Pacifica is serviced by a variety of city departments and divisions that do everything from providing public safety and recreation to implementing public works projects and facilitating the building construction process within the city limits. While city departments in large part drive the day-to-day operations of local government, they also provide a variety of direct, citizen-oriented services.

Each department maintains a section within the city's website that provides both background information as well as details about ongoing programs and how the public can interface with the various components of Pacifica's government.