ADU / JADU / Movable Tiny House (MTH) Correction Sheet — LADBS Structural Plan Check Correction List

ADU / JADU / Movable Tiny House (MTH) Correction Sheet — LADBS Structural Plan Check Correction List

The LADBS ADU Correction Sheet: How to Read PC.STR.Corr.Lst.20A and Get Your Permit Faster

If you're building an ADU, junior ADU (JADU), or movable tiny house in the City of Los Angeles, there's one document that decides whether your permit moves forward or stalls: the LADBS ADU / JADU / Movable Tiny House Correction Sheet, officially numbered PC/STR/Corr.Lst.20A. Here's the part that trips up most homeowners — it isn't a form you fill out and submit. It's the checklist a city plan check engineer uses to mark up your plans and tell you what needs to change.

Understanding it before you submit is the single best way to avoid weeks of back-and-forth.

What this document actually is

PC.STR.Corr.Lst.20A (current revision 10/01/2025) is a 14-page correction sheet issued by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS), tied to the 2023 LA Building and Residential Codes. When you submit ADU plans, a plan check engineer reviews them against this list and circles every item your project doesn't yet satisfy. Each circled item cites a specific code or zoning section, so you know exactly what to fix.

Used in reverse, it's a gift: have your designer clear every item on this sheet before you submit, and you skip most correction cycles entirely.

Who runs into it

Anyone going through standard LADBS plan check for a detached or attached ADU, a JADU, or an Ordinance Movable Tiny House. You can sidestep the architectural-correction grind by using one of LADBS's 20+ pre-approved/standard ADU plans — those bypass architectural plan check. Note this is City of LA only; the County and neighboring cities use their own lists.

What your plan set needs to clear it

The sheet checks for a complete package. At minimum:

• A fully dimensioned, to-scale plot plan and a complete legal description (Tract, Lot, Block) plus a copy of the Grant Deed
• Floor plans (with the use of each room), two elevations, roof, foundation, and framing plans, construction sections, and structural details
• Title 24 energy notes/certificates and green code notes
• Correct setbacks — minimum 4-ft rear and 4-ft side yards for new detached ADU/State ADU/MTH portions
• Height and size compliance — e.g., 16 ft (18 ft near major transit) for State ADUs; 800 sf for a State ADU, up to 1,200 sf for an Ordinance ADU, 150–430 sf for a tiny house
• Department clearances listed on the attached Clearance Summary Worksheet

Movable tiny house owners have extra items: DMV registration, ANSI A119.5 or NFPA 1192 certification, a screened undercarriage, utility hookups (30-amp minimum), and a notarized Owner's Declaration. JADUs require a recorded covenant (PC/STR/Aff.45) — an easy thing to forget that will hold up issuance.

How the correction process works

1. Submit your complete plan set through ePlanLA online (or in person at a Development Services Center).
2. The reviewer applies PC.STR.Corr.Lst.20A plus any supplemental sheets (Fire, Methane, Storm Water, Hillside, etc.) and returns the marked-up list and redlined plans.
3. Revise your plans and calculations to clear every circled item.
4. Write a point-by-point response that answers each correction and says exactly where on the revised sheets the fix appears.
5. Resubmit — ePlan projects upload through the portal; paper projects book a verification appointment and bring the original checked set, the revised set, the response, and the correction sheet.

One firm rule: corrections are verified only at the same office that did the original check.

Fees and timeline

The correction sheet itself is free. Fees apply to the underlying plan check and permit, calculated from your project's valuation and square footage using the LADBS fee calculator and collected in waves (submittal, resubmittal, issuance, final). Industry estimates put all-in LA ADU permit and plan-check fees around $5,000–$14,000 in 2026; ADUs 750 sf or smaller are exempt from school fees. Confirm your real numbers with the official LADBS calculator.

On timing: California law (Gov. Code 66317) requires the city to check your application for completeness within 15 business days and to approve or deny a complete, code-compliant ADU ministerially within 60 days — miss the deadline and it's deemed approved. In practice, standard plan check runs about 4–10 weeks, and each correction cycle adds 2–4 weeks. Your application expires 18 months after submittal, so don't let it stall.

The most common mistakes

• Treating it as a form to submit (it's a reviewer's checklist — you respond to it)
• Submitting an incomplete set (missing Title 24, green notes, or the Grant Deed)
• Vague responses that don't point to a location on the plans
• Ignoring the Clearance Summary Worksheet — other departments can take months
• Forgetting the JADU covenant or the MTH certifications
• Setback and height errors — the 4-ft minimums and 16/18-ft limits are among the most-circled items

Clear PC.STR.Corr.Lst.20A on the first pass and your ADU permit can move in weeks instead of months.

Sources: LADBS PC.STR.Corr.Lst.20A; LADBS Plan Review & Permitting; CA HCD ADU Fact Sheet 2026; Gov. Code 66317.

