How to Check a Re-Roof Permit Was Finaled in Los Angeles
In the City of Los Angeles, the Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) shows each permit's record in its online Permit & Inspection Report, which can be searched by the property's address or by the 15-digit permit number. A re-roof that was closed out shows a Current Status of "Permit Finaled" with a date, a work description that matches the roof on the house, and a Final inspection whose result reads "Permit Finaled." A permit that reads "Issued" with no final means the job was never closed, however finished the roof looks. Outside the City of Los Angeles, ask the agency that issued the permit.
This page is about a permit that already exists: finding the re-roof permit for an address, reading the record, telling an application, an issued permit and a finaled one apart, and what to do when a permit never closed. The check is the same whether you've just had the roof done, you're buying the house or you're selling it. It covers the City of Los Angeles in detail and, for addresses outside it, where to look. Getting a roof permit in the first place, which express-permit item a re-roof falls under, and how the owner statement and the contractor certifications work are in roof permit in Los Angeles. Deciding between a repair and a new roof is in roof repair or replace, and checking a roofer's license and contract is in how to choose a roofing contractor in California. Other cities' permit rules, the risks of an unpermitted roof, legal questions about a sale and fee amounts are outside this page. How a particular permit gets closed is LADBS's decision, so confirm with LADBS wherever the sections below say so.
What the record shows, and what to do about it
Look the address up first (the steps are in the next section), then find the row below that matches what you see. Statuses and results in quotation marks are LADBS's own wording.
| What the record shows | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No re-roof permit at the address | The search may have missed it, the house may be outside the City of Los Angeles, or the roof has no permit: it was certified by a contractor instead (last row) or done without one | Confirm the address in ZIMAS, then try an address range and any permit number in your paperwork. Ask the seller or the roofer for the permit or the certificate. If there's neither, ask LADBS what permitting the work now would take |
| An application that was never issued | Someone applied, but no permit was issued. An application doesn't authorize work, and nothing was inspected under it | Ask whoever applied, the roofer or the owner, what became of it. If the roof went on anyway, ask LADBS how to bring it under a permit |
| "Issued," with no final | The work was authorized but hasn't been signed off. An inspection approved along the way, such as the roof sheathing inspection, isn't the final | Read the inspection history to see where the job stopped, check the issue date against the expiration rules below, and ask the permit holder to request the final |
| A Final with a result other than "Permit Finaled," such as "Not Ready for Inspection," "Corrections Issued" or "No Access for Inspection" | The final didn't pass on that visit, and the permit is still open. "Corrections Issued" means the inspector found items to fix | Ask the permit holder what was missing or what the corrections were, and to request the final again once they're done. Check that the owner's notarized statement reached the inspector |
| Current Status "Permit Expired" or "Permit Closed" | Neither is a final: neither status says the work passed a final inspection | Ask LADBS what the status means for this permit and what closing the work with a final would take |
| Current Status "Permit Finaled," with a date | LADBS signed off on the work this permit describes. The job is closed | Check that the work description matches the roof, then print or save the record with the date you looked it up |
| No final, and the permit is past its expiration | Under the terms of LADBS's permit application, a permit expires two years after it's issued, and also after 12 months in a row with no construction work (LA Municipal Code 98.0602) | Ask LADBS what closes it. If the work is at least 75% complete, as determined by inspection, an express permit covers completing it (bulletin P/GI 2026-003, item 9); if not, ask whether it takes a new permit |
| A work description that doesn't match the roof | A permit covers the work it describes. A square is 100 square feet of roof surface, so a permit for one square doesn't describe a whole new roof, and a permit over existing sheathing doesn't describe a new deck | Compare the squares on the permit with the roof size on your contract, look for a second permit at the address that changed the scope, and ask the roofer. If the work went beyond the permit, ask LADBS how to correct it |
| No permit, but a Certificate of Compliance from a certified licensed contractor (LA Building Code 91.108.12) | On a detached single-family house, a contractor registered with LADBS as a certified licensed contractor can replace roofing without a permit, if the job doesn't alter the roof framing. A CSLB license alone doesn't make a roofer certified for this. The contractor notifies LADBS before work starts and files a Certificate of Compliance, signed by the owner and the contractor, within 15 days of finishing | There's no permit to find. Ask LADBS whether a Certificate of Compliance is on file for the address, and keep your signed copy with the house papers |
A record can move between rows. An issued permit becomes finaled when the final passes, and one left open can expire, so look again after anything is done about it and keep the newest printout. An open permit isn't rare: about one in five house re-roof permits issued in the City of Los Angeles from 2017 through 2023 still read "Issued" in October 2026 (what LA re-roof permits show).
