Plan Check in Los Angeles Drops to Two Rounds in 2027: Why Encino Homeowners Need a Design-Build Team That Gets It Right the First Time

Quick answer: Starting January 1, 2027, AB 1621 (Wilson), Chapter 780, Statutes of 2026, says a local or state agency "shall not require or request more than two plan check and specification reviews" on a covered building permit application. Governor Newsom signed it on September 29, 2026. After two rounds, the agency may deny an application that still does not comply with the permit standards. More rounds happen only if the applicant asks for them. The law also limits inspectors who ask for changes from approved plans, shortens appeal deadlines, and requires the agency to tell you when your review clock is paused for an outside agency. For plan check in Los Angeles, this is good news and a warning at the same time. Fewer rounds of corrections should mean less back-and-forth, but a sloppy first submittal now has less room to recover. The bill does not mention ADUs or single-family additions by name, so confirm with LADBS in writing how it will apply the two-round limit to your project before you rely on it.

Definitions You Need First

Plan check is the building department's review of your drawings, structural calculations and energy documents against the building code before a permit is issued. In the City of Los Angeles, that department is LADBS, the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. A plan check round (the statute says "plan check and specification review") is one cycle of submittal, review, and a set of correction comments back to you. A postentitlement phase permit is the category of permits in Government Code Section 65913.3, which AB 1621 amends. It includes building permits issued under the California Building Standards Code, plan checking and building inspection for housing development projects. Title 24 is the California Building Standards Code. In everyday use, "Title 24" often means the Part 6 energy compliance report that has to match your windows, insulation and mechanical systems. Design-build means one team carries a project from design and engineering through permits and construction under one contract, instead of the owner hiring and coordinating each party separately. A writ of mandate is a court order directing a public agency to do something the law requires.

Key Takeaways

• AB 1621 is law: Chapter 780, Statutes of 2026, signed September 29, 2026, effective January 1, 2027. It amends Government Code Sections 65913.3 and 65589.5.
• An agency may not require or request more than two plan check and specification reviews on a covered building permit application.
• After two rounds, the agency may deny an application that still does not comply. Extra submittals happen only at the applicant's request.
• An inspector may not require a deviation from previously approved plans unless the agency makes written findings, based on substantial evidence, that a statutory exception applies.
• Appeal decisions for housing projects of 25 units or fewer drop from 60 to 30 business days. For 26 units or more, they drop from 90 to 45.
• If state or federal law requires an outside public agency to review your application first, the review clock pauses, and the agency must notify you of that pause.
• The bill does not name ADUs. Ask LADBS in writing how it will apply the limit to your ADU, addition or remodel.
• With only two rounds, a complete and code-correct first submittal matters more than it used to. That should be part of how you decide who to hire.

What Exactly Does AB 1621 Change About Plan Check in Los Angeles?

The core sentence is short. As part of its review, the local agency or state agency "shall not require or request more than two plan check and specification reviews in connection with an application for a building permit." The same paragraph adds two things. The agency "may deny an application that is not compliant with the permit standards" after those two reviews. And "an applicant may request additional submittals of applications that are not compliant with the permit standards."

The Legislative Counsel's Digest also says the bill includes findings that it addresses a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair, so it applies to all cities, including charter cities. Los Angeles is a charter city, so that language matters here.

What the law does not do is just as important. The limit is on the number of rounds, not on how thorough a round can be. The section does not limit how much feedback an agency can give or how many revisions it can ask for within a round. A first-round correction list can still be long.

Is Two Rounds Good or Bad News for an Encino Homeowner?

It depends on what you submit. If your plans are complete and coordinated, a cap on rounds protects you from an open-ended loop of new comments each time you resubmit. If your plans have gaps, the cap cuts the other way. Once two rounds are used up, the city can deny an application that still does not comply. You can ask for more rounds, but at that point you are asking for extra time, not getting it automatically.

