City
San Bernardino
San Bernardino is an incorporated city in San Bernardino County with an estimated 2025 population of 222,044. It handles many rules and services inside its limits. The county still handles property records, taxes, courts, elections, public health, and many household programs.
Starting point
Confirm the address is inside local limits first.
If the address is inside San Bernardino, city or town offices may handle local permits, code, and services. If it is outside limits, county routing may be the better first stop.
What changes the answer: A mailing city is not always the same as city government jurisdiction.
How local government works here
The city line changes some rules, but not every public office.
The mailing address can say San Bernardino even when the property sits outside local limits. Check the city line before relying on a local rule or permit page.
City limits choose the local counter
Inside San Bernardino, the city usually handles permits, zoning, parking, business licenses, and local code. Outside the city line, start with county planning or building.
The county still handles county work
San Bernardino County handles property value and tax bills. It also handles deeds, court, elections, health, and many aid programs. Living inside San Bernardino does not move those jobs to the city.
A provider can have its own boundary
Water, sewer, fire, schools, transit, trash, and power may belong to a special district or other provider. Use the address, parcel, or service bill to find the right agency.
Place answer
San Bernardino County records start with recorder or clerk
San Bernardino County record errands are easier when you split official recorded documents, vital records, marriage services, fictitious business names, notary filings, and other clerk work before you start.
Read the full explanation2025 population
222,044
Land area
62.141 sq mi
Water area
0.329 sq mi
Local front desk
Start with the task in front of you.
San Bernardino is incorporated. Start with the city for work inside its limits, while San Bernardino County still handles property records, taxes, courts, elections, many benefits, and county alerts. San Bernardino County is the public-health layer.
- Property Open the property-tax path
Assessed value, exemptions, tax bills, and appeals
San Bernardino County assessor handles value and exemptions. The clerk of the board handles a formal value appeal. The tax collector handles the bill, payment, and penalties.
- Records Open the records path
Deeds, birth and death records, marriage records, and name changes
San Bernardino County recorder is the usual deed and public-record door. Vital-record access depends on the record and year. A legal name change or divorce decree can involve Superior Court.
- Property work Open official city planning
Building permits, ADUs, zoning, code, water, and septic
Start with the city planning or building office for an address inside San Bernardino. Start with the county for an address outside local limits.
Browse planning and building offices - Housing Open the housing path
Rent rules, repairs, notices, and eviction papers
Start with a local rent, housing, or code office if one serves the address. Court papers go to the Superior Court self-help path, and the deadline on the papers keeps running.
- Household help Open the benefits path
CalFresh, Medi-Cal, CalWORKs, General Assistance, and IHSS
San Bernardino County social-services agency is the main local door. Coverage, food, cash aid, and in-home support remain separate programs with separate notices.
- Public health Open the health path
Vaccines, disease reporting, health records, and local health programs
San Bernardino County public health is the local health jurisdiction. Health coverage and benefits still use separate program doors.
- Business Open the business path
Business setup, seller's permits, local licenses, and regulated work
State filings and tax accounts do not replace San Bernardino zoning, licensing, building, fire, or health approvals for the address.
- Neighborhood services Open official service requests
Potholes, streetlights, graffiti, trash, and service requests
For a city-owned street or service inside San Bernardino, start with the local request system. County roads, Caltrans routes, utilities, private property, and separate service providers use different doors.
Browse city service-request systems - School and care Open the school and care path
School enrollment, student records, and child-care checks
The school district handles assignment and records. County offices can help with some family services, while the state licenses child-care facilities.
- Parking Open the parking path
Residential, guest, overnight, and local parking permits
A local parking permit is separate from a citation, moving ticket, and toll notice. Match the permit to the address, vehicle, district, or parking facility.
- Tickets Open the ticket path
Traffic court, parking citations, and toll notices
San Bernardino County Superior Court handles traffic court matters. A city or issuing agency handles parking. The toll operator handles toll notices.
