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17 permits · verified 2026-09-27

What permits do you need to open a auto repair shop in San Bernardino County?

In short

A auto repair shop in San Bernardino County, CA has 3 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 14 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health Services charges $1,020 flat, one-time, per referral for the environmental health services referral fee (component of a cup/mup/tentative tract application). 9 of the 17 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-27 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a auto repair shop in San Bernardino County

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Environmental Health Services Referral Fee (component of a CUP/MUP/Tentative Tract application)only if it applies to youSan Bernardino County Department of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health Services$1,020 flat, one-time, per referralone-time, per application referral2026-09-27
Hazardous Materials / CUPA Program (Hazardous Waste, UST, CalARP)only if it applies to youSan Bernardino County Fire Protection DistrictHazardous waste generator inspection program fees, by tier: Conditionally Exempt/Very Small Quantity Generator $223 ($295 Special), Small Quantity Generator $324, Large Quantity Generator $526, Super Large Quantity Generator $628. Underground storage tank (UST) program: regular annual inspection $957/tank, abandoned-tank annual inspection $321/tank, new installation plan check/construction (up to 4 inspections) $4,084, minor modification/repair $550, major modification/repair $2,055, tank closure/removal $634 (first tank) plus $164 per additional tank, hazardous materials emergency business plan/handler fee (UST only) $168/year. Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) Annual Administrative Program Fee by level: Level 1 $167, Level 2 $420, Level 3 $1,683, Level 4 $3,198, Level 5 $5,386. Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act inspection fees $173-$1,036 by tank category and capacity tier.mixed — the CUPA Annual Administrative Program Fee and UST annual inspection fees recur yearly; UST construction, modification and closure fees are one-time per project2026-09-27
Conditional Use Permit / Minor Use Permit (Planning Division Entitlement)only if it applies to youSan Bernardino County Land Use Services Department, Planning DivisionConditional Use Permit — Initial Deposit $16,468.00 (actual-cost basis: the deposit is drawn down against staff review time, additional deposits may be billed for further work, and any unused balance is refunded). Minor Use Permit — Initial Deposit $8,420.00, same actual-cost basis. Both are County Code §16.0215A fees, effective July 1, 2026, and are separate from — and far larger than — the $1,020 Environmental Health Services 'Tentative Tract Review/CUP/MUP/TUP' referral fee charged within the same application (recorded as its own line item for the County).one-time per application; the permit itself then runs subject to the conditions the Planning Commission or Planning Director imposes2026-09-27

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

Local permits that apply to every type of business in San Bernardino County

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Sign Permit — Building & Safety Construction Feeonly if it applies to youSan Bernardino County Land Use Services Department, Building & Safety DivisionVaries — formula on the San Bernardino County pageone-time, per sign2026-09-27
Home Occupation Permitonly if it applies to youSan Bernardino County Land Use Services Department, Code Enforcement DivisionVaries — formula on the San Bernardino County pagebiennial renewal2026-09-27
Sign Permit — Planning Division Land-Use Reviewonly if it applies to youSan Bernardino County Land Use Services Department, Planning DivisionVaries — formula on the San Bernardino County pageone-time per sign or sign location plan2026-09-27
Commercial Building Permit (Valuation-Based Fee)San Bernardino County Land Use Services Department, Building & Safety DivisionVaries — formula on the San Bernardino County pageone-time, per project2026-09-27
On-Site Wastewater (Septic) and Well Construction Permitsonly if it applies to youSan Bernardino County Department of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health ServicesVaries — formula on the San Bernardino County pagevaries — most fees are one-time per project; the DMA Individual Septic System Permit is biennial2026-09-27
Annual Fire Code Inspection / Operational PermitSan Bernardino County Fire Protection DistrictVaries — formula on the San Bernardino County pageannual2026-09-27
General Business License — San Bernardino County positiononly if it applies to youSan Bernardino County Clerk of the Board of SupervisorsNo feenot applicable — per the Clerk of the Board, the County does not issue a business license covering the entire County2026-09-27

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

CA registrations that apply to every type of business

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Statement of Information (LLC)only if it applies to youCalifornia Secretary of State, Business Programs Division$20 per filing, biennialbiennial2026-09-03
Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to youCalifornia Secretary of State, Business Programs Division$70 one-time filingno expiry, but a Statement of Information is due biennially2026-09-03
Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to youCalifornia Secretary of State, Business Programs Division$100 one-time filingno expiry, but a Statement of Information is due annually2026-09-03
Statement of Information (Corporation)only if it applies to youCalifornia Secretary of State, Business Programs Division$25 per filing, annualannual2026-09-03
Seller's Permitonly if it applies to youCalifornia Department of Tax and Fee AdministrationNo fee — no fee to applyno expiry while actively engaged in business as a seller2026-09-03
Annual LLC Tax and Minimum Franchise Taxonly if it applies to youCalifornia Franchise Tax BoardVaries — formula on the CA pageannual, until the entity is cancelled2026-09-03
General Business License — California position (city or county, not state)California Secretary of State, Business Programs DivisionNo feeset by the issuing city or county2026-09-03

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

How much does it actually cost to permit a auto repair shop in San Bernardino County?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 17 records listed for a auto repair shop in San Bernardino County, CA, 3 apply to every business of this type and 14 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

9 of the 17 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 2 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

Hazardous Materials / CUPA Program (Hazardous Waste, UST, CalARP): Hazardous waste generator inspection program fees, by tier: Conditionally Exempt/Very Small Quantity Generator $223 ($295 Special), Small Quantity Generator $324, Large Quantity Generator $526, Super Large Quantity Generator $628. Underground storage tank (UST) program: regular annual inspection $957/tank, abandoned-tank annual inspection $321/tank, new installation plan check/construction (up to 4 inspections) $4,084, minor modification/repair $550, major modification/repair $2,055, tank closure/removal $634 (first tank) plus $164 per additional tank, hazardous materials emergency business plan/handler fee (UST only) $168/year. Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) Annual Administrative Program Fee by level: Level 1 $167, Level 2 $420, Level 3 $1,683, Level 4 $3,198, Level 5 $5,386. Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act inspection fees $173-$1,036 by tank category and capacity tier.

