What does “Fees Due” mean on a building permit?

Your permit fees have been calculated and invoiced, but the payment has not been received yet. At LADBS, 'Fees Due' means plan check fees are calculated but unpaid and the application cannot proceed until they are. On Accela portals (e.g. South Pasadena's 'Pending Pay Fees Due' / 'Fees Invoiced Pay Fees Due'), the city has acknowledged the application and is waiting for payment before review begins.

What should you do when a permit shows “Fees Due”?

Log in to the portal and pay the invoiced fees. Until the fees are paid the application sits idle, so this is one of the fastest stalls to clear yourself. At LADBS, paying plan check fees moves the application into the review queue (the '18-month clock' starts at 'Submitted', once fees are paid). After payment the status typically advances to 'Fees Paid' / 'Submitted' and then into review.