Building Inspections

Click here to view today's inspections.

Please note that inspection times are am/pm only. For example, if your appointment time says "9:15", your appointment is between 8:30am and 11:59 am. if your appointment says "2:30", your appointment is between 12:00 and 3:30pm.

Building PERMIT Inspections (for permit numbers beginning with bd)

To schedule a building inspection, please fill out our Inspection Request Form.

 **Please note that the Inspection Request Form is a request. You will not be considered scheduled until you receive confirmation from staff.
 
 **All inspection requests must be made at least 48 business hours, excluding Fridays, prior to your preferred inspection date.

Inspections are only offered Monday through Thursday, and open Fridays (mornings only).

FIRE PERMIT INSPECTIONS (FOR PERMIT NUMBERS BEGINNING WITH FR)

To schedule a fire permit inspection, please fill out our Fire Permit Inspection Request Form.

Please call 510-215-4450 with questions regarding fire inspections.

Contact Us

  1. Building Inspection

    Email

    Physical Address
    10890 San Pablo Ave.
    El Cerrito, CA 94530

    Phone: 510-215-4360

    Directory

  2. David Sims

    Building Inspector
    dsims@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
    Phone: (510) 215-4364

  3. Chris Pallares

    Building Inspector (Contracted)
    cpallares@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us

Please keep in mind that we are experiencing unusually high volumes of inspection requests and it may not possible to get an inspector out until two days after request. On the day of your inspection, make sure that the permit and approved plans are available at your project site and that the work for which you called an inspection has been completed. There is no penalty for cancelling and rescheduling an inspection.

 Please make requests at least 48 business hours prior to being needed. 

The cut-off time for scheduling inspections is 4 PM each day. Requests made after 4 PM will be processed the next business day. When scheduling inspections, it is required to request either an AM or PM time. Exact times will not be offered. Inspectors will no longer contact those who have requested an inspection on the morning of the inspection to allow them to leave the office sooner to accommodate greater numbers of inspections. Instead, their order of inspections will be posted here each inspection day.

Inspections are offered during the following days and times: Note that the City is closed every other Friday.
Monday
Tuesday
 WednesdayThursday
Friday
 8:30am to 12pm
 8:30am to 12pm
 8:30am to 12pm
 8:30am to 12pm
 8:30am to 12pm
   Closed from 12pm to 1pm
 
 1pm to 3pm
 1pm to 4pm
 1pm to 3pm 1pm to 4pm

No Inspections 
You may request an AM or a PM inspection. We will try to honor these requests when possible. If you need to contact your inspector for matters other than the inspection schedule for your project, they will be available by phone from 7:30 to 8:30 AM only on the days inspections are offered.

Social distancing practices are still required and Construction Safety Protocols must be adhered to while our inspectors are on site. All persons present for an inspection must be wearing face masks or coverings. Failure to maintain safety requirements will result in a terminated or cancelled inspection without approval of the work for which the inspection was scheduled and a re-inspection fee of $155 will be assessed. The re-inspection will need to be scheduled for the next available day and time after the re-inspection fee has been paid.

A copy of the Construction Safety Protocols for both Large and Small projects can be found on the Contra Costa County Health Department website at https://www.coronavirus.cchealth.org/health-orders. The City of El Cerrito Building Division will also post these protocols on our website and we will make printed copies available at our permit counter.

Protocol for large construction projects
Protocol for small construction projects