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Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning

In short

Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning issues 9 permits we publish for Los Angeles County, last verified 2026-09-27. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.

What this agency issues

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Local Referral Feeonly if it applies to youLos Angeles County Department of Regional Planning$548 per referral (effective March 1, 2026)one-time, per application2026-09-27
Site Plan Review, Ministerial (Commercial & Industrial)only if it applies to youLos Angeles County Department of Regional Planning$1,472–$2,471 one-time, Ministerial Site Plan Review, Commercial & Industrial, effective March 1, 2026: existing building under 5,000 SF $1,472; existing building 5,000 SF or more $1,721; new building under 5,000 SF $1,472; new building 5,000 SF or more $2,471; plus a Fire referral fee of $301 or a DPR referral fee of $316 where a referral is requiredone-time2026-09-27
Conditional Use Permit — Child Care Facilitiesonly if it applies to youLos Angeles County Department of Regional Planning$2,179–$4,356 per application, effective March 1, 2026: $4,356 general; $2,179 for a nonprofit operator with an annual operating budget under $500,000runs with the land2026-09-27
On-Site Business Sign Plan Reviewonly if it applies to youLos Angeles County Department of Regional Planning$849–$2,471 one-time, effective March 1, 2026: On-Site Business Sign Plans $2,471, or $849 for a qualifying nonprofit; Master Sign Program review is also $2,471one-time2026-09-27
Conditional Use Permit (general)only if it applies to youLos Angeles County Department of Regional Planning$11,899–$15,873 per application, effective March 1, 2026: $15,873 when there is no other concurrent application on the same property; $11,899 when there is a concurrent application; plus a Fire referral fee of $442, plus $259 per revision, where Fire review is requiredruns with the land (LA County Code Title 22); an extension can be requested through the CUP Time Extension process below2026-09-27
Conditional Use Permit, Minor (Commercial or Industrial)only if it applies to youLos Angeles County Department of Regional Planning$3,513 per application, commercial or industrial (effective March 1, 2026)runs with the land2026-09-27
Conditional Use Permit — Modification or Elimination of Conditionsonly if it applies to youLos Angeles County Department of Regional Planning$1,353–$11,129 per request, effective March 1, 2026: $11,129 general; $1,353 for a nonprofit operator with an annual operating budget under $500,000one-time, per modification request2026-09-27
Conditional Use Permit — Time Extensiononly if it applies to youLos Angeles County Department of Regional Planning$2,109 per extension request (effective March 1, 2026)one-time, per extension request2026-09-27
Family Child Care Home — Business License and Zoning Exempt by State Law (LA County)only if it applies to youLos Angeles County Department of Regional PlanningNo feenot applicable2026-09-27

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

About each permit

Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Local Referral Fee

A restaurant or coffee shop applying for a California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control license at a location in unincorporated Los Angeles County needs a $548 DRP referral (effective March 1, 2026), on top of its state ABC license fee. Under Title 22 §22.140.134, whether the specific on-site alcohol use additionally needs a full Conditional Use Permit, a Minor CUP, or no further zoning action depends on the configuration (bar, restaurant with incidental alcohol service, extended hours, and so on); the referral fee itself applies regardless. This is a zoning-side fee separate from the state's own ABC licensing fees.

Site Plan Review, Ministerial (Commercial & Industrial)

Any of the ten industries opening or building a new location in unincorporated Los Angeles County needs a Ministerial Site Plan Review from the Department of Regional Planning before opening — DRP has no zoning authority inside any of the county's 88 incorporated cities, so this applies only in the unincorporated area. The March 1, 2026 fee schedule prices Commercial & Industrial site plan review at $1,472 for an existing building under 5,000 square feet, $1,721 for an existing building of 5,000 square feet or more, $1,472 for a new building under 5,000 square feet, and $2,471 for a new building of 5,000 square feet or more, plus a Fire referral fee of $301 or a Department of Parks and Recreation referral fee of $316 when DRP refers the application to those agencies. A coastal-area project instead uses the Approval in Concept process ($1,765, or $726 to amend one already issued).

