Building Permit & Occupancy — San Francisco
Most tenant improvements for a San Francisco restaurant require a building permit from the Department of Building Inspection, routed for Health Department review.
Overview
Apply for the building permit at the Permit Center (49 South Van Ness) through the SF Department of Building Inspection (DBI), with construction floor plans and specifications. Most tenant improvements — even small ones — require a permit.
Make sure "Health" is included as a routing station so SFDPH reviews your food plans in parallel. After all agencies approve, you schedule construction inspections; the space may not be legally occupied until the work passes final inspection.
What SpoonSeal tracks
The document(s) you upload for this requirement, with automatic renewal/expiration tracking (Current, Due Soon, Expired). Where the city publishes health-inspection results (e.g., NYC and Chicago), SpoonSeal syncs them automatically; elsewhere they can be added manually.
Stay ahead of this requirement
SpoonSeal stores your documents, tracks expirations, and reminds you before anything lapses — so you are always inspection-ready.
Get started free →This guide is informational and not legal advice. Always confirm current requirements with the official agency linked above.