Monterey, CA Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted code
- 2025 California Building Code, via Sec. 9-0.1
- Permit expiration trigger
- No passed CBC §110.3 inspection within 1 year
- First extension
- One 180-day extension, written request required
- Further extensions
- 90 days each; needs a prior passed inspection
- Residential projects
- Same rule applies under Sec. 9-1.1 (CRC)
- Expired-permit remedy
- New application, new fees, new permit required
Summary
Monterey amends the 2025 California Building Code's expiration rule at Sec. 9-1(b): a building permit becomes "null and void" if the project has not passed one of the inspections required under CBC § 110.3 within one year of issuance. The Building Official can grant one 180-day extension, then further 90-day extensions, if a required inspection was already passed and fees are paid.
b.Section 105.5 is amended to read as follows:105.5 Expiration. Every permit issued by the Building Official under the provisions of the technical codes shall expire and become null and void, if the project authorized by such permit has not achieved an approval for one of the required inspections identified in Section 110.3 of the 2025 California Building Code within one year of issuance. The Building Official may grant a one-time permit extension of 180 days provided the applicant submits a request in writing prior to the permit expiration and provided the project has not changed in scope. Additional extension requests of 90 days may be granted by the Building Official if the request is made in writing, the project has not changed in scope, the project has obtained at least one required inspection approval as specified in Section 110.3 during the preceding 90 days and the applicant pays applicable fees. Work cannot be performed under an expired permit. A new permit application must be submitted with all applicable fees paid, and a new permit obtained, for the new project. All existing projects with an active building permit are subject to this section.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 3721, passed July 7, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Monterey adopts the 2025 California Building Code, Residential Code, Plumbing, Electrical, Mechanical, Green Building Standards, Wildland-Urban Interface, and Energy Codes, plus the 2024 International Property Maintenance Code, at Sec. 1, then amends several of the Building Official's administrative sections in Sec. 9-1. The expiration rule at Sec. 3 within one year of the permit's issuance. Pulling a permit and starting work is not enough; the project has to reach at least one of the code's defined inspection milestones inside that first year or the approval lapses automatically.
3 inspection in the preceding 90 days and the applicant pays the extension fee. Sec. 1 applies the identical one-year, 180-day, 90-day structure to one- and two-family projects reviewed under the California Residential Code. Once a permit lapses, the code is explicit that work cannot continue: the owner must file a brand-new application, pay all applicable fees again, and obtain a new permit for what is treated as a new project, and "all existing projects with an active building permit are subject to this section," so there is no grandfathering for permits already in hand when the rule took effect.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 9-1(b) states flatly that "work cannot be performed under an expired permit." Once a project misses its one-year inspection deadline, or any 180-day or 90-day extension the Building Official granted, continuing construction is unauthorized. The remedy is not a fine layered onto the old permit; the code requires starting over, filing a new permit application with all applicable fees paid, and obtaining a fresh permit before any further work can proceed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is a Monterey building permit good for without an inspection?
Can I get an extension on an expiring Monterey building permit?
What happens once my Monterey building permit expires?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Monterey
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