Conditional Use Permit / Minor Use Permit (Planning Division Entitlement): Conditional Use Permit — Initial Deposit $16,468.00 (actual-cost basis: the deposit is drawn down against staff review time, additional deposits may be billed for further work, and any unused balance is refunded). Minor Use Permit — Initial Deposit $8,420.00, same actual-cost basis. Both are County Code §16.0215A fees, effective July 1, 2026, and are separate from — and far larger than — the $1,020 Environmental Health Services 'Tentative Tract Review/CUP/MUP/TUP' referral fee charged within the same application (recorded as its own line item for the County).

The other 7 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the San Bernardino County permits page and the CA state page.

Which offices issue these permits in San Bernardino County?

Permits for a auto repair shop in San Bernardino County, CA come from 9 separate offices: San Bernardino County Land Use Services Department, Building & Safety Division, San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health Services, San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, San Bernardino County Land Use Services Department, Code Enforcement Division, San Bernardino County Land Use Services Department, Planning Division, San Bernardino County Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, California Secretary of State, Business Programs Division, California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, California Franchise Tax Board. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

What does a auto repair shop need in San Bernardino County that other businesses do not?

1 of the 3 permits particular to a auto repair shop here applies to no other business type we cover in San Bernardino County: Hazardous Materials / CUPA Program (Hazardous Waste, UST, CalARP).

Hazardous Materials / CUPA Program (Hazardous Waste, UST, CalARP)

Auto-repair shops most commonly trigger this program through used oil, solvents and waste-fluid generation, and any shop with an underground fuel or waste-oil storage tank falls under the UST fees as well; other industries whose hazardous materials storage crosses a state reporting threshold could also be reached if their storage crosses that threshold. SBCoFD is the state-designated Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) for hazardous materials oversight, and every figure above is the FY 2026-27 figure in its Fee Schedule (Attachment A), Section G, effective July 1, 2026. This program reaches unincorporated San Bernardino County plus the partner cities named on SBCoFD's Office of the Fire Marshal page (Adelanto, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Hesperia, Needles, San Bernardino, Twentynine Palms, Upland, and the Town of Yucca Valley) — not an independent municipal fire/CUPA program in those specific cities. Any other of the County's incorporated cities not on that list runs its own CUPA program.

Shared with other businesses in San Bernardino County

  • Environmental Health Services Referral Fee (component of a CUP/MUP/Tentative Tract application) — San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health Services, $1,020 flat, one-time, per referral, one-time, per application referral. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, childcare centres, veterinary clinics and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the childcare centres page.
  • Conditional Use Permit / Minor Use Permit (Planning Division Entitlement) — San Bernardino County Land Use Services Department, Planning Division, Conditional Use Permit — Initial Deposit $16,468.00 (actual-cost basis: the deposit is drawn down against staff review time, additional deposits may be billed for further work, and any unused balance is refunded). Minor Use Permit — Initial Deposit $8,420.00, same actual-cost basis. Both are County Code §16.0215A fees, effective July 1, 2026, and are separate from — and far larger than — the $1,020 Environmental Health Services 'Tentative Tract Review/CUP/MUP/TUP' referral fee charged within the same application (recorded as its own line item for the County)., one-time per application; the permit itself then runs subject to the conditions the Planning Commission or Planning Director imposes. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, childcare centres, veterinary clinics and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the veterinary clinics page.

The other 7 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in San Bernardino County, CA; what each one involves is set out on the San Bernardino County permits page. The 7 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across CA and are covered on the CA state page.

How does a auto repair shop compare with other businesses in San Bernardino County?

The closest match is a fitness studio, which shares 2 of these permits. A auto repair shop also needs Hazardous Materials / CUPA Program (Hazardous Waste, UST, CalARP). A fitness studio needs nothing here that a auto repair shop does not.

Permits particular to each business type in San Bernardino County, CA, compared with a auto repair shop
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a auto repair shopOnly a auto repair shop needsOnly it needs
Fitness studios2210
Childcare centres5213
Veterinary clinics5213
Restaurants8216
Coffee shops10218
Contractors and trades1031
Food trucks5035
Retail stores6036
Salons and barbers1031

Sources

Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits shared with other businesses are listed with their explanations on the childcare centres page and veterinary clinics page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the San Bernardino County permits page and the CA state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Fee Schedule, Fiscal Years 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29, Attachment A (first year effective July 1, 2026) — Community Safety Division construction/operational/mandated-inspection fees (Sections A-F) and Hazardous Materials Division CUPA/hazmat/UST fees (Section G)San Bernardino County Fire Protection District · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  2. Hazmat – CUPA — SBCoFD's own page describing its role as the state-designated Certified Unified Program Agency for hazardous materials/waste oversightSan Bernardino County Fire Protection District · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  3. Office of the Fire Marshal — SBCoFD's own 'Our Partners' page, naming City of Adelanto, San Bernardino County, City of Fontana, City of Grand Terrace, City of Hesperia, City of Needles, City of San Bernardino, City of Twentynine Palms, City of Upland and Town of Yucca ValleySan Bernardino County Fire Protection District · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08

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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.