How to look up a re-roof permit in the City of Los Angeles
LADBS's own homeowner guide starts by making sure the property is in the city, and so does this lookup.
- Confirm the city. Look the address up in ZIMAS, the city's zoning information map. If ZIMAS can't find it, the property may be outside the City of Los Angeles, and its permits would be with another agency; skip to "Outside the City of Los Angeles" below. A Los Angeles mailing address doesn't settle the question. The fire-zone check works the same way: looking up a home's fire hazard zone goes by the parcel, not the mailing address.
- Open the Permit & Inspection Report. It's one of the services on LADBS Online Services.
- Search by address or permit number. The report takes a single address, a range of addresses, or the 15-digit permit or application number. Enter the street name without its direction or suffix (for "N Spring St," enter "Spring") and the house number without a fraction, as the search form asks. If a single address still brings nothing up, try a range around the house number.
- Find the re-roof permit. An address can carry permits for many jobs over the years: the roof, solar, a panel upgrade, a remodel. A re-roof's work description reads like the express-permit item, "Re-roof with Class A or B material weighing less than 6 pounds per sq. ft. over existing solid sheathing," followed by the number of squares. A tile lift-and-relay reads like a different item, "Remove existing roof tiles, apply new underlayment and reset roof tiles," with no square count; a covering of 6 pounds per square foot or more isn't on the express list, so its permit comes through plan check and can read differently again. If the deck was replaced, check that the description says so. Pick the permit whose dates fit when the roof went on.
- Read the status. The Current Status should say "Permit Finaled on" followed by a date, and the Permit Application Status History should show the permit issued and then finaled, each with its date.
- Check the inspections. The Inspection Request History lists each inspection with its type, date and result. On a closed job it has a Final with the result "Permit Finaled," and the Current Status agrees with it. Lines from the same visit, such as Smoke Detectors or the seismic gas shut-off valve, can be listed after the final.
- Save a dated copy. Print the record or save it as a PDF, note the date you looked it up, and keep it with the permit number.
The fields on an LADBS permit record
A permit's record is laid out in labeled sections. These are the ones that matter on a re-roof:
- Work Description. What the permit covers. On a re-roof it reads like the express-permit item quoted in step 4, with the number of squares, which should be in line with the size of the roof.
- Permit Issued. The "Issued on" date and the Issuing Office. The two-year expiration count runs from the issue date.
- Current Status. Where the permit stands now. On a closed job it reads "Permit Finaled on" and a date.
- Permit Application Status History. Each status the permit has had, with its date: for example, Issued and later Permit Finaled.
- Contact Information. The contractor, with its license number and classification, such as C39, the roofing classification. The license can be checked on the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) site, and how to choose a roofing contractor in California covers what to look for. If the license on the record isn't the company you hired, ask why.
- Inspector Information. The LADBS inspector for the job.
- Pending Inspections. Inspections still outstanding. If a permit shows finaled and something is still listed here, ask LADBS about it.
- Inspection Request History. Every inspection requested, with its type, date and result. Results read like "Partial Inspection," "Not Ready for Inspection," "Corrections Issued," "Approved" and "Permit Finaled." Only a Final with the result "Permit Finaled" means the final passed; a Current Status of "Permit Expired" or "Permit Closed" doesn't.
On one public LADBS record of a re-roof on a non-residential building, the first request for the final came back "Not Ready for Inspection," and the final passed on a later visit; the history also lists separate lines for smoke detectors and a seismic gas shut-off valve, some dated the day of the final. On a house, those are among the items on LADBS's Owner Statement and Acknowledgment of Compliance. A "Not Ready for Inspection" result means that visit didn't close the job. If no later Final on your record reads "Permit Finaled," the permit is still open, and the permit holder is the one to ask what was outstanding.
Applied, issued, finaled
A permit goes through four stages, and they aren't interchangeable:
- Applied. An application is on file. It doesn't authorize the work, and no inspection is made under it.
- Issued. The permit is in force, and the work it describes may start. Inspections follow as the job reaches each stage.
