The City of Carlsbad Community Development Department accepts many application submittals via Carlsbad Online Permit Portal.

The Portal allows developers, contractors, and residents to apply, process and obtain several development permits digitally from home or office thereby avoiding travel, hard-copy submittals and making submittal appointments.

Below is a list of online applications/requests. If your application type is not listed, please visit the permit pages of building, planning or land development engineering as hard-copy submittals may be required. There’s you’ll find submittal information about permits not offered on the portal.

Once you’re on the portal, log in or register for access. Click the ‘Apply for Permits’ for list of online applications. See below on how to register.  Once logged in you’ll have access to a Dashboard where you can view applications you’re associated with as well as view and pay for invoiced fees.

For online permits, once you have your plans and supporting documents ready to upload, please have applicable applications completed & signed and ready to upload. It’s also important to note, if you don’t have everything ready to upload, you can save your application as a draft and come back anytime to complete the process. 

For questions on navigating the online portal, email CSSPermitHelp@CarlsbadCA.gov.

Register for online access

If you do not have an online account, please register here. Scroll down and click Create an Account and follow the registration steps. Following an online account request, the city will review your request. It generally takes 1-2 business days to receive an email confirming approval for online access. 

Once approved, log in with your credentials and enjoy:

• Submit from growing list of available permit applications
• Use Dashboard to view permit status/information
• View and pay outstanding plan check/permit fees
• View Building Permit Plan Check status
• View Building Plan Check comments
• Resubmit plans for online permits

Please see the CSS Help Guide. 

Have a question about the development process?

Before starting a building or remodeling project, we encourage you to check out the city's helpful how-to guides for homeowners and contractors. Still looking for guidance or assistance? You can access the city’s appointment system to make a development inquiry appointment with our helpful staff.