Do I need a permit to replace my driveway in Burbank?

Not for the slab on your lot in most cases. Burbank's 2025 exemption handout lists sidewalks and driveways no more than 30 inches above the adjacent grade, not over a basement or story below and not part of an accessible route. The apron and sidewalk in the street are different: they need a Public Works excavation permit, (818) 238-3950.

When does a retaining wall need a permit in Burbank?

When it is over 4 feet tall measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, or at any height if it holds back a surcharge such as a slope, a driveway or a building. Zoning still applies to shorter walls: 30 inches at most in the front yard setback and 4 feet of exposed height elsewhere.

Who do I call about concrete in the sidewalk or parkway?

Burbank Public Works at (818) 238-3950 for permits to work in the right-of-way. A sidewalk lifted by a street tree goes to Street and Sidewalk Maintenance at (818) 238-3800 or through Our Burbank 311, and right-of-way construction concerns to (818) 238-3915.

Does a backyard patio slab need a Burbank building permit?

The City's handout names sidewalks and driveways, not patios, so a flat slab at grade is usually treated the same way but is worth a call to Building and Safety at (818) 238-5220 before work starts. Setbacks and the front-yard hardscape limit still apply even when no permit is required.

How far ahead do I have to call DigAlert?

California Government Code 4216.2 requires notice at least two working days and no more than 14 calendar days before the digging starts, with the area marked out first. In Burbank the DigAlert ticket number is also required before the City issues an excavation permit.

What does a contractor need before Burbank issues a right-of-way permit?

A certificate for at least $1,000,000 of aggregate general liability coverage with an endorsement naming the City as additional insured, a DigAlert ticket number, and payment of the permit fee and deposit. Contractors not based in Burbank also pay the City's business tax per job when a building permit is issued.

Burbank Concrete Permits: What Needs One

Last reviewed October 2026.

Burbank concrete permits, job by job

The City of Burbank publishes a one-page handout, "Single-Family Residential: Work Exempt from Building Permit," under the 2025 California Residential and Building Codes. It is the quickest answer for most house jobs, and it comes with two warnings in capitals: exempt work still has to meet every other code rule, such as setbacks, and anything that strays from the listed limits needs a permit and may need zoning approval.

Common concrete jobs and the Burbank permit each one needs

Job	Permit	Where the rule is
Driveway or walk on the lot, up to 30 in above grade	Usually exempt	2025 exemption handout
Driveway or walk on an accessible route, or over a basement	Building permit	Building and Safety
Retaining wall up to 4 ft from bottom of footing, no surcharge	Usually exempt (zoning limits apply)	Handout; BMC 10-1-603(H)(3)
Retaining wall over 4 ft, or holding a slope, driveway or building	Building permit	Building and Safety
Fence over 7 ft from the bottom of its footing	Building permit	Handout
Detached one-story shed up to 120 sq ft	Exempt	Handout
Apron, curb cut, curb, gutter or sidewalk	Excavation permit	Public Works, (818) 238-3950
Dig over 2 ft or 100 cu yd, or fill over 50 cu yd	Grading permit	BMC 7-1-104
Slab or footings for an ADU or addition	Part of that project's permit	Tier 2 plan check

Swipe sideways to see every column.

Exempt doesn't mean anything goes

A driveway that needs no building permit is still held to the zoning code. Burbank Municipal Code 10-1-603 caps hard surfaces, concrete included, at 45 percent of the front yard setback, limits curb openings to 25 percent of the lot width and 15 feet per driveway, and allows circular drives only on lots 100 feet wide or more. Retaining walls in the front setback stop at 30 inches, set 18 inches back from the sidewalk behind a planting strip, and the code says no exceptions are granted for them. Elsewhere on the lot, exposed retaining walls stop at 4 feet.

Bungalow on South Bel Aire Drive in Burbank behind a low concrete wall and iron fence — The Burbank house where James M. Cain wrote The Postman Always Rings Twice in 1933, behind a low concrete wall.

Those limits are why a wider driveway or a taller front wall is a zoning question before it is a concrete one. The pages on concrete driveway replacement in Burbank and the retaining wall contractor in Burbank page apply them to real lots.

Tier 1 and Tier 2 permits at the counter

When a permit is needed, Burbank sorts it into one of two tiers. Tier 1 permits are simple ones without plan check, mostly issued over the counter and some online through the City's permit portal. Tier 2 permits go through plan check, zoning review or both, which is where additions, new structures and ADUs land; plans move through the City's ProjectDox system. The slab under an ADU foundation in Burbank rides on that ADU's permit rather than getting its own.

Building and Safety: Community Services Building, first floor, 150 N. Third Street, Burbank, CA 91502.
Counter hours: Monday to Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Friday 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., closed noon to 1:00 p.m.
Building permits and plan check: (818) 238-5220. Planning: (818) 238-5250.
Planning first if the job might need a land use approval; Public Works, Fire or Burbank Water and Power may also review a project.

Past the property line: Public Works

Everything between the property line and the street (the driveway approach, curb, gutter, sidewalk and parkway) belongs to Public Works. Burbank's own permit FAQ puts it plainly: a driveway on private property is a Building Department question; once the work touches the sidewalk or the approach, call Public Works at (818) 238-3950. Digging there needs an excavation permit under the Municipal Code, with a fee from the City's fee resolution and a deposit that guarantees the street is put back.

What the excavation permit conditions ask for

Insurance: $1,000,000 aggregate general liability and an additional insured endorsement naming the City, or the permit isn't issued.
A DigAlert (Underground Service Alert) number before the permit issues.
Sidewalk cuts replaced to match the existing finish, to the nearest score line, in sections at least 5 x 5 feet, with no more than a 2 percent cross fall to the curb.
Driveway and pedestrian access kept open unless an alternate plan is approved.
Roll-off bins in the street on a separate street use permit, good for 14 days.

Wide concrete driveway and apron meeting the street curb in front of ranch houses — Where the driveway meets the street: the apron drops to the curb line.

The Burbank driveway approach and curb cut permit guide walks through an apron replacement from start to finish.

Grading permits and soils reports

Burbank requires a grading permit for moving earth unless the dig stays within 2 feet of depth, leaves no cut slope over 5 feet high and steeper than 1 1/2 to 1, and moves 100 cubic yards or less; fills are exempt up to 50 cubic yards on a lot when they don't change the drainage pattern. Footing excavations for a building, pool or retaining wall that already has a building permit are exempt. When a grading permit is needed, the Director can require an engineering geologist's report unless it is waived, which matters most on the slopes covered in concrete on Burbank hillside lots.

The contractor's side of the paperwork

Business and Professions Code 7030.5 requires every licensed contractor to put the license number on contracts, bids and all advertising, and anyone can check a number on the CSLB website. Contractors from outside Burbank also pay the City's business tax per job when the building permit is issued.

Toluca Lake blocks on the Los Angeles side of the line follow Los Angeles rules instead; see concrete contractor in Toluca Lake. For the work itself, start from the concrete contractor in Burbank homepage.