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Permit guides

ADU Permits in Daly City: a Homeowner's Guide

Daly City runs one of the Peninsula's more structured ADU programs — including pre-reviewed model plans. Here's how to use it.

Last updated October 2026. Rules change; always confirm current requirements with the city before you build.

Who handles your permit

ADU permits in Daly City come from the Building Department, part of Economic & Community Development at City Hall, 333 90th St., Daly City, CA 94015 (650-991-8034). For zoning questions, the Planning Division runs a Planner of the Day line at 650-991-8033. Applications for pre-reviewed ADU plans are submitted by email to buildingdivision@dalycity.org.

What you can build

Daly City's pre-reviewed ADU plans

The Building Department accepts applications for Pre-Review Model Detached ADUs — plans from qualified designers, architects, and engineers that the city has already reviewed. To use one, you must hire the designer who developed the plan set, and the design must be built exactly as submitted: any change to the design, layout, or floor plan — including field changes during construction — disqualifies it from pre-reviewed status.

What goes into the submittal

Daly City's ADU materials call for a detailed plot plan and floor plans:

• Plot plan showing lot length and width, the existing house located on the lot, and distances from the house to the property lines on all four sides
• Existing and proposed driveways with dimensions; utility connections located and defined
• Fire hydrants, trees, power poles, and any fixed objects between the property line and curb
• Dimensioned floor plans for both floors showing all rooms and uses, window sizes, and all plumbing and electrical fixtures
• Plan notes covering garage insulation, sheetrock, water heater elevation, no plastic piping, a separate heating source for the ADU, and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms

Where applications usually get stuck

• Entrance placement. Daly City is specific: the ADU entrance goes on the rear elevation or the same side as the main entrance — designs that ignore this get bounced.
• Tweaking a pre-reviewed plan. The no-modifications rule is strict. If you want changes, you're on the custom-plan track instead.
• Thin site-specific engineering. Pre-reviewed covers the building, not your soil, slope, or utilities — that's where most correction rounds come from.