Reference card

• Official number: PC/STR/Corr.Lst.20A (Rev. 10/01/2025)
• Issuing body: Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS)
• What it is: This is not an application you fill out and submit. It is the official LADBS plan-check correction sheet (a 14-page checklist tied to the 2023 LA Building/Residential Codes) that a plan check engineer uses to mark up your ADU, JADU, or Movable Tiny House plans and tell you what is wrong or missing. After you submit drawings through ePlanLA (or on paper), the reviewer circles the items on this list that your project fails to satisfy and returns it to you. Each circled item cites a specific LA code or zoning section, and you must revise your plans and write a point-by-point response before the permit can be issued. In practice it doubles as a pre-submittal checklist: if your designer addresses every item on PC.STR.Corr.Lst.20A up front, you avoid most correction cycles.
• Who needs it: Applies to anyone building a detached or attached ADU, a Junior ADU (JADU), or an Ordinance Movable Tiny House on a residential lot in the City of Los Angeles and going through standard LADBS plan check. You will encounter this exact sheet on virtually every full ADU plan-check review. You can effectively skip the correction grind by using one of LADBS's 20+ pre-approved/standard ADU plans, which bypass architectural plan check. The sheet is City of LA specific — unincorporated LA County and other cities (Burbank, Glendale, Santa Monica, etc.) use their own correction lists.
• Fees: The correction sheet itself is free and carries no fee. Fees are charged for the underlying plan check and permit, not for the form. LADBS does not publish a single flat ADU price — cost is calculated from project valuation and square footage using the LADBS fee calculator and is collected in waves (plan check submittal, resubmittal, permit issuance, and final). Industry sources put all-in LA ADU permit + plan-check fees in roughly the $5,000-$14,000 range in 2026, with totals driven by size and valuation. ADUs of 750 sf or less are statutorily exempt from school impact fees. Confirm your actual numbers with the official LADBS fee calculator rather than a blog estimate.
• Timeline: No fee or deadline lives on the correction sheet itself, but the surrounding process is governed by statute and LADBS practice. Under California law (Gov. Code 66317), a city must determine whether your ADU application is complete within 15 business days and must approve or deny a complete, code-compliant application ministerially within 60 days — miss it and the application is deemed approved. In practice, standard LADBS plan check runs about 4-10 weeks; express/standard-plan paths run roughly 2-4 weeks. Each correction cycle this sheet generates typically adds 2-4 weeks. Note: the permit application expires 18 months from the plan-check submittal date.

Requirements

• Fully dimensioned 8.5x11 plot plan to scale on the PCIS application sheet, plus complete legal description (Tract, Lot, Block) and a copy of the Grant Deed
• Complete plan set per page 4: floor plans with use of each room, two elevations, roof plans, foundation plans, framing plans, construction sections, structural details, plus green code notes and Title 24 energy notes & certificates
• Setbacks shown: minimum 4-ft rear and 4-ft side yard for new/added detached ADU, State ADU, or MTH portions
• Height compliance: 16 ft (or 18 ft near major transit) for State ADUs; size caps (e.g., 800 sf State ADU, 1,200 sf Ordinance ADU, MTH 150-430 sf)
• Clearances from other departments per the attached Clearance Summary Worksheet (City Planning, Fire, Sanitation/LID, Green Building, Accessibility as applicable)
• Required affidavits/covenants where triggered — e.g., JADU covenant PC/STR/Aff.45, recorded covenants per P/GI 2023-024
• For Movable Tiny House: DMV registration, ANSI A119.5 or NFPA 1192 certification, screened undercarriage, utility hookups (min 30-amp), and a notarized Owner's Declaration & Acknowledgement for MTH
• A written correction response addressing each circled item, identifying where on the revised plans the change appears
• Signed/wet-stamped plans per P/BC 2023-073; owner-builder declaration (notarized) or contractor license + Workers' Comp + LA business tax registration at permit issuance

How to file

1. Prepare a complete ADU/JADU/MTH plan set (architectural, structural calcs, Title 24 energy, green code notes) and submit it to LADBS through the ePlanLA online portal or in person at a Development Services Center.
2. Wait for plan check. The reviewer applies PC.STR.Corr.Lst.20A and any supplemental sheets (Fire/VHFHSZ, Methane, Storm Water, Hillside, etc.), circling the items your project does not yet meet.
3. Receive the marked-up correction sheet, the redlined plans, and the calculation comments back from your assigned plan check engineer.
4. Revise the plans and structural calculations to clear every circled item, citing the referenced LA code section.
5. Write a point-by-point response letter that answers each correction and states exactly where on the revised sheets the fix is located.
6. Resubmit: for ePlan projects, upload the revised plans and response through the ePlanLA portal; for paper plans, book a verification appointment online (angelenologin.lacity.org) and bring the original checked set, the revised set, your response, and the correction sheet. Corrections are verified ONLY at the same office that did the original check.
7. Repeat correction cycles until all items clear, secure outstanding department clearances on the Clearance Summary Worksheet, then pay fees and pull the permit.

Common pitfalls

• Treating it as a form to submit. It is a reviewer's checklist, not an application — you never 'file' PC.STR.Corr.Lst.20A, you respond to it.
• Submitting an incomplete set. Missing Title 24 energy reports, green code notes, structural details, or the Grant Deed triggers immediate corrections and a wasted 2-4 week cycle.
• Vague correction responses. Each item needs a written answer that points to the exact sheet/detail where the fix lives; 'revised as noted' without a location gets bounced.
• Ignoring the Clearance Summary Worksheet early. Other departments (Planning, Fire, Sanitation) can take months — the sheet explicitly warns to start these immediately.
• Switching offices. Corrections are verified only at the office that did the original check.
• Missing the recorded covenant/affidavit for a JADU (PC/STR/Aff.45) — a frequent, easy-to-forget hold on issuance.
• Movable Tiny House owners missing the certifications: DMV registration, ANSI A119.5/NFPA 1192 cert, screened undercarriage, and the notarized Owner's Declaration are all required.
• Letting the application sit past 18 months from submittal, which expires it.
• Setback and height errors — forgetting the 4-ft rear/side minimums or exceeding the 16/18-ft State ADU height limit are among the most common circled items.

Sources

• https://dbs.lacity.gov/sites/default/files/efs/forms/pc17/PC.STR.Corr.Lst.20A.pdf
• https://dbs.lacity.gov/services/plan-review-permitting
• https://dbs.lacity.gov/forms-and-publications?cats=88
• https://www.hcd.ca.gov/sites/default/files/docs/policy-and-research/housing-law-fact-sheets-2026-combined.pdf
• https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=66317&lawCode=GOV