San Francisco, CA Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

Building Code Section 108A rests on a rule with no workaround in its text: all construction or work requiring a permit is subject to inspection by the building official, and all of it must remain accessible and exposed for inspection until the building official approves it. The sequencing rule is just as strict. No work may be done on any part of the building or structure beyond the point indicated in each successive inspection without first obtaining the Building Official's approval, so every stage operates as a gate, and building over an unapproved stage skips a mandatory checkpoint rather than a formality.

5 sets out the called inspections: foundation, concrete slab or under-floor, reinforcing steel, structural steel, frame, lath or gypsum board, fire-rated suspended ceilings, and a final inspection that must pass before the building is occupied. 1 singles out structural framework, which may not be covered or concealed without the Building Official's prior approval, which is why framing stays open until the frame inspection clears. Through it all, the inspection record known as the Job Card must stay posted on the site from the day the permit issues until the final inspection is complete, giving the inspector and the crew one running record of what has been approved.