 percent of the total permit fee for electrical, mechanical, and plumbing work, and 25 percent of the Building Plan Check fee for seismic, disabled access, and energy-efficiency review.
2 charges an investigation fee equal to the permit fee for a first unpermitted-work violation, then a progressively larger fee, three times the permit fee on a second violation by the same permittee, four times on a third, five times on a fourth, up to a ten-times cap, on top of whatever permit fee is ultimately owed. 02 layers the 2025 California Building Code onto this same permitting structure, excluding Chapter 29 (plumbing systems) but including Appendix J (grading).
Violations & Fines
Section 8.1.02.1's amendment to CBC Section 103.4 makes it unlawful, and a misdemeanor, to erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, remove, convert, demolish, equip, use, occupy, or maintain any building "contrary to or in violation of any of the provisions of this Code," with each day of the violation counted as a separate offense. The Building Official can respond with an administrative citation under Title 1, Chapter 1.7, a Notice to Appear under Title 1, Chapter 1.2, or refer the matter to the City Attorney for legal action, and building without a permit also draws the Section 304.5.2 investigation fee described above.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is a Clovis building permit valid before it expires?
What does it cost to get a plan reviewed for a Clovis building permit?
What happens if I build in Clovis without pulling a permit first?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Clovis
California rules heatmap·Compare Clovis to another location·View the California building safety overview
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