Kitchen Remodel in San Jose: Permits, Plan Review, Eichlers

A kitchen partway through a renovation, with new floors, painted walls and a built-in microwave. Photo: Tomwsulcer, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The houses here

Builder kitchens, Eichler atriums and older downtown rooms

The city's 1999 design guidelines describe the Builder Contemporary houses of its large single-builder neighborhoods as one or two stories on slab or low foundations, with sliding glass doors common and, in the 1950s through 1970s, simple asymmetrical shapes. Where the house sits on a slab, moving a sink usually means cutting concrete for the drain rather than working from a crawlspace. The Eichlers are their own case: the Fairglen Additions nomination describes mahogany-paneled walls, 12-inch asphalt tile over radiant-heated slabs, and, in many models, a built-in breakfast bar that swings out into the multipurpose room as a long dining table. Older houses near downtown, in the conservation areas and landmark districts, bring plaster, original trim and historic review into the same project.

The work

Four kitchen and house scopes, four permit paths

New cabinets and counters, nothing else
Municipal Code Section 24.02.110 lists the surface work San José exempts from building permits, and a cosmetic kitchen refresh sits squarely inside it: cabinet refacing or replacement, countertop replacement, new floor finishes, painting, ordinary drywall taping and tile work with no structural change. Floor sheathing repairs up to 10 square feet are exempt too. Replacing fixtures and appliances with new plumbing, electrical or mechanical work is where permits begin.
Same layout, new fixtures and appliances
The city calls replacing several fixtures and appliances, with new electrical, plumbing or mechanical work but no change in their location or number, a minor remodel. The scope stays inside the kitchen or bathroom, and walls, windows and framing stay as they are. A minor remodel qualifies for an online permit: the SJPermits Application Wizard picks the permit, shows the fee and lets the applicant download the Permit Card after paying. Rough and final inspections may both be required.
Taking out the wall to the dining room
Changing walls or windows, modifying framing, or relocating or adding fixtures makes it a major remodel under the Additions & Remodels process, with plans. The walk-in Over-the-Counter Service will not take a job that removes or structurally modifies a load-bearing wall, beam or roof framing, or needs engineered headers. Residential Express accepts engineered trusses and simple lateral loads and issues the permit in a virtual meeting; anything more goes to Standard Plan Review.
Adding a second story to a ranch house
Going to two stories, beyond 30 feet, or above a floor area ratio of 0.45 on an R-1, R-2 or R-M lot requires a Single-Family House Permit before the building permit. Staff can approve it without a hearing when, among other conditions, the project removes no more than half the exterior walls, the second floor is no more than 60 percent of the first and sits at least 10 feet behind the required front setback, and the new roofline, materials and trim match the house.

Permits and local rules

City requirements behind a San Jose remodel

Kitchen and bath code checks
San José's Kitchen & Bathroom Minor Remodels page lists the points inspectors look for. A replacement range hood needs a third-party HERS report, at least 100 CFM and Energy Star equipment, and kitchen exhaust fans are ducted outdoors. A bathroom with a tub or shower needs a ducted fan of at least 50 CFM, an opening window does not count, and at least one light must be on an occupancy or vacancy sensor. Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are checked, with a signed affidavit.
City of San José, Kitchen & Bathroom Remodels (opens in a new tab)
Over-the-counter limits
The walk-in permit for an addition or remodel takes only a one-story single-family house, a remodel of 750 square feet or less, an addition under 500, or both together within 750 with the addition under 500, framed to the residential code's prescriptive rules. The lot cannot be in a Planned Development district, an A-type flood zone, a geohazard or landslide zone or the WUI, or carry a code case. On a house on the Historic Resources Inventory, a remodel needs Planning clearance first and an addition cannot use the service.
City of San José, Additions & Remodels (opens in a new tab)
Single-Family House Permit review
Besides height, stories and floor area ratio, a Single-Family House Permit is triggered by work within 100 feet of a riparian corridor or creek on a lot of half an acre or more, by a house on the Historic Resources Inventory, and by creating or replacing 10,000 square feet or more of impervious surface. When staff send a project to a public hearing, properties within 300 feet are notified, and the Planning Director decides after taking testimony.
City of San José Planning Division (opens in a new tab)
Eichler standards in the Fairglen Additions
For the one San José Eichler tract on the Historic Resources Inventory, the city's Eichler design standards limit what a remodel can do to the shell. Removing walls that face an atrium or courtyard is prohibited, the glass enclosing an atrium has to be kept, and a full-height window wall at the back can be filled in only up to half its area. New outside equipment has to stay out of view: at ground level to the side or rear, on a wall that faces away from the street, or toward the back of the roof.
City of San José, Eichler Neighborhood ODS (opens in a new tab)

