Building Characteristics and Land Use Codes are determined by the Sacramento County Assessor’s Office and are for assessment purposes only. “Public Records” or “County Records” on websites other than Parcel Viewer may not accurately reflect what is in the Assessor’s System, nor be consistent with how the data was intended to be used by the Assessor’s Office. Also refer to a separate document on Property Building Characteristics entitled “Data Field Descriptions”.
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) - Land Use Code Variability
Land use codes are comprised of six (6) characters. Until 2023 there was not a unique land use code for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s) on residential parcels. Now the 4th and 5th characters are being used to denote the number of ADU’s (4th) and the secondary use (5th) as being a residential dwelling.
Some examples:
- Primary residence plus 1 ADU = A1A1AA
- Primary residence plus 2 ADU’s = A1A2AA
- Duplex plus 1 ADU = A2B1AA (The “2B” denotes “Duplex”)
Note: Do not confuse A2A with A2B; the latter denotes a Duplex; 3rd character of “A” vs. “B”. More information on land use codes see Assessor’s Parcel Viewer and Parcel Maps.
Current laws and industry standards help us define what is an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) today. As one can imagine, the building characteristics of individual properties can vary substantially from one another. What was a Secondary Residence, Guest House, or Studio in our records historically, may or may not be considered an ADU today depending on size (living area), location on site, orientation to primary dwelling, has a kitchen or full bath, and/or ingress/egress.
Please be advised that an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) differs from a Junior ADU. A Junior ADU (JADU) is typically within the building envelope of a residence, lacks a full kitchen and/or bath or exterior ingress/egress. There is no unique land use code indicating a JADU.
The new land use code and related building information enhancements for ADU’s were slowly implemented, with audits completed in fall 2024. The Assessor’s staff has made every effort to update records on the thousands of properties with secondary dwelling units that may qualify as ADU’s pursuant to current laws and industry standards.
The result is that some are not identified as a Secondary Residence or Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). If the dwelling lacks a full functioning kitchen, full bath and/or exterior ingress/egress it will not be captured separately by our published characteristics.
Inquires about characteristics and land use codes should be directed to the Assessor’s Office by calling 916-875-0700 or emailing assessor@saccounty.gov. Comments can also be submitted via the Parcel Viewer tool by selecting the email icon in the upper right-hand corner.
Last Revised 10/24/2024