- Inspected along the way. Results on earlier inspections, such as the one for the roof sheathing, show how far the job got. None of them is the final.
- Finaled. The work passed its final inspection, and the record reads "Permit Finaled" with a date. This is the stage that closes the permit.
Why "the roofers finished" isn't "finaled"
A roof that looks done isn't finaled until the record says so. The crew can finish, clean up and leave while the permit is still open, and the roof looks the same either way. On a 2021 Glassell Park project in the City of Los Angeles, the re-roof had its own permit and its own final, and our solar array was booked behind it. The roofing final passed on Saturday, November 20, 2021, and we set the array the following Tuesday. What the array waited for was the roofing permit being signed off, not the roofers finishing: two separate dates.
When the permit never closed
Start with the record. The status history and the inspections show whether the job stopped before any inspection, partway through, or at a final that came back not ready, and that tells you what's left and who has to act.
Who closes it
An open permit is usually closed by whoever holds it: the contractor of record, or the owner, if the owner pulled it as an owner-builder. The holder requests the final inspection and gives the inspector access to the work. If that roofer is no longer in the picture, or the house has changed hands, LADBS's express-permit bulletin, P/GI 2026-003, has an item for a change of ownership or contractor (item 10). Which route fits a particular permit is LADBS's call, so confirm with LADBS before anyone files anything.
If it expired
LADBS's Signature Declaration Attachment Form (revised September 22, 2025), which becomes part of the permit application, sets out when a permit expires: two years after it's issued, and also if no construction work is performed for a continuous period of 12 months (Los Angeles Municipal Code 98.0602). For a job that stopped short of the final, item 9 of the express-permit bulletin covers completing work done under a previously expired permit, when at least 75% of the work is complete as determined by inspection. If the job doesn't fit that item, ask LADBS whether closing it takes a new permit. A permit getting close to two years old with no final is worth dealing with before it expires.
Before the final can pass
The owner completes, signs and notarizes LADBS's Owner Statement and Acknowledgment of Compliance and sends it to the inspector before the final inspection; the form lists Re-Roof among the work it covers. Even when a contractor holds the permit, this statement is the owner's to sign, and when a final comes back not ready, it's one of the first things to check. What the owner confirms on it is listed in the LADBS permit guide.
Refunds and the 60-day rule
The same Signature Declaration form covers two fee questions. A refund claim must be filed within one year of the permit's expiration. And if LADBS fails to conduct an inspection within 60 days of receiving a request for final inspection, the permit holder may be entitled to reimbursement of permit fees (California Health and Safety Code 17951). Whether either applies to your permit is a question for LADBS.
Buying or selling a house
A finaled re-roof permit also goes to the county assessor, but a roof replacement isn't reassessed; see does a new roof raise property taxes?.
In the City of Los Angeles, a seller of residential property must apply for the city's Report of Residential Property Records and Pending Special Assessment Liens and deliver it to the buyer before the agreement of sale or before close of escrow (Los Angeles Municipal Code 96.300). That report is a separate city document. The roof permit itself is checked in the Permit & Inspection Report, and a buyer can run that lookup as easily as the owner.
If you're buying
- Ask the seller for the roof's permit number, or for the signed certificate if the roof went on without a permit.
- Look the permit up yourself rather than relying on a copy.
- Check for "Permit Finaled" with a date, a work description for the roof job (a re-roof, or a tile relay), and dates, and a square count where the permit gives one, that fit the roof on the house.
- If the permit is open or expired, raise it with your agent before close. How it gets closed, and by whom, is something to settle through your agent; LADBS can say what closing it takes.
- Keep in mind what a final is: proof that the work passed inspection when it was done, not a report on the roof's condition today. For that, start with signs you need a new roof and have the roof looked at.
If you're selling
Look up your own roof permit before you list, so an open one turns up while there's time to deal with it. If it's open, call the roofer who pulled it; if that company is gone, ask LADBS about the routes above. Then give buyers the permit number and a dated printout of the final. What to disclose about a permit, and how an open one is handled in the sale, are questions for your agent.
Outside the City of Los Angeles
LADBS's homeowner guide notes that if ZIMAS can't find the address, the property may be outside the City of Los Angeles. A Los Angeles mailing address doesn't by itself put a house in the city, so find the agency first:
- Which agency. Los Angeles County Public Works has a Service Locator that shows which agency serves an address.
- Unincorporated county areas. County Public Works handles building permits there, through EPIC-LA.
