Union City, California Building Permit Guide

Union City is an Alameda County city of about 65,000 residents in the southern East Bay, between Hayward and Fremont, with established residential neighbourhoods and a substantial industrial and logistics base. Its Building Division, within the Economic and Community Development Department on Alvarado-Niles Road, is the sole building authority inside the city.

This guide covers the Building Division, the local licence rule, the capped inspection calendar, the undergrounding trigger on larger additions, and the codes in force.

This guide covers work inside the City of Union City limits. Unincorporated Alameda County and neighbouring cities are separate authorities.

What requires a building permit in Union City?

Local amendments and thresholds differ from one jurisdiction to the next, so an exempt list from a neighbouring city is not reliable — a project waved through in one place needs a full permit set in the next. An exemption from a building permit is never an exemption from zoning, the statewide energy or green-building codes, or an electrical or plumbing permit. Confirm scope with Building Division before work starts.

The statewide layers that apply everywhere

Several parts of Title 24 apply on top of the base building code and routinely catch projects owners assume are exempt: the California Energy Code (Part 6); CALGreen (Part 11), California’s mandatory statewide green-building code; and the accessibility provisions in Chapters 11A and 11B. Seismic design is built into the code statewide, and in fire-prone areas the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (Title 24, Part 7, in force since 1 January 2026) and Cal Fire defensible-space requirements (Public Resources Code 4291) add a further layer. In the City of Union City, the Building Division administers Title 24 with city amendments adopted by ordinance, with the 2025 codes in force from January 2026.

California builds on one statewide code, Title 24, whose 2025 edition took effect on 1 January 2026; the editions in effect when the application is submitted apply, and cities and counties may adopt local amendments only with findings filed with the state (new residential amendments are largely frozen until June 2031). Title 24 and local amendments

Who handles permitting in Union City?

The Building Division issues construction permits and carries out plan check and inspection for residential, commercial and industrial work inside the city limits.

The counter runs Monday to Thursday with a short window on alternating Fridays, and takes over-the-counter permits, plan submittals and resubmittals in person. State licensed contractors can also use an email or mail-in route for a defined list of simple scopes: minor plumbing, mechanical and electrical work, water heater replacement, residential electrical service replacement, wall furnace and heating replacement with the energy form attached, reroofs that add no weight, like-for-like window replacement, and water or gas line repair.

Two referrals are the applicant’s responsibility rather than the division’s: plans go to the county health department and to the sanitary district directly where the project needs them. The city also runs a construction and demolition recycling ordinance requiring full recycling of concrete, asphalt, clean soils and plant debris and at least half of other debris on covered projects.

In 2025, building permits issued in Union City authorized 142 new privately owned housing units, 55 of them single-family homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.

Permit types

Residential permits

Residential work inside the city is permitted and inspected by the division under the 2025 codes and city amendments. The exempt list is specific: detached accessory structures under 120 square feet with no mechanical, electrical or plumbing, fences under 7 feet, retaining walls under 4 feet measured from the bottom of the footing with limited surcharge, and finish work such as painting, tiling, carpeting, cabinets and countertops. Planning or public works approval can still apply to work that is exempt from a building permit.

Commercial permits

Commercial work goes through division plan check against the California Building Code, the Fire Code, the Energy Code and CALGreen, with multiple plan sets and specifications for assemblies and equipment. The division routes plans to the appropriate city departments, but the applicant delivers plans to the county health department and the sanitary district where those apply. All newly constructed commercial buildings fall under the construction and demolition recycling ordinance.

Licenses, trade classifications and design professionals

Practically, three credential layers appear on California projects: a CSLB license in the correct classification for the contractor pulling the permit; the specialty C-classifications for the electrical, plumbing and mechanical trades; and, on commercial and larger residential work, drawings stamped by a California-licensed architect or engineer. Confirm what Building Division requires for the specific building before filing.

Contractors are licensed statewide by the Contractors State License Board (Classes A, B, B-2 and C) for work of $1,000 or more or any permitted work; a city may also require a business licence or tax registration. Contractor licensing in California

Union City permit costs and fees

Budget the city building permit and plan-check fees, separate trade permits, the state Building Standards and seismic surcharges, sanitary district charges, and any development impact fees. A receipt of payment is presented to the building department before the construction permit is issued, so the payment step sits inside the issuance sequence rather than after it.

