How to File the Kern County Code Compliance Complaint Form

To file a Kern County code compliance complaint, email your name, address, phone number, the location of the violation, and a written description of the problem to codecompliance@kerncounty.com. You can also call the Code Compliance division at (661) 862-8603 Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or bring a completed complaint form to the Public Services Building in Bakersfield.¹ Anonymous complaints are not accepted, and the county only handles properties in the unincorporated parts of Kern County.

What Kern County Will Investigate

Code Compliance handles conditions on private property that threaten public health or safety in unincorporated areas. Six categories cover most complaints:¹

Abandoned, wrecked, or inoperative vehicles on private property.
Building and housing problems, including unpermitted construction and structures in disrepair.
Overgrown weeds and other hazardous vegetation, regulated under Chapter 8.46 of the county code.²
Public nuisances such as accumulated junk, rubbish, discarded appliances, or debris.
Solid waste stored or disposed of improperly.
Unlawful dumping of waste, construction debris, or hazardous materials.

If the property sits inside a city like Bakersfield, Ridgecrest, or Tehachapi, that city’s own code enforcement office is the right place to file. Kern County Code Compliance will not act on complaints inside incorporated city limits.

What to Include in Your Complaint

The county’s Accela complaint portal lists the details every complaint must contain:³

Your full name. The county does not investigate anonymous reports.
Your home address, not the address you’re reporting.
Your phone number, so an officer can follow up.
The complaint location: street address or Assessor’s Parcel Number of the property with the violation. If you don’t have an exact address, list cross streets and any landmarks.
A written description of the conditions you’ve observed.

Your contact information is kept confidential to the extent the law allows, but the county needs it on file. Without it, the complaint will not be processed.³

Write a Specific Description

The description field decides how usable your complaint is. “Messy yard” gives the officer nothing. Describe what you actually see: “three dismantled vehicles with missing tires and engines visible from the street,” or “construction debris and mattresses piled along the west property line.” Note roughly how long the condition has existed if you know, and say whether it appears to be getting worse. If there’s an immediate hazard such as exposed wiring, raw sewage, or a collapsing structure, say so plainly, because safety threats can move the case up the queue. Photos attached to your email make a stronger case than words alone.

How to Submit the Complaint

Email is the primary channel. Send your complaint, with all of the required information in the body, to codecompliance@kerncounty.com. The Accela portal directs complainants to that same address.³

You can also download the Code Complaint Form from the Kern County Public Works website and either email the completed form or hand it in at the Code Compliance office.¹ The office is at:

Public Services Building
2700 “M” Street, Suite 570
Bakersfield, CA 93301-2370

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. To speak with someone directly, call (661) 862-8603 during those hours.¹

What Happens After You File

Once your complaint is received, a Code Compliance Officer is assigned to the case and performs an initial inspection, usually from the public right-of-way. If the officer confirms the violation, the property owner is issued a written notice and given 14 days to correct the problem.⁴

That 14-day window is the county’s first push for voluntary compliance. Its stated goal is to minimize legal action by giving owners a reasonable chance to fix the issue themselves.¹ If the owner corrects the violation in that time, the case is typically closed. If the officer finds no violation on inspection, you may be told the case was closed without action.

Investigations can run several weeks depending on caseload and complexity. The assigned officer stays on the case until the property comes into compliance or the matter escalates.

If the Owner Ignores the Notice

When a property owner does not act, the county begins imposing administrative penalties. The fines escalate with repeated violations:⁴

First violation: $250.
Second violation: up to $500.
Each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year: up to $1,000.

Weed and hazardous-growth violations carry their own scale: up to $500 for a first offense and up to $1,000 for each additional violation within a year. If the owner fails to correct the problem within 15 days after the citation is served, the penalty becomes due immediately.²

If the owner still refuses to act, the county can abate the nuisance itself, whether that means clearing weeds, hauling off junk, or demolishing an unsafe structure, and then bill the owner for the cost. When that bill goes unpaid for 45 days, the county may file an action in small claims court or direct the Auditor-Controller to place the abatement cost on the property’s tax roll as a special assessment. Unpaid amounts accrue interest at the maximum rate allowed by law, and the debt can be referred to a collection agency.² Kern County can also withhold building permits and other entitlements on any property that has outstanding code violation penalties.⁵

Can You File Anonymously

No. Kern County will not investigate a report without a named complainant, and the online portal requires your name, home address, and phone number before the complaint moves forward.³ Your details are kept confidential to the extent the law allows, but leaving them out means the complaint will not be processed. If you’d rather not put your information in writing, calling (661) 862-8603 to speak with staff is the alternative, though you’ll still be asked to identify yourself for the file.

1
Kern County, CA – Public Works. Code Compliance
2
Municode Library. Kern County Code of Ordinances – Chapter 8.46 Weeds and Other Hazardous Growths
3
Accela Citizen Access. Kern County Code Compliance Complaint Form
4
Kern County Grand Jury. Kern County Public Works Code Compliance – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
5
Municode Library. Kern County Code of Ordinances – Chapter 8.54 Administrative Penalty