National City, CA Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)

Section 15.20.005 of the National City Municipal Code adopts the 2025 California Plumbing Code, including Administration Divisions I and II, California Code of Regulations Title 24, Part 5, and Table 2902.1 of the 2025 California Building Code. The rules cover the erection, installation, alteration, repair, relocation, replacement, addition to, use or maintenance of plumbing, gas or drainage piping, water heating or treating equipment, on a building or outdoors on any premises. Copies are filed with the Building Official, and the City Council made express findings supporting local changes to the administrative provisions. Ordinance 2025-2556 repealed and reenacted the whole chapter.

Permits expire under Section 15.20.030 if work is not commenced within twelve calendar months of issuance, if work is stopped for six calendar months after starting, or if the work exceeds three calendar years from issuance. Work counts as commenced once the Building Official has approved a required inspection within twelve calendar months. To restart, a written Permit Extension Request must be approved by the Building Official, and the extension fee is one-half of a new permit, or one quarter when only a final inspection remains. The Building Official can also extend an unexpired permit for a period not exceeding six calendar months on written request showing circumstances beyond the permittee's control, and a permit for a deployed permittee can be held in abeyance until six months after return.

Fees are assessed under the current City of National City Fee Schedule (Section 15.20.040), and Table 104.5, the state plumbing permit fee table, is deleted (Section 15.20.060). Plan review fees are separate from permit fees (Section 15.20.045). The building permit, inspection record and approved plans stay on site until the project is complete (Section 15.20.042). A reinspection fee applies when work is incomplete, an inspection is called too early, the record card or plans are not available, access is not provided, or the work deviates from approved plans, and no further inspections happen until it is paid (Section 15.20.050). Appeals of Building Official decisions go to an ad hoc three-member Board of Appeals, then to the City Council within thirty days (Section 15.20.024).