California layers two uniform state surcharges — the Building Standards Administration fee and the Strong Motion Instrumentation seismic fee — on top of the local charges (Health and Safety Code 18931.6; Public Resources Code 2705). The building and plan-check fees themselves are local and change, and California law limits them to the reasonable cost of providing the service, so a figure from a neighbouring city is not reliable — ask Building Division for the schedule in force on your filing date.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Each trade follows its part of Title 24 and is done by a contractor with the matching CSLB licence (C-10 electrical, C-36 plumbing, C-20 HVAC), a Class B contractor where allowed, or an owner-builder. Trade licences in California

How to apply for a Union City building permit

Review, corrections and what actually causes delay

In California, the first cause of delay is uncertainty over jurisdiction — filing with the county when a city should have it, or missing a local amendment on top of Title 24. After that come Title 24 energy and CALGreen documentation, a CSLB classification that does not match the scope, and, in fire or coastal areas, defensible-space or coastal-zone requirements that were not addressed up front. Build the plan-check time into the schedule and confirm the checklist with Building Division before filing.

A building permit carries a validity period and can expire if work does not start or stalls between inspections; confirm the expiry with Union City on phased or delayed work. Permit validity in California

Inspections in Union City

Where a permit is required, standard checkpoints include footing and foundation, framing, rough-in electrical, plumbing and mechanical, insulation and Title 24 energy, CALGreen measures, fire systems on commercial work, and final, with a certificate of occupancy before use. Inspections are requested on the inspection hotline, 510-487-0711, before 3:00pm the day before, for the next business day only; requests are taken first come, first served until the day’s schedule is full, and no city inspections run on alternating Fridays.

California inspections are made against the code editions in effect when the permit application was submitted (Health and Safety Code 18938.5), so the approved plans and any energy and green-building documentation need to be on site for the inspector to check against. Confirm the notice Building Division needs and schedule around its inspection windows.

Do not cover work before the required inspection has been approved. Keep the issued permit, the approved plans, product listings, Title 24 energy documentation and your correction responses available on site.

Union City permit search and official resources

Permit records in California sit with the local authority that issued them. Where the City of Union City Building Division is the authority for the City of Union City limits, it holds the building permit, the inspection history and the certificate of occupancy. If you are buying, refinancing or renovating, confirm that past work was permitted rather than assuming it was — and confirm the code edition that was in force.

These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and procedures change — confirm the position for your filing date.

• City of Union City Building Division
• California Building Standards Commission (Title 24)
• Contractors State License Board (CSLB)
• California Energy Commission (Energy Code)
• California Department of Housing and Community Development

Frequently asked questions

Who issues building permits in the City of Union City?

The Building Division within the Economic and Community Development Department on Alvarado-Niles Road; unincorporated Alameda County and neighbouring cities are separate authorities.

Do I need a city licence as well as a state one?

Yes. The construction permit application states that a contractor shall hold a valid state licence and a Union City licence before applying for a construction permit.

Why can I not get an inspection when I want one?

The Building Department caps the number of inspections it takes each business day, so requests are best made early and against the inspection request handout issued with the permit.

Can I email a permit application?

State licensed contractors can email or post a defined list of simple scopes, including water heater and wall furnace replacement, reroofs adding no weight, like-for-like window replacement, and water or gas line repair.

When does undergrounding apply?

A new single family residence, or an addition increasing the total floor area by 50 percent or more, triggers the municipal code requirement to underground new utilities.

Which code edition applies?

The 2025 codes are in force, adopted by city ordinance and effective from January 2026.

Simplify Union City permitting with Alliance Permitting

Union City rewards booking inspections the moment the permit issues and holding the city licence before the application, not after the correction.

Trusted by leading builders, developers, and national contractors — 21+ years of filing in the jurisdictions we write about.

Contractors and builders choose Alliance for Union City because the work is done by people who have stood at the counter:

• We clear the Union City licence before the application is filed.
• We book inspections against the daily cap rather than on demand.
• We route health and sanitary district plans ourselves.
• We test the undergrounding trigger on any substantial addition.
• We use the email route where the scope actually qualifies.

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in California. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Union City permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.