Inspectors
(909) 395-2362
Plan Check
(909) 395-2023
Counter Services
(909) 395-2023
The mission of the Building Department is to contribute to Ontario's economic development and protect the lives and safety of Ontario's citizens and its visitors, by providing timely and professional plan review and inspection services to ensure buildings and projects are built and developed in compliance with all applicable municipal and state code requirements.
The Building Department will be half staffed from October 28th-November 1st, 2024, for employee trainings. Some inspections may be pushed until the following week.
Beginning January 3rd, 2024, there will be a fee for multiple extension requests on the same plan check / permit. The first request made will not be charged a fee. If additional extensions are requested and granted, a fee of $150 for Residential and $300 for Commerical / Industrial permits will be required. Please email buildingcounter@ontarioca.gov to request your permit extensions.
The Building Counter is closed for staff meetings every Tuesday from 7:30-9:00 am and the first Thursday of every month from 8:00-10:00 am
Digital Plan Check Requirements
Book an Appointment for a Building Permit or Building Plan Check Submittal / Pick Up.
To submit your plans, see the status of your plan check, or to schedule an inspection, please visit the Citizen Portal Access.
You can now see a current schedule of daily inspections. Check back on the day of your scheduled inspection to confirm you place in line. If you scheduled an inspection for today but are not listed on the report, please call (909) 395-2362.
To make an online payment, visit the City of Ontario Online Payment Portal.
Inspectors
(909) 395-2362
Plan Check
(909) 395-2023
Counter Services
(909) 395-2023
This information is available from the Planning Department. Their phone number is (909) 395-2036
A homeowner can obtain a permit and do the construction, alteration or repair on his/her house and accessory buildings or facilities thereto if the owner resides or will reside in the dwelling.
Building permit fees are calculated based on the valuation of the project. Please see Estimate Plan Check/Permit Fees/Other Fees. In addition to the permit fee, a plan review fee equal to 80% of the permit fee is collected at the time of submittal of your building permit application.
A permit is required for retaining walls over 2 ft. in height measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall.
A building permit is required for:
Please check with the Planning Department for the fence height limitation due to its proximity to the front, side, or rear property lines. Their phone number is (909) 395-2036.
Please see Plan Submittal Requirements.
An inspection is a visit by a city inspector to a job site to verify the construction’s compliance with approved plans and code regulations. All construction work for which a permit is required is subject to inspection by city inspectors. It is your responsibility to notify the inspector when the work is ready for inspection. Work is generally inspected and approved in succession and no work may continue beyond the point indicated in each successive inspection without first obtaining the approval of the inspector. Common items to be inspected are foundation excavations, concrete work, wood framing, ventilation equipment, plumbing, electrical, shear wall nailing, roof nailing, etc. When the entire project is completed, there will be a final inspection and approval of the completed project.
A Certificate of Occupancy is a document issued by the Building Department allowing a building to be occupied pursuant to its intended use stated in a building permit. It is issued after a building inspector verifies that all work has been done in accordance with approved plans and code requirements, and other city departments have also given their approval for work/improvements that are under their jurisdiction.
Yes.
No.
No.
A plumbing permit is required for the installation of any gas piping except piping less than 6 feet in length between an existing gas outlet and a gas appliance in the same room.
No.
Yes. For all habitable areas, the room temperature at a point 3 feet above the floor shall be maintained at 70 degrees F.
Generally speaking, any changes to Department-approved plans shall be approved by the plan check engineer who reviewed and issued the permit. Sometimes, the changes can be handled over the counter on the same day it is brought in; other times, the changes may need to be resubmitted for further review with an additional plan check fee paid to the city. In either case, it is always a good idea to first call the plan check engineer who reviewed your plans and ask for his/her help.
Plan check expires 12 months after the plan check fee is paid.
A permit expires a) if no work has been started within six months from its issuance, or b) if work has started but stopped for over six months.
See Plan Submittal Requirements for the number of sets of plans required at the time you file your permit application. When a permit is ready to be issued, two sets of plans will be required: one each for the job site and the Building Department. In addition, if a project is for a new building or addition to an existing building, the third set of plans containing a site plan and all floor plans will be required for the county assessor’s office.
If you decide to cancel the review of your construction documents or to not proceed with building your project, you may file for a refund of plan check or permit fee by submitting a written request to the Building Department. Please include the job address, a description of the project, permit number, and the reason for asking a refund in your request.
a) In order to change the name of a contractor on an issued permit to a new contractor, the Department will require a letter from the original contractor relinquishing his/her interest in the original permit. Thereafter, the Department will change the name of the contractor on the original permit to the new contractor and print a new signature form for the new contractor to sign. If such a letter cannot be obtained from the original contractor, the Department will then require the new contractor to take out a new permit in his/her own name and pay the permit fee again. The permit fee can be waived if there is proof that the building permit fee on the original permit was paid by the property owner.
b) In order to change a contractor permit to owner/builder permit, the Department will require a letter from the contractor relinquishing his/her interest in the original permit. Thereafter, the Department will remove the contractor's name from the original permit and print a new signature form for the owner to sign as owner/builder permit. In the event such a letter cannot be obtained from the contractor, but the property owner can prove that he/she paid the permit fee on the original permit, the Department will remove the contractor's name from the original permit and print new signature form for the owner to sign as owner/builder permit.
Should such a letter cannot be obtained from the original contractor and the owner cannot prove that he/she paid for the original permit, then the owner will need to take out a new permit and pay the permit fee again.
c) In order to change architect or engineer of record on an issued permit, the Department will require the new architect and engineer to prepare his/her own plans/calculations, pay an appropriate plan check fee, and take out a new permit.
This information is available from the Planning Department. Their phone number is (909) 395-2036