Do I have to register in San Francisco for a two-day job?
Not for that job alone, but the count adds up over the tax year. The Treasurer's test is work or services in the city on all or part of any seven days in one tax year, and soliciting business or using city streets for business on seven days also counts. Once you cross that line you have 30 days to register, and registration is required even when no tax ends up being owed.
Can I pull a San Francisco plumbing permit for a water heater without a contractor's license?
No. The San Francisco Plumbing Code issues plumbing permits only to state-licensed contractors and to an owner or family member working on an owner-occupied single-family house, and a water heater is not on the exempt list. Work you can do with no permit is short: leak repairs that cut no pipe, clearing stoppages, and replacing faucets, angle stops, hose bibbs and toilets.
Does a like-for-like window swap still need a permit in San Francisco?
Yes. Planning's May 2025 standards say every window replacement in the city needs a building permit, wherever the window is. On most buildings Planning can no longer restrict the frame or sash material, but Category A and A* historic properties keep stricter rules, and windows in a landmark or conservation district need an Administrative Certificate of Appropriateness or a Minor Permit to Alter.
Where can I leave a work truck on a residential permit block in San Francisco?
With an SFMTA Contractor Parking Permit, a commercial-plate vehicle can stay past Residential Parking Permit time limits and park at meters without paying. It cannot be used at a meter within 1,500 feet or three blocks, whichever is greater, of your own business address, and parking in yellow truck loading zones is not allowed. Approval can take up to three weeks.
Can a San Francisco job run past 8 p.m.?
Only if it stays quiet or has a permit. Between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m., Section 2908 of the Police Code bars building, demolition, excavation, alteration or repair that raises noise more than 5 dBA over the background level at the nearest property line. Public Works can grant a special permit, weighing things like whether the area is mainly residential and whether the work abates a hazard.
What does a hot-list text about a San Francisco job contain?
The kind of work, the area and a link. Opening the link shows the job and what it costs before anything is charged, and you are billed only for the jobs you choose to buy. There is nothing to subscribe to and no bidding against other pros. Texts arrive from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for new jobs across the Bay Area, not only the city, and replying STOP ends them.
