Commercial Tenant Improvements in San Jose: A Practical Permit Overview
In San José, a commercial tenant improvement needs a building permit, and you must submit plans. City staff review them for zoning, building, and fire codes before the permit is issued. Eligible office projects can use the City’s STAR service, a single 90-minute review meeting for a 50% surcharge on plan review fees. Other projects go through Standard Plan Review online.
A tenant improvement adapts an existing office, retail, industrial, or other business space for a tenant. Even when the outside of the building doesn’t change, interior work can affect occupancy, exiting, accessibility, fire protection, electrical, plumbing, mechanical systems, and energy requirements.
What goes in the application package?
The City of San José lists these as required for a tenant improvement permit:
- Building Permit Application
- Commercial & Industrial Projects Submittal Checklist, which must be included in the package
- Tenant Improvements Plan Checklist, used to prepare the plans
- Plan Review Submittal Package for commercial, industrial, and multifamily projects
- Construction Valuation Form
- A refundable Construction and Demolition Diversion Deposit
Who prepares the plans and who applies?
The City recommends working with professionals on the plans and notes that inaccurate plans lead to resubmittals and more fees. For the STAR service, plans and calculations must be signed and stamped by a California-licensed architect or engineer. Outside STAR, the City requires a registered architect or engineer to sign plans for an interior alteration in an office, retail, factory, or storage space when walls and partitions are higher than 5 feet 9 inches or ceiling work covers more than 3,000 square feet.
The City also recommends that a licensed contractor apply for the permit. Whoever signs the application is responsible, and potentially liable, for all work under the permit. If the property owner applies, an owner-builder form is required. Signing is limited to the property owner of record, a licensed contractor, an authorized agent, or an authorized tenant.
Which projects qualify for STAR review?
STAR is meant for projects that can be reviewed in one 90-minute meeting. According to the City, the project has to meet all of these:
- Group B professional office use, not including medical and dental offices and clinics, or offices tied to an existing R&D facility, warehouse, or factory
- An alteration area of 50,000 square feet or less, on a single floor
- No change to the building’s use or exiting
- No added square footage
- No exterior site work, with limited exceptions such as accessibility path-of-travel work and some rooftop equipment
- No major structural alterations
What rules a project out of STAR?
The City lists projects in a flood or geohazard zone, projects with hazardous materials or Group H occupancies, work that affects a smoke control system, high-piled combustible storage, and projects that need Health Department or Environmental Services approval. Restaurants, cafés, and bars have their own City permit page.
How does a STAR meeting work?
- Email a project eligibility review request; staff confirm by email and offer meeting dates
- Pay the initial plan check fees at least 5 business days before the meeting
- Upload the plans and forms at least 2 business days before the meeting
- Bring signed, stamped hard copies of the plans to City Hall
- The whole design team meets in person with City Planning, Building, Public Works, and Fire staff
- Changing the scope after the eligibility review, or a team member missing the meeting, can get the meeting canceled
How does Standard Plan Review work?
You apply at SJPermits.org and upload the plans through SJePlans. A City plan reviewer sends comments through SJePlans, and once the plans are approved and final fees are paid, the building permit is issued.
For a miscellaneous commercial project, the City lists about 10 working days for the first review round and about 5 for each later round, both for the architectural and structural review and for the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing review. Fire review is listed separately. Ask City staff which category your project falls under. Review doesn’t start until fees are paid and complete, accurate plans are uploaded.
Accessibility upgrades
The City notes that work to meet accessibility path-of-travel requirements under California Building Code Section 11B-202.4 may be done together with a tenant improvement. Ask your architect early what the existing entrance, restrooms, and route to the space need, so it is in the plans and the budget from the start.
What happens at inspection?
The permit card lists the required inspections. Schedule them at SJPermits.org or by calling 408-535-3555. The card has to stay on site, plans and manufacturer instructions should be available, and the inspector needs access to every part of the work. The City also lists a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy process for projects that need one.
What to settle before you sign a lease or a contract
- Whether the space and scope fit STAR or need Standard Plan Review
- Whether the business use or occupancy changes
- Who prepares the plans, and who submits and tracks the permit
- Which landlord or building approvals are needed
- What accessibility work the existing space needs
- How plan review timing affects the opening date
How Landford Construction handles commercial work
Landford Construction does office renovations, warehouse renovations, and tenant improvements in San Jose, the South Bay, and the Peninsula. Landford applies for the permit, manages it, and updates you after each stage and inspection. See our Los Gatos warehouse renovation, and use our commercial planning checklist before you request proposals. For an office, our office remodel guide covers layout and planning, and our guide on keeping a business open covers working around daily operations.
Send photos of your space, and for suitable projects Adam gives a free preliminary price range before a site visit.
The bottom line
Treat the permit as part of planning, not paperwork after the price is set. The use, the space, and the existing building decide whether STAR or Standard Plan Review fits.
Official resources
This is general information based on City of San José pages as of November 2026. Confirm project-specific requirements with the City, the property owner, and qualified professionals.
About the author
Adam Tamerlan Yagibekov owns Landford Construction, Inc., a licensed general building contractor based in San Jose, California (CSLB #1160801). With 9 years in construction and remodeling, Adam prepares each estimate and stays the client’s point of contact through the whole project.
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