Think about what typically causes repeat corrections on a hillside or flatland project in Encino: structural calculations that do not match the architectural sheets, an energy report that lists a different window than the plans show, a site plan missing a setback dimension, or a design decision the owner has not made yet. Under the old practice, each of those could become another round. Under AB 1621, each one uses part of a budget of two.

What Happens After Two Rounds if My Plans Still Have Problems?

The statute gives the agency the option to deny an application that is not compliant with the permit standards after two plan check and specification reviews. It also lets the applicant request additional submittals. In practice, that means two paths: fix and resubmit at your own request, or face a possible denial and start over or appeal.

If an application is found incomplete or non-compliant, or is denied, the agency must provide a written appeal process to its governing body. For housing development projects of 25 units or fewer, the final written decision on the appeal is due within 30 business days of receiving the written appeal, down from 60. For projects of 26 units or more, the deadline is 45 business days, down from 90. If the appeal is denied, is not decided in time, or no appeal process is provided, the applicant may seek a writ of mandate to compel approval. A violation of these provisions is also treated as a violation of the Housing Accountability Act (Government Code Section 65589.5).

An appeal and a court petition are slow and expensive compared with getting the drawings right. They are a backstop, not a plan.

Can an Inspector Still Make Me Change My Approved Plans?

AB 1621 narrows this. An agency may not request or require any action or inaction as a result of a building inspection that would represent a deviation from a previously approved building plan unless it provides written findings, based on substantial evidence, of one of two things. The first is that a reasonable person could not read the approved plan as complying with the permit standards. The second is that the deviation is necessary to address a specific, adverse impact on public health or safety.

This protects owners whose approved plans are clear. It does not protect plans that are vague, internally inconsistent or wrong. If a detail could reasonably be read as non-compliant, the first exception may apply. Clear, coordinated drawings are what make this protection useful in the field.

How Long Does the City Have to Review a Complete Application?

Section 65913.3 already sets review deadlines for postentitlement phase permits. The agency must tell you in writing whether your application is complete within 15 business days of receiving it. For housing development projects of 25 units or fewer, the agency then has 30 business days from the date the application is complete to either approve it or return a full set of comments with a comprehensive request for revisions. Larger projects have a longer deadline.

AB 1621 also changes how the clock pauses. Under the bill, if federal or state law requires review by another public agency that is independent of the permitting agency before it can act, the time limits are tolled until that agency finishes and returns the application. The permitting agency must notify the applicant of the tolling. In plain terms, you should be told when your clock stops for an outside review, instead of finding out later.

We are not quoting LADBS processing times here. Ask LADBS what to expect for your project type.

Does AB 1621 Apply to ADUs and Single-Family Additions?

The bill does not mention ADUs or single-family additions by name. Section 65913.3 defines postentitlement phase permits to include building permits issued under the California Building Standards Code for construction or alteration of buildings, and its deadlines are framed around housing development projects. Some commentators read a stand-alone ADU building permit as fitting that language. We are not going to promise that it does. ADUs also have their own decision deadline under the ADU statute.

Our advice: before you rely on the two-round limit for an ADU, a garage conversion, a second-story addition or a remodel, ask LADBS in writing how it will apply AB 1621 to your application, and keep that answer with your project records. Cities often need a few months to settle how they apply a new law.

What Does Design-Build Coordination Do Before Plan Check Submittal?

If the number of rounds is capped, the work that matters most happens before the first submittal. On a design-build project, that work is done by one team, under one contract, with one schedule. Here is what that coordination looks like.

• Architect and owner decisions locked first. Layout, window and door schedule, roof form, finish levels that affect code (for example, glazing and egress), and any site work are decided before drawings go in. A late owner change is one of the most common sources of a new correction round.
• Structural engineering matched to the architecture. Calculations, framing plans, foundation and shear wall details are checked against the architectural sheets so the plan checker does not find two versions of the same wall. Hillside lots in Encino can add grading and foundation questions that need to be answered up front.
• Title 24 energy compliance built from the real design. The energy report has to match the windows, insulation, HVAC and water heating shown on the plans. When the report and the drawings disagree, it becomes a correction.
• Zoning and site checks. Setbacks, height, lot coverage and any overlay or hillside rules are checked against ZIMAS and the zoning code for your parcel before drawing details, not after.
• Internal plan review before submittal. A full-set cross-check of architectural, structural, energy and site sheets for missing dimensions, unmatched details and incomplete notes.
• One owner of the correction response. If comments come back, one team answers every item in a single, complete resubmittal, so round two is used to close out issues, not to discover new ones.
• Construction-ready details. Clear plans make the inspection protection in AB 1621 work for you. The builder on a design-build team builds what was drawn, because it helped draw it.

