Orange County
Orange County Fire Authority
In short
Orange County Fire Authority issues 4 permits we publish for Orange 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
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Code Operational Permits — Auto Repair Shoponly if it applies to you | Orange County Fire Authority | Annual, FY2025-26 (issuance / reissuance): Repair and Service Garage $257/$194; Repair and Service Garage under 5,000 sq ft (Package) $237/$194; Spraying or Dipping Operation (paint booth) $375/$85; Hot Work (welding/cutting) $138/$85; Flammable Liquids (Class I) $198/$107; Combustible Liquids (Class II/IIIA) $198/$107; Compressed Gas (by hazard class) $138-$198/$85-$107; Refrigeration Equipment (large A/C-recovery systems) $315/$151. | annual | 2026-09-27 |
| Community Care Facility Fire Clearance (childcare) | Orange County Fire Authority | $119 per clearance letter (fee code M124, adopted FY2025-26, effective September 1, 2025) | issued once per state licensing action requiring a fire clearance | 2026-09-27 |
| Fire Code Operational Permit — Assembly Occupancyonly if it applies to you | Orange County Fire Authority | $474–$1,133 annual, FY2025-26: occupant load under 300, issuance $701 / reissuance $474; occupant load 300 or more, issuance $1,133 / reissuance $586 | annual | 2026-09-27 |
| Fire Plan Check — Motor Vehicle Repair Garage / Spray Boothonly if it applies to you | Orange County Fire Authority | One-time, effective September 1, 2025: 'S1 — Motor Vehicle Repair Garages' plan check $1,153 plus inspection $408 ($1,561 combined); Spray booth/spraying area plan check $945 plus inspection $349 ($1,294 combined). | one-time per project | 2026-09-27 |
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
Fire Code Operational Permits — Auto Repair Shop
An auto-repair shop in one of OCFA's 23 member/contract cities or the unincorporated area holds a separate annual operational fire permit for each hazardous activity it performs on-site, FY2025-26 fees: a base Repair and Service Garage permit at $257 issuance/$194 reissuance ($237/$194 for a package under 5,000 square feet), plus, as applicable, Spraying or Dipping (paint booth) at $375/$85, Hot Work at $138/$85, Flammable Liquids at $198/$107, Combustible Liquids at $198/$107, Compressed Gas at $138-$198/$85-$107 depending on hazard class, and Refrigeration Equipment at $315/$151. A shop needing multiple of these holds multiple permits at their combined cost. A 0.17% cost-recovery adjustment took effect June 25, 2026, after these figures were adopted; they remain accurate to within a fraction of a percent. Outside OCFA's 23-city footprint, the shop's own city fire department issues these permits instead, under its own fee schedule, out of scope here.
Community Care Facility Fire Clearance (childcare)
A childcare center or large family day-care home applying for or renewing its California state child care license needs a fire clearance letter as part of that state process. In the 23 cities OCFA serves plus the unincorporated area, OCFA issues this clearance for $119 (fee code M124, adopted for FY2025-26, effective September 1, 2025). Outside OCFA's 23-city footprint — Anaheim, Brea, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, La Habra, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Orange and Placentia — the equivalent clearance comes from that city's own fire department instead, out of scope here. A 0.17% cost-recovery adjustment to OCFA's Community Risk Reduction fee schedule took effect June 25, 2026; this figure predates that adjustment by a fraction of a percent and should still be accurate to the nearest dollar.
Fire Code Operational Permit — Assembly Occupancy
A fitness studio in one of OCFA's 23 member/contract cities or the unincorporated area whose occupant load and building configuration trigger an assembly-occupancy classification needs an annual fire code operational permit from OCFA: $701 issuance or $474 reissuance under 300 occupants, or $1,133 issuance or $586 reissuance at 300 or more occupants (FY2025-26 fees, adjusted by a further 0.17% cost-recovery increase effective June 25, 2026). No other fitness-specific county permit beyond this and unincorporated-area zoning entitlement applies; no OC HCA health permit is published as reaching a standard fitness studio without a pool or spa, and none is asserted here. Outside OCFA's 23-city footprint, the applicable fire department is that city's own.
Fire Plan Check — Motor Vehicle Repair Garage / Spray Booth
Building or substantially remodeling an auto-repair shop, or installing a paint spray booth, in one of OCFA's 23 member/contract cities or the unincorporated area requires an OCFA fire plan check before the operational permits above are issued: $1,153 plan check plus $408 inspection ($1,561 combined) for a motor-vehicle repair garage under fee code S1, or $945 plan check plus $349 inspection ($1,294 combined) for a spray booth or spraying area, both effective September 1, 2025. Effective August 1, 2026, OCFA requires plan-review application fees to be paid at the time of submittal, before the application enters the review queue, rather than billed later in the process. Outside OCFA's 23-city footprint, the applicable fire authority is that city's own.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Orange County
- Phone
- Not verified — use the website
- Website
- ocfa.org/
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.
- Fee Schedule — Planning & Development (plan check), effective September 1, 2025Orange County Fire Authority · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
- Fee Schedule — Prevention Field Services, effective September 1, 2025Orange County Fire Authority · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
- Letter to partner cities: 0.17% cost-recovery adjustment to the Community Risk Reduction fee schedule, effective June 25, 2026Orange County Fire Authority · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
- Member Cities (the 23 cities OCFA serves by contract or joint-powers membership)Orange County Fire Authority · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
Other offices serving Orange County
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
California jurisdictions
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