New, used & refurbished containers for sale in San Francisco
San Francisco Bay Area companies—from tech startups needing secure on-site storage to biotech labs requiring temperature-controlled reefer containers—trust Shipping Container Depot for reliable, fast-delivery container solutions.
Since 2010, we’ve served the San Francisco Peninsula, Silicon Valley, and East Bay with new, used, and refurbished ISO-standard containers. Whether you’re in SoMa, San Jose, Oakland, or Fremont, we deliver 20ft, 40ft, and custom-modified containers—meeting Bay Area zoning requirements and permitting standards.
Our Bay Area experience includes coordination with city planning departments, Port of Oakland logistics, and tech campus expansion teams. We understand San Francisco’s strict building codes, East Bay industrial zones, and Silicon Valley’s rapid growth demands. Same-day quotes available; delivery typically 3-5 days depending on location.
Watertight roof, hole-free floors, sealing doors — inspected before dispatch.
Our drivers, our tilt-bed trucks, the Bay Area in 3-5 days.
What San Francisco customers say
Real reviews from our Google Business Profile & Facebook. Read our Google reviews →
On the way back from picking up parts we finally stopped by since we drive past it a lot. Solid spot — the guy working was super helpful and got us in and out quick with the container we needed. Prices seemed fair compared to what everyone else charges online.
A Google UserWorked over a weekend to get us a modified shipping container ahead of schedule at a reasonable price. This company is the best!
Byron Young
Container sizes for sale in San Francisco
Every unit available one trip / new or used. Real external dimensions shown.
Compact, easy to place, ideal for tight lots and tool storage.
9’10” L × 8’0″ W × 8’6″ HOne trip / new · UsedView details
Same small footprint, a foot more headroom inside.
9’10” L × 8’0″ W × 9’6″ HOne trip / new · UsedView details
The workhorse — the most-ordered size for storage and job sites.
20’0″ L × 8’0″ W × 8’6″ HOne trip / new · UsedView details
Extra interior height on the most popular footprint.
20’0″ L × 8’0″ W × 9’6″ HOne trip / new · UsedView details
Double the length, same footprint width — maximum storage per dollar.
40’0″ L × 8’0″ W × 8’6″ HOne trip / new · UsedView details
A foot taller inside — the go-to for container homes and offices.
40’0″ L × 8’0″ W × 9’6″ HOne trip / new · UsedView details
The longest standard box — most volume in a single unit.
45’0″ L × 8’0″ W × 9’6″ HOne trip / new · UsedView details
Reefers, open-side, open-top and other specialty units — tell us what the job needs.
Refrigerated · open-side · open-topOne trip / new · UsedView detailsNot sure which size?
Tell us the job and we’ll recommend the right container and condition — no pressure, no obligation.
Where you can put a container in San Francisco
San Francisco is the one city on our list where the rules for the street are far clearer than the rules for your own property. The city runs a dedicated permit programme for containers in the public right-of-way under Public Works Code Article 15, Sec. 726 and DPW Order No. 182912.
| Rule | What the city requires |
|---|---|
| Container on the street | Permit required. No location permit exceeds 7 days |
| Placement | Outer edge no more than 8 feet from the face of the curb, parallel to the curb |
| Pedestrian clearance | Minimum 4 feet on sidewalks, 6 feet in commercial areas |
| Delivery hours | No delivery, placement or removal in a residential area between 7:00 pm and 6:00 am |
| Prohibited spots | Tow-away zones, accessible curb ramps, bus stops, blue zones, fire hydrants |
| Signage | Two signs showing the permit holder, a 24-hour contact name and phone, and permit duration |
| Who can hold the permit | Registered mobile storage container companies only — not members of the public. $500 annual company permit, $25,000 bond, $1m liability insurance |
| On private property | San Francisco publishes no container-specific zoning rule that we could verify. Your zoning district and any specific plan govern |
The practical consequence: a container standing in a San Francisco street is a seven-day proposition arranged through a permitted company, not something you park and leave. On private property the answer depends entirely on your parcel, and the honest answer is that the city has not written it down.
We will not tell you San Francisco allows or forbids a container on your lot, because the city has not said. Call SF Planning with your address before you commit. Public Works can be reached on (628) 271-2000 for the street side. If your site is in the East Bay or the Peninsula instead, the rules are usually clearer — ask us and we will point you at the right department.
Container delivery in San Francisco
San Francisco is the hardest delivery city in California, and the reasons are the obvious ones: hills, width, and the fact that almost nothing has a driveway.
- Grade — a tilt-bed places a container by sliding it off a raised bed. On a San Francisco hill that is not a controlled placement. Most city deliveries here are crane or side-loader work, and we will say so up front.
- Street width and parked cars — a 40ft container on a trailer needs a straight run most residential blocks here cannot offer. Twenty-foot containers succeed dramatically more often.
- Muni overhead wires — the trolleybus network runs live overhead lines across large parts of the city. That is a hard stop for a lifted container, not a tight squeeze.
- Bayview, Hunters Point and the Port piers — flat, industrial, wide. If you have a choice of sites, these are the ones that work.
- Seven-day street limit — if it is going in the roadway rather than on your lot, plan the whole job inside a week.
You need roughly 60 feet of straight clear run for a 20ft and 100–120 feet for a 40ft, plus 14 feet of overhead clearance the whole way in. Our full container delivery guide covers site prep, the three ways a container comes off a truck, and the eight things that most often go wrong on the day.
Send photos from the street looking in, and tell us the grade. In San Francisco we would far rather redesign the delivery on the phone than send a truck that cannot safely place the container.
Container solutions for San Francisco
Secure tool and material storage from SoMa high-rises to Peninsula tech campuses — dropped right where the crew works.
High-cube boxes built out as backyard studios and accessory dwelling units for the Bay Area’s tight housing market.
Retail pop-ups, event bars, and turnkey site offices — modified, delivered, and ready to open.
Temperature-controlled units for restaurants, growers, and biotech that need reliable cold on site.
San Francisco container questions, answered
+How can I buy a shipping container in San Francisco, California?
+What is the typical delivery time to San Francisco?
+Do you deliver to the Peninsula, Silicon Valley and the East Bay?
+Can you deliver a 40ft container on a narrow San Francisco street?
+How much are shipping containers in San Francisco?
+Do I need a permit to place a shipping container in San Francisco?
+Do you offer refrigerated (reefer) containers for Bay Area labs and food businesses?
+Can I build a container home or ADU in San Francisco?
We also deliver to: Oakland, Fremont and Stockton. We also serve buyers across the rest of the state — see every city on our shipping containers for sale in California page.
Ready to get your container in San Francisco?
Get a free quote today — priced by us, delivered by us, on our own fleet.
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