Should a General Contractor or their Sub-Contractors (or both) file permits ?

[Matt A.]

I'm deciding between a couple different licensed General Contractors to hire to remodel an investment property in Oakland, CA.

Some of their buildzoom.com profiles show no record of them having ever filed permits.

Other General Contractor's buildzoom.com profiles show records of them filing/pulling a bunch of permits, but not in all the categories my project entails (especially HVAC and Electric).

Is it typical for General Contractors to have their subcontractors file/pull permits instead of pulling/filling the permits themselves? Perhaps this is why I'm seeing these results on buildzoom.com?

[Bruce Woodruff]

Quote from @Ryan Normand:

Depends on the city and type of project. Contrary to what others have said, my experience is that on larger jobs (e.g. an addition or new build) the whole job is rolled up into one set of plans and one permit for which the GC/builder is responsible for executing according to plan.

This is correct (at least in CA and AZ). If a GC is involved, they will take the plans to the City/County and get through that process. So if a GC is involved at all, that means the job is large enough that the Subs would not pull permits or be involved in the inspection process....

Replacing a Water Heater or AC Condenser would be different...no GC involved or needed, so the Sub would be responsible for the permit and inspections.