How Should This Change Who You Hire?

Ask every designer or contractor you interview how they will make sure your first submittal is complete. Specific questions help:

• Who prepares the structural calculations and the Title 24 report, and who checks them against the architectural sheets?
• What decisions will I need to make before submittal, and by when?
• Who reads and answers plan check comments, and how do you make sure the resubmittal answers every item?
• How will you confirm with LADBS how AB 1621 applies to my project?
• If something changes during construction, who updates the approved plans?

If the answers involve three separate firms that have never worked together and an owner acting as the go-between, expect more risk of using up your two rounds.

How 121 Design Build Helps Encino Homeowners Get Plan Check Right the First Time

121 Design Build is a design-build firm serving Encino, the San Fernando Valley and greater Los Angeles. We coordinate design, structural engineering, Title 24 energy compliance, permit submittal and construction under one team, so the drawings that go to plan check are the drawings we build from. Before we submit, we walk you through the decisions that have to be final, check the full set for consistency, and confirm with LADBS how current rules apply to your address and project type.

If you are planning an ADU, addition, remodel or new home and want a first submittal built for a two-round world, call us at (424) 600-2100 or reach us through 121designbuild.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does AB 1621 take effect?

January 1, 2027. The Governor signed it on September 29, 2026, and it was chaptered the same day as Chapter 780, Statutes of 2026.

How many plan check rounds can Los Angeles require after January 1, 2027?

For a building permit application covered by Government Code Section 65913.3, no more than two plan check and specification reviews. After that, the city may deny an application that still does not comply, and further rounds happen only at the applicant's request.

Does the two-round limit apply to my ADU or home addition?

The bill does not name ADUs or single-family additions. Confirm with LADBS in writing how it will apply the limit to your specific application before you rely on it.

Can LADBS give me a longer list of corrections in each round?

Yes. Apart from the two-round rule, the section does not limit the amount of feedback an agency gives or the revisions it requests within a round.

Can an inspector require changes that are not on my approved plans?

Only with written findings, based on substantial evidence, that a reasonable person could not read the approved plan as compliant, or that the change is necessary to address a specific, adverse impact on public health or safety.

How fast must the city decide an appeal?

For housing development projects of 25 units or fewer, within 30 business days of receiving the written appeal. For 26 units or more, within 45 business days.

Will I know if my review is on hold for another agency?

Under AB 1621, if federal or state law requires an independent public agency to review your application first, the time limits are paused until that review comes back, and the permitting agency must notify you of the pause.

Should I wait until 2027 to submit my plans?

Not necessarily. The rule changes how many rounds you get, not what the code requires. A complete, coordinated submittal is the right approach in 2026 and in 2027. Ask LADBS how applications submitted before January 1, 2027 will be handled.

Sources

• California Legislative Information: AB-1621 bill text (Chapter 780, Statutes of 2026)
• California Legislative Information: AB-1621 bill history
• Central Coast Economics: AB 1621 legislative log and Legislative Counsel's Digest
• BackyardADU: AB 1621, a two-round limit on building-permit plan checks
• Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS)
• City of Los Angeles: ZIMAS parcel lookup
• 121 Design Build: Los Angeles ADU Law Changes 2026

This article is general information from a design-build and permitting perspective and is not legal advice. How LADBS applies AB 1621 to a specific project may differ, especially in the first months after January 1, 2027. Confirm requirements for your address with LADBS, and consult a qualified attorney for legal questions.

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