Marin County, CA Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted code
- 2025 California Plumbing Code, Title 24 Part 5
- Base standard
- 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code (IAPMO)
- Enforcing agency
- CDA Building and Safety Division
- Application expires
- 1 year if permit not issued
- Permit voids
- Work not done in 2 years
- Penalty
- 2 to 4 times the permit fee
- Returned check fee
- $35 per occurrence
Summary
Marin County Code Section 19.04.010 adopts the 2025 California Plumbing Code, built on the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code, as the standard for every plumbing permit issued in the unincorporated county. The Building and Safety Division of the Community Development Agency reviews plans and inspects plumbing installations under this adopted code.
(5)The 2025 edition of the California Plumbing Code, known as California Code of Regulations, Part 5 of Title 24, incorporating the 2024 edition of the "Uniform Plumbing Code" as published by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, with exceptions, additions, and deletions as provided in this title.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 2026 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Marin County Code Section 19.04.010(5) adopts the 2025 edition of the California Plumbing Code, California Code of Regulations Title 24 Part 5, incorporating the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code published by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, subject to the exceptions, additions, and deletions set out elsewhere in Title 19. As with every code adopted under Section 19.04.010, Section 19.04.012 substitutes local terms: 'city' means 'county' and 'building official' means the Marin County building official throughout the adopted text.
Plan review, permit issuance, and inspection of plumbing installations fall to the Building and Safety Division of the Community Development Agency, established under Section 19.04.020. Permit fees are set under the Master Fee and Service Schedule adopted by Section 19.04.032, with a six percent technology enhancement surcharge and up to a sixty percent discount when a pre-approved third-party plan-check or inspection agency is used. A plumbing permit application expires if the permit is not issued within one year, under Section 19.04.050, and an issued permit becomes void if the work has not substantially started within a year or finished within two years, under Section 19.04.055, subject to extensions of up to three hundred sixty-five days at a time. A returned check for permit fees costs thirty-five dollars, ten of which goes to county central collections.
Violations & Fines
Plumbing work performed without the required permit, or in violation of the adopted Plumbing Code, constitutes a separate offense for each day it continues under Section 19.04.029, punishable on conviction by a fine equal to two to four times the applicable permit fee drawn from the Section 19.04.032 schedule. The agency director may waive the fine if the responsible party is expeditiously correcting the violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What plumbing code applies in unincorporated Marin County?
Does a plumbing permit expire if I don't pull it right away?
Who inspects plumbing work in unincorporated Marin County?
What happens if I do plumbing work without a permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Marin County
California rules heatmap·Compare Marin County to another location·View the California building safety overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.