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Santa Cruz County

County of Santa Cruz Community Development and Infrastructure — Unified Permit Center

In short

County of Santa Cruz Community Development and Infrastructure — Unified Permit Center issues 1 permit we publish for Santa Cruz County, last verified 2026-10-24. 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
Building Permit (unincorporated area)only if it applies to youCounty of Santa Cruz Community Development and Infrastructure — Unified Permit CenterBuilding permit fee by total valuation: $1.00 to $10,000 — $400.00; $10,001 to $25,000 — $402.74 for the first $10,000.00 plus $21.03 for each additional $1,000.00 or fraction thereof; $25,001 to $50,000 — $718.53 for the first $25,000.00 plus $16.39 per additional $1,000.00; $50,001 to $100,000 — $1,128.76 for the first $50,000.00 plus $11.36 per additional $1,000.00; $100,001 to $500,000 — $1,697.20 for the first $100,000.00 plus $9.09 per additional $1,000.00; $500,001 to $1,000,000 — $5,335.22 for the first $500,000.00 plus $7.71 per additional $1,000.00; $1,000,001 and up — $9,194.14 for the first $1,000,000.00 plus $5.11 per additional $1,000.00. Then: plan check fee 105% of the building permit fee; permit processing fee 118%; mechanical, plumbing and electrical permit fees each 6% of the building permit fee for occupancies other than Groups R and U; a training fee of 0.5% of the above fees. The CDI Fees & Payments page adds a 7% General Plan Surcharge and a 6% Technology & Facilities Update and Maintenance Fee applied to all building permits.per project (one-time)2026-10-24

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

Building Permit (unincorporated area)

Construction, a tenant improvement or a change of use on a site in unincorporated Santa Cruz County needs a building permit from Community Development and Infrastructure's Unified Permit Center. The CDI Fees & Payments page says building permit fees 'are paid at three points in the permit process': intake fees on application, inspection and other fees at issuance, and impact fees later; it states that 'A General Plan Surcharge fee of 7% (General Plan and Implementing Ordinance Maintenance Fee of 4% and General Plan Update and Planning Fee of 3%) as well as a 6% Technology & Facilities Update and Maintenance Fee is applied to all building permits.' The valuation table and percentages shown are as published in the County's Unified Fee Schedule. The CDI FAQ says: 'If the business will be based or operating within city limits, please contact the respective city planning department.'

Contact

Jurisdiction
Santa Cruz County
Phone
(831) 454-3252

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. Discretionary Permits & Zoning FAQsCounty of Santa Cruz Community Development and Infrastructure · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-24
  2. Fees & PaymentsCounty of Santa Cruz Community Development and Infrastructure · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-24
  3. Unified Fee ScheduleCounty of Santa Cruz · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-24

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The full permit list for this jurisdiction

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Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.