- Safety Open the emergency path
Emergency alerts, evacuations, smoke, roads, and power
Use the county or city alert system for local warnings. Follow the local emergency office for evacuation wording, then use the state fire, smoke, road, and utility sources for the matching layer.
Official city doors
Start local when the address is inside San Bernardino.
The official website is always here. Direct service links appear only when the California Porch source trail supports them; an unlisted service has not been guessed.
County handoff
Keep the county layer close.
San Bernardino does not replace the county for records, property taxes, courts, elections, benefits, public health, or county alerts. The official doors stay together below.
San Bernardino County
Practical notes
Office, map, permit, and paperwork notes for San Bernardino
Place answer · Money and taxes · Reviewed July 3, 2026
San Bernardino County tax questions split between value and payment
San Bernardino County property tax questions usually go to the Assessor-Recorder-Clerk for property information or the Tax Collector for bills and payments.
Place answer · Rules and licenses · Reviewed July 3, 2026
A San Bernardino County DBA starts with the Recorder-Clerk
San Bernardino County fictitious business name filings start with the Recorder-Clerk, separate from city business licenses and state tax accounts.
Place answer · Rules and licenses · Reviewed July 3, 2026
Go SBCity helps San Bernardino route everyday city requests
San Bernardino residents can use Go SBCity, SB Access Online, or SB Direct to report many non-emergency city issues, ask questions, and get service requests routed.
Place answer · Home and property · Reviewed July 14, 2026
San Bernardino alerts use county TENS and city backup channels
County TENS sends targeted disaster messages, while San Bernardino's emergency page adds the SB Ready app and AM 1610 as other information paths.
Place answer · Home and property · Reviewed July 6, 2026
San Bernardino water and trash use two different counters
San Bernardino Municipal Water Department handles water customer service, while Burrtec handles refuse collection and street sweeping through the city's solid waste contract.
Place answer · Home and property · Reviewed July 7, 2026
San Bernardino building questions split permits and inspections
San Bernardino Building and Safety handles building permits, plan check, permit status, inspection status, and inspection scheduling through SB Direct.
Stories & Notes
Stories and local context in San Bernardino County
Place story · History and culture
The California Theatre keeps San Bernardino's movie-palace layer
San Bernardino's California Theatre is a 1928 downtown landmark, with movie-palace roots, live performances, and a long civic role.
Place story · History and culture
San Bernardino helped turn a drive-in into a fast-food model
San Bernardino is where the McDonald brothers opened their early restaurant and later refined the Speedee Service System that shaped modern fast food.
Place story · History and culture
San Bernardino's Wigwam Village keeps Route 66 playful
Wigwam Village No. 7 in San Bernardino is a Route 66 motel landmark, with cone-shaped rooms, roadside design, National Register status, and a vivid travel-era look.
Place story · History and culture
Santa Fe Depot shows San Bernardino's rail city side
San Bernardino's Santa Fe Depot gives the city a clear railroad landmark, a museum stop, and a reminder that its location has long mattered for movement.
Place story · Outdoors
The mountains give San Bernardino an outdoor layer right above town
San Bernardino National Forest sits close to the Inland Empire, with hiking, scenic drives, picnic areas, winter sports, and mountain conditions to check ahead of time.
Countywide story · History and culture
The Integratron keeps Landers wonderfully hard to explain
The Integratron in Landers is a wooden desert dome tied to George Van Tassel, UFO-era ideas, unusual acoustics, restoration work, and sound-bath visits.
Countywide story · Outdoors
Mojave National Preserve is the big desert trip in San Bernardino County
Mojave is a remote preserve with desert habitats, long human history, and road conditions that visitors should check before they go.
County place story · History and culture
Roy Rogers left Apple Valley with a Happy Trails layer
Apple Valley's Roy Rogers story ties the high desert to the Apple Valley Inn, a family home, the first Roy Rogers Museum, and a lasting local cowboy-memory thread.