Do You Need a Permit to Remove a Shed or Garage in California?

A garden shed and a two-car garage look like the same kind of job: an old structure in the backyard that has to go. The rules treat them very differently. The shed may not need a permit at all, while the garage usually needs the same paperwork as a small house. This guide explains where the line is in California, what Bay Area cities ask for and what changes when the garage is coming down to make room for an ADU.

It covers garage and shed demolition. For a full house, read the step-by-step demolition permit guide.

Do you need a permit to remove a shed in California?

Start with the state code. The 2025 California Residential Code, in effect since January 1, 2026, lists "demolish" among the work that needs a permit (section R105.1). The next section, R105.2, exempts one-story detached accessory structures with a floor area of 120 square feet or less. That is the rule most people have heard of.

The catch: the exemption is written for the structure, not for the demolition, and the code does not spell out how it applies to tearing one down. Each city fills that gap in its own way:

• San Jose: removing a shed, gazebo, detached garage, playhouse or other accessory building over 120 sq ft requires a building permit. At 120 sq ft or less, no permit is needed unless the structure has electricity or plumbing. Size is measured from the outside of the walls.
• Pleasanton: the city's demolition handout says a demolition permit is required to remove an entire or partial building or structure, with no size exemption listed.
• Oakland: a demolition permit is required when more than half of a building's exterior walls come down, and the city asks for the air district's asbestos acknowledgment letter with the application.

So the honest answer is: a small shed with no wiring may be exempt in your city, or it may not. A five-minute call to your building department settles it before anything comes down.

Detached garage: what the city will ask for

A detached garage is almost always bigger than 120 sq ft, so plan on a demolition permit. The checklists are similar across the Bay Area. Pleasanton's, for example, asks for:

• Clearance from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), or its confirmation that none is needed.
• A PG&E letter showing that gas and electric are disconnected.
• A contractor letter with the timeline, work hours, dust and noise control and the demolition method.
• A site plan showing utilities, a dust control plan, the haul route and tree protection.
• A construction waste plan when the job is valued at $25,000 or more.

San Jose asks for the BAAQMD job number before you apply and tells you to contact PG&E at least 30 days before demolition to disconnect the gas. That lead time is the step that delays most garage projects; our PG&E disconnect guide explains what to request.

The air district notice applies to small buildings too

BAAQMD Regulation 11, Rule 2 requires a notification for every demolition, even when no asbestos is present, at least 10 working days before work starts. For single-family homes and buildings with four or fewer units, paying an additional fee allows a 72-hour start. The start and end dates on the notice are treated as firm, so a schedule change means revising the notice.

The rule defines demolition as wrecking or dismantling a load-supporting structural member of a building. A garage clearly qualifies. For a small garden shed, ask the district whether your project meets that definition before you skip the notice.

Asbestos: survey or testing before you tear down

Before a demolition, the same rule requires an asbestos survey by a consultant certified by Cal/OSHA, with lab analysis. For residential buildings with four or fewer units, a full survey is not required, but samples still have to be taken and tested if the work will disturb HVAC ducting, acoustic ceilings or plaster, textured or skim-coated walls, cement siding or stucco, or resilient flooring. If asbestos turns up, a certified abatement contractor removes it before demolition. More on that in what to know about asbestos before demolition.

Tearing down a garage to build an ADU

California's ADU law changes two things when the garage is coming down to make room for an accessory dwelling unit (Government Code section 66314):

• One review, one date. The city cannot review the demolition permit for a detached garage separately from the ADU application. It reviews them together and issues the demolition permit at the same time as the ADU permit.
• No replacement parking. When a garage, carport or parking space is demolished to build an ADU or converted into one, the city cannot require you to replace those parking spaces.

In practice, that means the demolition timing follows the ADU permit. Lining up the PG&E disconnect and the air district notice while the ADU plans are in review keeps the site from sitting idle once both permits are issued.

Who can do the work

Since January 1, 2025, California lets unlicensed workers take only jobs under $1,000 in total, with no permit required and no employees, and a job cannot be split into smaller pieces to stay under that limit (CSLB, AB 2622). Removing a garage, with its slab, permit and haul-away, is well above that line, so it needs a licensed contractor. The CSLB's demolition classification covers removing structures "including their foundations," which is why the slab is normally part of the same job.

Quick checklist before a garage or shed comes down

• Measure the outside of the walls: over or under 120 sq ft?
• Check for wiring, plumbing or gas: any of them usually means a permit.
• Call your city's building department and ask whether a demolition permit is needed.
• File the BAAQMD notice (garage: yes; small shed: ask).
• Test the materials that the asbestos rule lists before you disturb them.
• Request the PG&E disconnect early if the structure has power or gas.
• Building an ADU? Submit the demolition with the ADU application.

Sources: 2025 California Residential Code sections R105.1 and R105.2; City of San Jose, City of Pleasanton and City of Oakland demolition permit pages; BAAQMD Regulation 11, Rule 2; California Government Code section 66314; Contractors State License Board (AB 2622 and the C-21 classification). Rules change, so confirm with your city before you start.

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