Reference · Updated July 2026
The Orange County ADU Permit Index.
Every one of the 37 Orange County communities Avorino builds in takes ADU permit applications a little differently — 19 run online portals, 6 still want you at the counter, 7 run hybrid lanes, 1 works by email, and 4 unincorporated communities file with the County instead of a city hall. This index names the actual system in each city, verified against the city's own material.
Journalists and researchers: cite freely with a link. Homeowners: your city's page has the full picture — setbacks, timelines, and what the process feels like in practice.
| City | How ADU permits are filed | System | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aliso Viejo | Online portal | Tyler EnerGov CSS | PDF upload only — no counter plan-drop. Official source |
| Anaheim | Online portal | goPost / e-PlanReview + Accela | ADU Express: pre-approved plans can clear review in about 1–3 days. Official source |
| Brea | Single-PDF package to Building & Safety | Wait for the deemed-complete email before paying fees. Official source | |
| Buena Park | In person | Building Division counter | Hard copy only, wet stamp and signature; portals cover minor permits only. Official source |
| Corona del Mar | In person | Newport Beach Permit Center (Bay C) | Permits run through the City of Newport Beach; CiViC portal rolling out. Official source |
| Costa Mesa | Online portal | TESSA (Tyler EnerGov) | All applications portal-only per Building & Safety. Official source |
| Coto de Caza | County — online | MyOCeServices (OC Development Services) | Unincorporated — the County, not a city hall, issues the permit. Official source |
| Cypress | Online portal | OpenGov | Fully paperless; simple permits can issue in as little as ~30 minutes. Official source |
| Dana Point | Online portal | eTRAKiT (CentralSquare) | City-wide Coastal Zone — a Coastal Development Permit usually rides along. Official source |
| Fountain Valley | Online portal | CityTech Permit Center | Projects needing Fire review submit paper sets. Official source |
| Fullerton | Hybrid | Tyler EnerGov CSS or counter | Online upload preferred; hard copy still accepted at Building & Safety. Official source |
| Garden Grove | Online portal | GG Ready (Vivasoft) | Dedicated ADU/JADU category; the ADU Go pre-approved track files online. Official source |
| Huntington Beach | Online portal | HB ACA (Accela Citizen Access) | Application, plan sets, and fees all handled online. Official source |
| Irvine | Online portal | IrvineReady! (goPost / ePlanSoft) | No email or counter drop; Chrome required. Official source |
| La Habra | Online portal | Tyler EnerGov CSS | One-PDF upload; completeness screening typically 1–3 business days. Official source |
| La Palma | Hybrid | OpenGov or City Hall counter | Walk-in Building Permit Counter runs alongside the portal. Official source |
| Ladera Ranch | County — online | MyOCeServices (OC Development Services) | Unincorporated — files with the County of Orange. Official source |
| Laguna Beach | Online portal | Public Permit Portal (Tyler Civic Access) | Register, then upload the application and PDF plan set. Official source |
| Laguna Hills | Online portal | Tyler EnerGov Self-Service | Building & Safety is 100% online, including pre-approved-plan packages. Official source |
| Laguna Niguel | Online portal | Tyler EnerGov Online Permit Center | ADU Form 218 checklist carries the site plan and supporting docs. Official source |
| Lake Forest | In person | Building & Planning counter | Three printed full-size plan sets required by the city's ADU guide. Official source |
| Las Flores | County — online | MyOCeServices (OC Development Services) | Unincorporated — the County's own handout points applicants there. Official source |
| Los Alamitos | Online portal | CityTech Permit Center | Electronic plan check with card payment. Official source |
| Mission Viejo | Online portal | Tyler EnerGov CSS | Online-only since September 2023; deed restriction records before issuance. Official source |
| Newport Beach | In person | Permit Center (100 Civic Center Dr., Bay C) | CiViC (Tyler EnerGov) portal rolling out. Official source |
| Orange | Online portal | Maintstar Civic Portal | Building & Safety accepts applications only through the portal. Official source |
| Placentia | In person | Counter (SmartGov for planning + fees) | Building permit goes in as three 24×36 wet-stamped sets. Official source |
| Rancho Santa Margarita | In person | Planning counter, City Hall | Hand-delivered application, permit form, three plan sets, and fees. Official source |
| Rossmoor | County — online | MyOCeServices (OC Development Services) | No city hall — unincorporated County territory. Official source |
| San Clemente | Hybrid | Email + eTRAKiT + physical sets | Three-step: email the packet, file in-concept in eTRAKiT, then drop plan sets. Official source |
| San Juan Capistrano | Hybrid | Email + in-person appointment (Acuity) | Concept plans by email; building permit by booked appointment; eTRAKiT tracks. Official source |
| Santa Ana | Online portal | Accela Citizen Access (ACA) | Mandatory digital submittal since July 1, 2026 — paper ended. Official source |
| Stanton | Hybrid | Stanton Permit Center (CityTech) | Building/Planning online; some Public Works and Fire reviews on paper. Official source |
| Tustin | Online portal | Tyler EnerGov CSS | Email and in-person-by-appointment remain as secondary channels. Official source |
| Villa Park | Online portal | iWorQ Building Department Portal | PDF upload; a flash-drive/counter option exists at City Hall. Official source |
| Westminster | Hybrid | Westminster Build (Tyler EnerGov) | In person or online — the city runs both lanes. Official source |
| Yorba Linda | Hybrid | Counter (USB + hard copy) + email form | Planning review over the counter; building permit by emailed submittal form. Official source |
How this index was built.
Each row condenses an Avorino per-city research pass verified against the city's own published material — permit-center pages, ADU handouts, and portal documentation — with a second, adversarial check against the cited sources. Cities change systems; when one does, the row and its city page update together. Found something out of date? Tell us and we'll re-verify it against the city's source.
Quick answers.
Which Orange County cities still require in-person ADU submittals?
As of this index's last verification: Buena Park, Lake Forest, Newport Beach (and Corona del Mar, which permits through Newport Beach), Placentia, and Rancho Santa Margarita take ADU plans at the counter, several with wet-stamped hard-copy requirements. San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, and Yorba Linda run hybrid processes with an in-person or physical-set step.
Which Orange County communities get ADU permits from the County instead of a city?
Coto de Caza, Ladera Ranch, Las Flores, and Rossmoor are unincorporated, so their ADU permits file with the County of Orange through the MyOCeServices portal (OC Development Services) rather than a city hall.
Does Avorino handle the permit filing?
Yes. Whichever lane your city runs. Avorino prepares the plan sets, creates the portal accounts or files the hard copies, pays the fees, and carries plan-check corrections through approval as part of the fixed-price design-build contract.
Skip the counter line entirely.
Avorino files ADU permits in every one of these cities as part of a fixed-price design-build contract — portal accounts, hard-copy sets, corrections, and all.