Shed Permit in San Jose, CA
Permit Summary
Do You Need a Shed Permit?
Exemptions
A detached accessory building or structure of 120 square feet or less does not require a building permit when it has no electrical wiring or plumbing. The exemption does not waive zoning, placement, fire-safety, or other applicable City requirements.
Attached Shed Rules
San José defines an accessory building such as a shed as detached from the main dwelling. A shed attached to the house is therefore outside the detached accessory-building path; structural additions or changes to the main building require a building permit and use the City's additions/remodels permit process.
Shed Use Rules
A shed treated as an accessory building must be non-livable. It may not contain living or sleeping space and may not be air-conditioned. Accessory buildings are limited to two plumbing connections serving appliances or fixtures.
Zoning & Placement Rules
Zoning Rules
Accessory buildings and structures must comply with San José Municipal Code Section 20.30.500 even when no building permit is required. They are limited to one story and generally to a maximum aggregate/individual area of 650 square feet unless a Special Use Permit authorizes a larger project. They must remain accessory and non-livable, with no sleeping space or air conditioning and no more than two plumbing connections.
Setback Rules
For the residential accessory-building standards summarized by the City, the front setback is generally 60 feet. On a typical interior lot, no minimum side or rear property-line setback is required; a corner lot generally requires 10 feet from the street-side property line, and key-lot conditions can require 4 feet. Accessory buildings must also be at least 6 feet wall-to-wall from any other building on the property. Fire and life-safety rules can require greater separation or setbacks.
Maximum Height Rules
Accessory buildings and structures are generally limited to 12 feet in height. For a pitched, gable, or hip roof, the height halfway up the roof slope may be 12 feet and no portion of the roof may exceed 16 feet. The structure is limited to one story.
Lot Coverage Rules
In the rear yard, the cumulative area covered by accessory buildings and accessory structures, excluding built-in swimming pools, may not exceed 40% of the rear yard, and accessory buildings may not exceed 30%. A built-in pool may cover up to 60% of the rear yard, with accessory-building and accessory-structure area included when calculating the pool-related maximum. Eave projections up to 2 feet are excluded from accessory-building/structure rear-yard coverage calculations.
Special Area Rules
The streamlined Over-the-Counter and Residential Express paths are not available when the property is in a Planned Development zoning district, Flood Zones A, AE, AH, or AO, a geohazard or seismic-hazard landslide zone, or a Wildland-Urban Interface area; projects that fail those criteria use Standard Plan Review and may need additional clearances. Properties on the City's Historic Resources Inventory require Planning clearance before a building permit can be issued. Easements, code-enforcement cases, grading/geologic conditions, and tree removal can also trigger additional review or permits.
Construction Requirements
Foundation Rules
For a permitted accessory building, the project plans must include a foundation plan showing the pier-footing or continuous-footing layout and slab-on-grade details when applicable. Projects with complex foundation conditions do not qualify for the City's streamlined Over-the-Counter path and are routed to Standard Plan Review.
Fire Separation Rules
San José's current guidance states that openings are not allowed in walls within 3 feet of a property line, and openings between 3 and 5 feet from the property line may not exceed 25% of the wall area. For accessory buildings or structures over 120 square feet, roof overhangs may not be closer than 2 feet to a property line. If a structure exceeds 120 square feet and is less than 5 feet from a property line, the wall parallel to that line must have 1-hour fire protection. A shed under 120 square feet that is at least 6 feet from other structures may be placed on the property line without a firewall under the City's guidance.
Permit & Review Path
Permit / Review Path
No building permit is required for a qualifying detached shed of 120 square feet or less with no electrical wiring or plumbing, although zoning and other City rules still apply. A permitted shed under 500 square feet on a qualifying single-family or duplex property may use Over-the-Counter review; qualifying projects may instead use Residential Express for expedited virtual review. Projects that do not meet streamlined-service criteria use Standard Plan Review through SJPermits and SJePlans. A project over 650 square feet also requires a Special Use Permit from Planning.
Trade Permits & Professional Design
Trade Permit Rules
Electrical or plumbing work eliminates the small-shed building-permit exemption: a shed with electricity or plumbing requires permitting regardless of size. Electrical and plumbing work may also require the applicable subtrade permits. San José's accessory-building zoning rules prohibit air-conditioning in these non-livable accessory buildings.
Professional Design Rules
A layperson may prepare plans for certain qualifying residential accessory structures that remain within applicable conventional wood-frame construction rules. A California-licensed architect or registered engineer may be required for work not exempt under California Business and Professions Code Section 5537, for portions that deviate from conventional wood-frame construction, or when the Building Official determines professional design is required. Engineered or otherwise nonconventional designs can also move the project out of the Over-the-Counter path.
What You Need Before Applying
Requirements
Confirm the shed is a non-livable accessory building and that its size, location, height, rear-yard coverage, building separation, and fire-safety features comply with San José zoning and building rules. When a building permit is required, submit the Building Permit Application, project plans, and the applicable property-type checklist through the review path for the project. Obtain any required Planning, historic, geologic, grading, tree, or other clearances before permit issuance.
Required Documents
For a permitted shed on a single-family or duplex property, submit project plans, the Building Permit Application, and the Single-Family & Duplex Projects Submittal Checklist. Plans are to include a site plan, foundation plan, floor plan, framing plan, and four elevations. Depending on site and applicant conditions, additional items can include geologic-hazard or grading clearances, historic-property clearance, an Owner-Builder Acknowledgement, a Special Use Permit for a project over 650 square feet, a tree-removal permit, and construction-and-demolition diversion deposit documentation.