How long does it take to get a building permit in Burbank?
In Burbank, a straightforward kitchen or bathroom remodel usually takes about 2 to 6 weeks of plan review before a permit is issued. Additions, ADUs, and anything with engineering run several weeks to a few months, often across more than one review cycle, and may need planning approval first. Burbank runs its own Building & Safety Division — you do not go through the City of Los Angeles or LADBS. The clock depends far more on how complete your drawings are than on the city's speed.
Burbank is its own jurisdiction
This is the first thing people get wrong. "Los Angeles" is not one building department. If your project is in Burbank, you go through the City of Burbank Community Development Department, Building & Safety Division — not LADBS, not the County. Glendale, Pasadena, and Los Angeles each run their own.
That matters because timelines and rules differ city to city. A contractor who works constantly in the City of Los Angeles is not automatically fluent in Burbank's process, and the schedule they quote you may be built on the wrong department's clock.
How the Burbank process actually runs
Step 1 — Zoning pre-clearance (first ~48 hours). When you submit, the Planning Division first screens the project against Burbank's zoning code to confirm it is even allowed as drawn. This is a fast viability check, not the full review.
Step 2 — Weekly review cadence. Burbank reviews project-related requests on a set weekly schedule and sends an update by end of business that day. So progress tends to move in weekly steps, not continuously.
Step 3 — Plan check. The real review. Building, structural, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and Title 24 energy compliance. For a kitchen or bath, plan on 2 to 6 weeks depending on completeness and how backed up the department is. For additions, ADUs, or anything engineered, expect multiple review cycles over several weeks to a few months, sometimes with planning approvals layered in.
Step 4 — Permit issued, construction begins. Now inspections come into play, typically scheduled with 24 to 72 hours notice.
Typical timelines by project
| Project | Plan-review time (rough) |
|---|---|
| Kitchen or bath remodel | 2 – 6 weeks |
| Addition | several weeks – a few months |
| ADU / garage conversion | several weeks – a few months (60-day state cap once complete) |
| Structural / engineered work | multiple cycles, longer |
These are general Burbank ranges, not a promise for a specific project — confirm current times with the city.
The thing that actually controls your timeline
It is not the city. It is how complete your submittal is.
Every time the plan checker finds something missing or wrong, the plans go back, get corrected, and re-enter the queue. Each of those round trips can add a week or more. Two or three correction cycles are how a "6-week" permit quietly becomes a four-month one.
This is why paying for thorough, code-correct drawings up front is the cheapest schedule insurance there is. A cut-rate set of plans that triggers three correction cycles costs you far more in time than it saved in fees.
How we handle it
We prepare complete drawings, submit them, and manage the back-and-forth with Burbank Building & Safety directly — including the weeks when the honest update is "we're waiting on the city." Permitting is in the scope and in the bid, not a surprise line item later. If you want the bigger picture on how long the whole job takes, see our post on how long a whole-home renovation takes in Los Angeles.
DN Builders Group Inc is a licensed, bonded general contractor based in Burbank (CA Lic. #1139710). We handle permitting as part of kitchen and whole-home projects across Burbank and Greater Los Angeles. This is general information about the Burbank permit process, not legal advice — confirm current requirements and timelines with the City of Burbank Building & Safety Division.
Questions
Why does Burbank take longer than "over the counter"?
Because most real remodels are not over-the-counter jobs. Anything that moves plumbing, alters structure, or adds square footage gets a full plan check — the plans are reviewed against building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and Title 24 energy codes. Each correction the plan checker finds adds a round trip. Complete, correct drawings are the single biggest thing that shortens the wait.
Do I have to pull the permit myself, or does the contractor?
Your licensed contractor should pull it. When a homeowner pulls their own permit as an owner-builder, the homeowner takes on liability for the work and for anyone hurt on site. If a contractor asks you to pull the permit under your own name, treat it as a warning sign — it usually means a licensing or insurance problem.
How fast can I get an inspection once work starts?
In Burbank, inspections are typically scheduled with about 24 to 72 hours notice. So the inspection itself is rarely the bottleneck during construction — the plan-check phase before the permit is issued is where the real waiting happens.