Registering for a Citizen Access Account

1. Access County of Monterey Citizen Access
2. Click the link for New Users: Create An Account ”

TIP: We recommend businesses use a shared email account, for example: info@business.com to set up their ACA account. This will ensure continuity in the event of staff turnover. Individual staff members can be added to the account as contacts after the business account is created.

3. During the registration process, you will be prompted to: 

• Accept a General Disclaimer
• Choose User Name, password, and security question
• Enter Email/Name/Address/Phone to add a reference contact the County’s permitting database

After adding the required contact information, click the “Continue” button. At this point, a search will be conducted for any matching email addresses in the County’s permitting database. If a match is found, all the contact information associated with that email address will be used.

You will be unable to edit this information at this step.

You must check the box stating, “I have read, understand, and agree to the Terms of Service” and then click the “Confirm” button to create the account.

Once an ACA account is created, you can edit contact information by logging in to your account and clicking on the “My Account” link on the home page and then using the “Actions” drop-down next to the contact you wish to edit. 

Permits cannot be issued if there are any open code enforcement cases or expired permits on the property in question.

You can research this information on your own by following the instructions in the tab below: “How to Search for Expired Permits and Open Code Cases”.

No New Permits Can Be Issued On The Property Until These Issues Are Resolved.

Before submitting an online permit application, you will need to address any open code compliance cases or expired permits that exist on the property. NO NEW PERMITS WILL BE ISSUED UNTIL THESE ISSUES ARE RESOLVED.

The following explains the procedure for determining the existence of open code cases or expired permits on the parcel record of the property for which you wish to submit the application:

1. Go to the ACA home page: https://aca.accela.com/monterey.
2. Enter the Assessor Parcel Number (APN) of the property in the search box located in the upper right-hand corner of the page. Click enter. This will display a list of files for the property.

   

3. Review the status column of the list for any construction permits in “Expired” status. The format for construction permit file numbers is either CPyy#### or yyCP##### (e.g. CP101234 or 17CP01234). (Older permits for Grading or Building would have started with GP or BP).
4. Review the list for any open code compliance cases (format CE101234 or 17CE01234). An “open” case is one with any status other than “Closed”.
5. Please call 831-755-5025 to learn how to resolve expired permits or open code cases.

Example of Expired Permits:

Example of Open Code Case:

To access environmental document comments related to a project, please follow these steps:

1. Go to the Quick Link "Citizen Access - Look up Permits On-line"

2. If you would like to create a “Citizen Access Account” go to Registering for a Citizen Access Account | County of Monterey, CA and see how to register and create an account.

3. On the Accela landing page, enter the REFXXXXXX number into the Quick Search bar (in the below example, REF130043). Then click the green magnifying glass to search.

4. If there are multiple records, click on the record that matches the REFXXXXX number you entered into the Quick Search bar (in the example below, REF120051). 

 5. On the Referral page, click “Record Info,” and in the “Record Info” drop-down menu, select “Attachments.” 

6. You can move to different attachment pages by clicking “Prev” or “Next”. 

7. Click on Attachments and select/view documents (Environmental Documents Comments are titled "COMMENTS_DEIR_REFXXXXXX_REFXXXXXX_MMDDYY.pdf" or "COMMENTS_NOP_REFXXXXXX_REFXXXXXX_MMDDYY.pdf" or "COMMENTS_NOP_REFXXXXXX_MMDDYY.pdf" or "REIR_PLNXXXXXX" or "COMMENTS_RDEIR_REFXXXXXX_MMDDYY.pdf").

If you are registering as a Contractor, you will want to link your contractor’s license to your CCitizen Access account.

1. After logging in to your account, click the “My Account” link at the top of your home screen.
2. Click “Add a License” in the License Information sections.
3. Select “Contractor” as the License Type and enter your Contractor’s license number. Click “Find License”.

If your license is not found, that means it is either not in the County’s contractor database or is showing as expired the database.

To add or reinstate the license, please email your license #, Citizen Access user ID, and name to: hcdpermits@countyofmonterey.gov

     4. Once the license is found, click “Connect” to add the license to your public user account.

     5. Once HCD staff has verified that your license is valid and up to date, your license will be activated. You will receive an email when the activation occurs.

As a license holder, you may appoint an agent (such as a permit expediter or processor) to act on your behalf. To add an agent please email an authorization letter to hcdpermits@countyofmonterey.gov.

An example authorization letter is provided below. You also have the option of providing this documentation in person at the Permit Center, should you prefer.

Sample Authorization Letter to Authorize use of Contractor’s license:

To Whom It May Concern:

I, the undersigned licensed contractor, authorize my employee, named below, to act on my behalf on the performance of the actions listed below:

Employee name: [Jane Smith] Employee

Title: [Permit Specialist]

Approved Actions: Act on my behalf on any and all matters and dealing (signing plans, picking up/dropping off applications and permits, paying for necessary documents, etc.) within the State of California.

X [Signature of License Holder]______________________________________ [date of signature] ______________________________________

PRINT LICENSE HOLDER NAME

Contractors State License #: [123456], Class: [TYPE] 

If you have any questions or problems with setting up your account, please contact Karen Riley-Olms at 831-755-5132 or rileyka@countyofmonterey.gov