Conditional Use Permit — Child Care Facilities

A child care center in unincorporated Los Angeles County that is not a permitted use by right in its zone needs a Conditional Use Permit priced specifically for child care facilities: $4,356 under the March 1, 2026 DRP fee schedule, reduced to $2,179 for a nonprofit operator with an annual operating budget under $500,000. A November 2022 county child-care development guide still actively linked from childcare.lacounty.gov lists older, lower, superseded figures ($3,766 general, $1,883 nonprofit); the March 2026 DRP schedule above is the current, authoritative figure. A small or large family child care home operated in a residence needs no CUP or other zoning permit at all (see the separate family child care home record) — this fee applies only to a commercial child care center.

On-Site Business Sign Plan Review

A business installing an on-site sign in unincorporated Los Angeles County needs DRP zoning-side sign plan review, priced at $2,471 under the March 1, 2026 fee schedule, or $849 for a qualifying nonprofit organization; a multi-tenant Master Sign Program review is also $2,471. This is a Department of Regional Planning zoning approval, distinct from any separate building-permit sign fee the Building and Safety Division might charge for the sign's physical construction in the unincorporated area or its 13 contract cities — the county's Building and Safety Division fee schedule does not publish a standalone sign-permit line item, so no such fee is stated here.

Conditional Use Permit (general)

A conditional use permit is required in unincorporated Los Angeles County wherever the zoning code marks a use as conditional rather than by-right — for example, on-site alcohol service at a restaurant under Title 22 §22.140.134, a stand-alone child care center in some zones, or an animal hospital. The March 1, 2026 fee is $15,873 when the application has no other concurrent application on the same property, and $11,899 when it does — the two figures are easy to transpose, so confirm which condition applies before budgeting. Where Fire Department review is required, a $442 referral fee applies, plus $259 for each revision. This fee applies only in the unincorporated area; DRP has no zoning authority inside any incorporated city.

Conditional Use Permit, Minor (Commercial or Industrial)

A Minor Conditional Use Permit is a lower-cost track for a commercial or industrial conditional use in unincorporated Los Angeles County that qualifies for streamlined review, priced at $3,513 under the March 1, 2026 fee schedule — well below the $11,899-$15,873 general CUP fee. Which specific uses qualify for the minor track versus the general CUP process is set case by case by DRP under Title 22, Chapter 22.158. This fee applies only in the unincorporated area.

Conditional Use Permit — Modification or Elimination of Conditions

Modifying or eliminating a condition on an existing Conditional Use Permit in unincorporated Los Angeles County costs $11,129 under the current March 2026 DRP fee schedule column, or $1,353 for a nonprofit operator with an annual operating budget under $500,000. The prior year's fee schedule column, one column to the left in the same table, showed $10,804 for the general rate — that older figure is superseded and should not be used.

Conditional Use Permit — Time Extension

Requesting more time to exercise an already-approved Conditional Use Permit in unincorporated Los Angeles County costs $2,109 under the March 1, 2026 DRP fee schedule. This line item is easy to misread against the adjacent 'County Biologist Review, Biological Review' fee ($517) in the same table — the two are unrelated, and $517 is not the CUP time-extension fee.

Family Child Care Home — Business License and Zoning Exempt by State Law (LA County)

No fee applies. Under Cal. Health & Safety Code §1597.45(a) and (f), a small or large family child care home operated inside a residence needs no Los Angeles County business license and no zoning permit of any kind — a state-law preemption, not a county policy choice. The county's own child care development guide states this directly, citing California Health and Safety Code §1597.45(a) and (f): cities and counties in California, including unincorporated areas, cannot require family child care providers, small or large, to obtain a business license or other type of zoning approval. This exemption applies only to a family child care home in a residence; a commercial child care center is a distinct land use that does need zoning review and, where its use is not permitted by right, a Conditional Use Permit (see the separate CUP-childcare record).

Contact

Jurisdiction
Los Angeles County
Phone
Not verified — use the website

Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.

Sources

Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

  1. Child Care for All: How to Develop and Renovate (November 2022) — carries superseded 2022 CUP-childcare fee figures and the family child care home license/zoning exemption citation (page 15)LA County Office of Child Care · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  2. Revised Filing Fees, effective March 1, 2026LA County Dept. of Regional Planning · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27

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