Permits in LA
How LADBS plan check works for ADUs in 2025 — submission, correction cycles, sub-reviews, and the Standard Plan track that cuts permits to four weeks.
- Standard plan check
- 8–16 weeks two correction rounds typical
- Standard Plan track
- 3–5 weeks pre-approved designs
- Sub-reviews
- 5–7 Building, Sanitation, LADWP, LAFD…
- Statutory ADU review
- 60 days by state law (often missed)
Permitting is the most opaque stage of an LA ADU. State law (Government Code §65852.2) makes ADU approvals ministerial — meaning no discretionary review — but local execution at LADBS still moves at LADBS pace. Here's how to read the system.
02.01The submission path
Plans are filed digitally through LADBS ePlanLA under the correct ADU pathway: new detached, attached, conversion, or Junior ADU. Each pathway has different setback, parking, and owner-occupancy rules under LAMC §12.22 A.33.
02.02Sub-reviews that quietly add weeks
Bureau of Sanitation sewer capacity, LADWP service planning, LAFD hillside review, and grading review (when applicable) run in parallel — but a single hold on one stops the whole approval. Track every reviewer, not just Building.
02.03When the Standard Plan track applies
LADBS pre-approved ADU designs bypass architectural plan check entirely. If your parcel fits a Standard Plan footprint and finish system, expect 3–5 week permits. Hillside, coastal, and HPOZ parcels are typically not eligible.
From the desk
- 5 min
Reading an LADBS correction sheet without panicking
Most corrections are clarifications. Here's how to triage them.
- 6 min
The Standard Plan ADU program, explained
Eligibility, design constraints, and the real timeline savings.
- 4 min
Why the 60-day statutory clock rarely holds
What the law says vs. what LADBS actually delivers.