An Orange County shed permit is not required for a one-story detached storage shed with 120 square feet of floor area or less and no electrical work. Add power and you need an electrical permit. Go over 120 square feet and you need a building permit. Where the shed can sit is a separate question, set by each city’s zoning code, and it applies whether or not you need a permit.
By Bedrock Sheds | CSLB #1087479 | September 21, 2026
Planning a build and not sure what your city allows? Call (949) 688-2674 and we’ll look up the rule for your parcel.
The 120 square foot line is the easy part. It comes from the California Building Code and reads almost word for word in every city’s code. Placement is harder, because each city writes its own rule, and they don’t all lean the same way. Some cities let a small shed sit right on the property line. Others want five feet. Irvine doesn’t publish a number at all.
Do I need a permit for a shed in Orange County?
You don’t need a building permit for a one-story detached shed used for storage when the floor area is 120 square feet or less. Santa Ana’s permit page uses the state wording: “One story detached accessory structures used as a tool or storage shed, playhouses and similar uses, provided the floor area does not exceed 120 square feet.”
Every condition has to hold for the exemption to apply.
- One story. A single level, with nothing built on top.
- Detached. Standing on its own, apart from the house and the garage.
- Storage use. Tools, equipment, bikes, a mower. The exemption is written for storage.
- 120 square feet of floor area or less. A 10×12 is exactly 120.
- No electrical, plumbing, or mechanical work. Each of those carries its own permit.
Some cities add a condition. Brea’s building code, section 15.08.020, keeps the 120 square foot limit and caps the height at 12 feet. All four of our standard sizes, 8×10 through 10×12, are at or under 120 square feet, which is why the standard builds are sized the way they are.
Does adding electricity to a shed require a permit?
Yes. The exemption covers the building, and electrical work needs its own permit. Huntington Beach’s code, section 17.04.050, says it plainly: “separate plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits will be required for the above-exempted items.”
Power can also change where the building is allowed to sit. Anaheim’s setback allowance for small sheds, covered below, is written for sheds without utilities. A backyard office with a circuit run to it may not qualify, so we check that against the code before we pick a spot. When a job needs a permit, we pull it under CSLB #1087479 and handle the inspections.
How close to the property line can a shed be in Orange County?
It depends on the city, and in most cities it also depends on how tall the shed is. Here is what six Orange County cities publish, read from each city’s own code.
| City | What the code says about small shed placement | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Anaheim | Sheds without utilities, 120 sq ft or less and up to 10 ft tall, can encroach into the side and rear setbacks. Sheds of 121 to 200 sq ft, max 10 ft tall, need a minimum 5 ft side and rear setback. No sheds in the front setback. | AMC 18.04.100, Table 4-J |
| Huntington Beach | A minor accessory structure (120 sq ft or less, 10 ft or less tall) may sit in the side and rear setbacks if it is in the rear two-thirds of the lot and keeps 5 ft from the house when it’s in a side yard. Over 8 ft tall, a 2 ft lattice extension goes above a 6 ft fence. | HBZSO 230.08(B), 203.06 |
| Costa Mesa | In the R1 zone, the interior side setback is 5 ft. Accessory structures 6 1/2 ft tall or less may have a zero side and rear setback. | CMMC 13-32 |
| Orange | In R1 zones, detached accessory structures show a 0 ft interior side and rear setback and 6 ft from the main dwelling. The part inside a side or rear setback can’t exceed 10 ft tall. Footnotes limit rear yard coverage and add a 5 ft setback on corner lots. | OMC 17.14.160(D) |
| Brea | Detached accessory buildings in a side or rear yard must be at least 5 ft from any common property line to the wall. | BMC 20.08.020(C) |
| Irvine | No setback figure published. The city directs you to its Development Assistance Counter at (949) 724-6308. | Permits not required |
Height decides more of this than square footage does. In Costa Mesa’s R1 zone, the zero setback only works for a structure 6 1/2 feet tall or less, which means a low building most adults would duck to walk into. In Anaheim, Huntington Beach and Orange, the number to watch is 10 feet. Codes get amended, and zones inside a city can differ, so treat this table as the starting point and check your own parcel before anything is ordered.
If your city isn’t in the table, the same approach applies. Setback rules are written city by city rather than statewide. We look up the rule for your parcel and measure it at the site visit, before anything is ordered. Our Orange County page covers where we build across the county.
What happens if my shed is bigger than 120 square feet?
A shed over 120 square feet needs a building permit in Orange County, whatever you store in it. That means drawings, plan check, and inspections become part of the job.
- We measure the site and confirm placement against your city’s zoning code.
- Drawings go to the city for plan check.
- The city issues the permit, and we build to the approved plans.
- Inspections happen at the stages the city requires, and the permit is finaled at the end.
Timelines at plan check depend on the city and how busy it is, so we don’t promise a date for the city’s part. Anything over 120 square feet is quoted per job. Our four standard sizes, and what each costs, are in our Orange County shed cost guide.
Does an HOA have to approve a shed?
If you’re in an HOA, its rules sit on top of the city’s. Large parts of south county have architectural review with rules on height, color, and placement, and those can be stricter than the city code. Check with your HOA before the build is ordered.
If all you need is a low box for garden tools along the back fence, a short kit shed can fit under a height limit where a full-height building won’t, and in Costa Mesa’s R1 zone that can be the difference between sitting at the fence and sitting five feet off it. We’ll tell you that on the phone if it’s the case.
Adding power changes the permit answer, which our shed with electricity guide walks through. San Diego County rules are in San Diego County shed permit rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a shed sit right on the property line?
In some Orange County cities, yes, within limits. Anaheim lets a shed without utilities of 120 square feet or less, up to 10 feet tall, encroach into the side and rear setbacks. Orange shows a zero interior side and rear setback for accessory structures in its R1 zones, with a 10 foot height cap inside the setback. Brea wants 5 feet from the property line to the wall, so the answer depends entirely on your city.
Does a backyard office need a permit?
Usually, yes, because most offices get power. The building itself can be exempt at 120 square feet or less, but the electrical work needs its own permit. We plan the permit into the schedule for every office build and pull it under our license. What a finished office costs is in our backyard office cost guide.
Who pulls the permit, me or the contractor?
When a Bedrock build needs a permit, we pull it under CSLB #1087479 and handle the inspections. You can check our license on the CSLB license lookup, and it’s worth checking on anyone you’re considering, including us.
Do the same rules apply in San Diego County?
Mostly. The 120 square foot storage exemption applies there too, though the City of San Diego measures it by projected roof area instead of floor area. Placement rules are written by each city and by the county for unincorporated areas. We build in both counties at the same price and check the rule for every parcel. Our San Diego shed cost guide covers the City of San Diego’s rule and the county’s.
The short version
At 120 square feet or less, used for storage, with no power, a shed is exempt from a building permit under the state rule Orange County cities follow. Where it can sit is the city’s call, and height usually decides it.
If you want us to check the rule for your yard, call (949) 688-2674 or email info@bedrocksheds.com. Build once.
About Bedrock Sheds
Bedrock Sheds builds custom sheds and saunas on site in Orange County and San Diego County, California. Every building is framed and finished in your yard, with the same framing as the room you’re sitting in right now. No kits, no prefab. Brandon Radley Construction DBA Bedrock Sheds, CSLB #1087479, Class B General Building. Call (949) 688-2674, email info@bedrocksheds.com, or visit bedrocksheds.com.