- Other cities. Burbank, Glendale, Santa Clarita and other cities with their own building departments keep their own permit records. Ask that city's building department how to look a permit up and what its record shows for a closed one. How the re-roof permit itself differs in unincorporated Los Angeles County, Burbank, Glendale, Long Beach, Santa Clarita and Simi Valley is in re-roof permit rules across LA-area cities.
The check is the same in principle everywhere: find the re-roof permit, read its status and look for the final. Each agency has its own records and its own wording, so read its record on its own terms rather than by LADBS's labels.
Papers to keep
Get the paperwork while the job is running, not years later. On a 2021 solar job in Santa Clarita, not a roof, the final couldn't be requested because the permit wasn't in the project folder. It was asked for in writing, and the final passed the next day. The same lesson holds for a roof: ask for a copy of the permit when it's issued, and keep the permit, the approved plans, the job card and the signed-off inspection record.
For a re-roof, the file to keep with the house papers:
- the permit, with its number;
- a printout of the record showing the final, dated the day you printed it;
- the names of the roofing products, as the contract or invoice lists them;
- the job card, and the approved plans if the job had any;
- any certificate: LADBS's Re-Roofing Certificate of Compliance, if LADBS waived inspections on a permitted re-roof on a licensed contractor's or owner-builder's certification (2026 Los Angeles Building Code, 91.108.1), or the Certificate of Compliance signed by the owner and a certified contractor, if the roof went on without a permit (91.108.12).
With that file, a buyer, an insurer or the next roofer gets answers from your papers instead of from someone else's. Insurers ask how old a roof is, and some take the answer from permit records; what that means for a policy is in roof age and home insurance.
What closed permits looked like on our jobs
Two of our City of Los Angeles re-roofs, by the dates on their permits. They show the steps a closed record runs through, not a processing time to expect, and each job ran under the rules in force at the time.
- Canoga Park, 2021. We replaced 42 squares. The permit was issued September 24, 2021, the roof sheathing inspection was signed October 1, and the permit was finaled October 6.
- Woodland Hills, 2025. Our re-roof of 28 squares onto new plywood. The permit was applied for on October 3, the final was requested on October 10, and the permit was finaled at the first available inspection slot, October 15. The owner's notarized acknowledgment was collected during the job.
Cali Energy's California contractor license, #1032379, carries C-39 Roofing, B General Building and C-10 Electrical, the classification for our solar work, and it can be looked up on the CSLB site like the license on any permit record. More finished projects are in our case studies, and the roofing work we take on is on our roofing page.
Frequently asked
How do I know if my roof permit was finaled?
What does "Issued" mean on an LADBS permit?
Can I look up a permit without the permit number?
What happens if a re-roof permit expired before the final?
Does a missing final matter when I sell?
My roofer said no permit was needed. How do I check?
Related reading
Sources & methodology
Code sections, rules and figures on this page come from the primary sources below. Codes, local requirements and product terms change; each was verified October 8, 2026.
- LADBS Online Services, Permit & Inspection Report
- LADBS, Signature Declaration Attachment Form, revised September 22, 2025
- LADBS, Express Permits, Information Bulletin P/GI 2026-003
- LADBS, Owner Statement and Acknowledgment of Compliance
- Los Angeles Building Code 2026, Chapter 1, Administration: 91.108.1 and 91.108.12 (UpCodes)
- LADBS, Homeowner step-by-step
- Los Angeles County Public Works, Building and Safety permits (EPIC-LA)
We'll check the permit record for your roof
Call (323) 844-7777. We look up the permit record for the address. If the re-roof was ours and the permit is still open, we close it; if another company did the work, we tell you what the record shows and what closing the permit would take. Have ready the address and any permit number or paperwork you have. The record shows what was permitted and inspected; whether the roof on the house matches it takes seeing the roof.
Prepared by Cali Energy, October 8, 2026. This article is for general educational purposes only and is not legal, tax, financial, engineering, or utility advice. Rates, incentives, codes, permit requirements, equipment specifications, prices, and program terms may change; figures and timelines are estimates, not guarantees. Confirm current requirements with the applicable utility, AHJ, program administrator, manufacturer, or a licensed professional. See our Content Disclaimer. Cali Energy · 19201 Parthenia St, Unit E, Northridge, CA 91324 · CSLB #1032379 (B, C-10, C-39)