City
Ontario
Ontario is an incorporated city in San Bernardino County with an estimated 2025 population of 187,013. 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 Ontario, 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 Ontario 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 Ontario, 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 Ontario 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
Ontario emergency tools do different jobs
ReadyOntario is for planning. AlertOntario is an opt-in city system for text or email emergency messages, while Wireless Emergency Alerts do not require signup.
Read the full explanation2025 population
187,013
Land area
49.984 sq mi
Water area
0.029 sq mi
Local front desk
Start with the task in front of you.
Ontario 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 Ontario. 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 official business licensing
Business setup, seller's permits, local licenses, and regulated work
State filings and tax accounts do not replace Ontario zoning, licensing, building, fire, or health approvals for the address.
Browse business licensing offices - Neighborhood services Open the local-office path
Potholes, streetlights, graffiti, trash, and service requests
For a city-owned street or service inside Ontario, start with the local request system. County roads, Caltrans routes, utilities, private property, and separate service providers use different doors.
- 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 Ontario.
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.
Ontario 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 Ontario
Place answer · Rules and licenses · Reviewed July 3, 2026
myOntario is a first stop for many city service issues
Ontario residents can use the myOntario app and city contact pages to report maintenance issues, service concerns, and community improvement problems with a location, photo, and short form.
Place answer · Rules and licenses · Reviewed July 4, 2026
Ontario building permits start with the permit portal
Ontario's building permit pages point residents to the permit portal for plan check status, permit status, and electronic building permit work.
Place answer · Home and property · Reviewed July 6, 2026
Ontario uses one city counter for water, sewer, and waste billing
Ontario Utilities Customer Service sets up service and handles billing for water, sewer, and integrated waste services.
Place answer · Rules and licenses · Reviewed July 4, 2026
Ontario business licenses should match the real business setup
Ontario requires a business license before doing business in the city, and a new application is needed when the business changes location or ownership.
Place answer · History and culture · Reviewed July 3, 2026
Ontario has a local history room for the Model Colony story
Ontario's Model Colony History Room keeps books, maps, photos, yearbooks, directories, oral histories, and local records tied to Ontario and western San Bernardino County.
Place answer · History and culture · Reviewed July 3, 2026
Ontario's museum lives in the old City Hall
Ontario Museum of History and Art is housed in the city's former City Hall, a WPA-funded landmark on Euclid Avenue.
Stories & Notes
Stories and local context in San Bernardino County
Place story · History and culture
Ontario Motor Speedway Park keeps a race-track name in the neighborhood
Ontario Motor Speedway Park is a neighborhood park named for the former Ontario Motor Speedway, which closed after the 1980 race season.
Place story · History and culture
Graber Olive House keeps Ontario's farm roots close
Graber Olive House began from an early Ontario Model Colony farm lot, grew into a long-running olive business, and still helps the city remember its agricultural side.
Place story · History and culture
Ontario once had a mule car that coasted downhill
Ontario's early Euclid Avenue line used mules to pull riders uphill, then let the mules ride a trailer back down while gravity did the easy part.
Place story · Outdoors
Cucamonga-Guasti gives Ontario a lake-and-picnic park
Cucamonga-Guasti Regional Park is a 150-acre urban park in Ontario with two fishing lakes, picnic shelters, splash-pad space, and event areas.
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
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.
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.