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 4unincorporated 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 a 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 usand 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.