State license for this work: B General Building, B-2 Residential Remodeling. Look up a contractor's license on the CSLB website (opens in a new tab).

Before you hire

Questions that sort out a San Jose remodel bid

Is this a minor remodel under the city's definition, or will moving fixtures make it a major one with plans?
Who orders the HERS report for the new range hood, and is it in the price?
Does the design fit the walk-in permit, Residential Express or Standard Plan Review, and why?
If a wall comes out, who confirms it is not load-bearing, and does the license at cslb.ca.gov show B rather than B-2?
Will the addition need a Single-Family House Permit, and what happens to the timeline if it goes to a hearing?

Questions

Kitchen and remodel questions from San Jose owners

Do I need a permit to replace my kitchen cabinets and countertops in San Jose?

No. Cabinet refacing or replacement and countertop replacement are on the city's list of surface improvements exempt under Municipal Code Section 24.02.110, along with new flooring and paint. Replacing several fixtures and appliances in place, with new plumbing, electrical or mechanical work, is different: the city calls that a minor remodel, and its permit can be obtained online.

Can a San Jose kitchen remodel permit be done entirely online?

For a minor remodel, yes. Fixtures and appliances replaced in their existing locations, with no change to walls, windows or framing, qualify for an online permit through SJPermits.org, and the Permit Card can be downloaded after payment. Moving fixtures or opening walls makes it a major remodel, which needs plans and one of the city's plan review services.

Why does a new range hood in San Jose need a HERS report?

Because the city's kitchen requirements call for a third-party Home Energy Rating System report when an exhaust hood is replaced, with equipment of at least 100 CFM that is Energy Star compliant and ducted to the outside. The report verifies the ventilation actually performs, so book the HERS rater before the final inspection.

Will adding a second story to our San Jose ranch house mean a public hearing?

Not necessarily. A two-story house needs a Single-Family House Permit, but staff can approve it administratively when the project removes no more than half the exterior walls, keeps the second floor to 60 percent of the first, sets it at least 10 feet behind the required front setback, matches the existing roofline, materials and trim, and meets the porch and garage conditions. Otherwise it goes to a Director's Hearing.

Can we open up the wall to the atrium in our Fairglen Additions Eichler?

No. The city's Eichler design standards for the Fairglen Additions prohibit removing walls that face an atrium or courtyard, and they require the glass walls around an atrium to be kept and repaired. Interior walls elsewhere in the house are not covered by that standard.

Our house is in a flood zone. Does that change a kitchen remodel in San Jose?

It can. The city's minor remodel page asks a project in a floodplain to show how wall finishes below the flood level meet the residential code's flood provisions, and a lot in flood zone A, AE, AH or AO cannot use the walk-in permit for an addition or remodel.

Keep exploring

More on remodeling work and San Jose

Home remodeling in other cities

Other trades in San Jose

Guides and smaller jobs

Where this page belongs

Where these facts come from

Checked against these public sources in October 2026. Rules and programs change: confirm permit requirements with the city before work starts, and a contractor's license on the CSLB website.

Remodeling a San Jose kitchen or house, from online permit to hearing

Get quotes for remodeling work in San Jose

Builder kitchens, Eichler atriums and older downtown rooms

Four kitchen and house scopes, four permit paths

New cabinets and counters, nothing else

Same layout, new fixtures and appliances

Taking out the wall to the dining room

Adding a second story to a ranch house

City requirements behind a San Jose remodel

Kitchen and bath code checks

Over-the-counter limits

Single-Family House Permit review

Eichler standards in the Fairglen Additions