How Long Does a Building Permit Take? Real Timelines from 10 Cities

What "How Long" Actually Measures

A permit timeline has several stages, and people often mean different ones when they ask how long a permit takes:

1. Intake: the application is accepted as complete. Missing documents restart the clock.
2. Review: staff check zoning and, for larger jobs, the construction documents described in IRC R106.
3. Corrections: the applicant answers review comments. This is often the longest step and is largely in your control.
4. Issue: fees are paid and the permit is released.
5. Inspections and final: the work is built and signed off, which we cover in Building Permit Inspections: What Inspectors Check and When.

The figures in our table measure stage 1 to stage 4: the date the city recorded the application to the date it issued the permit.

Median Days to Issue by City and Project

Median days from application to issue for permits issued in the last 12 months, calculated from each city's open-data records (data refreshed October 30, 2026). "n/p" means the city's data does not publish usable application dates or we do not track that project there.

A low median usually reflects a no-plans or express path for that work; a high one often reflects plan review or zoning steps. The city pages linked from Permit Rules by Project Type show the full permit counts behind each figure.

Why Some Permits Are Same-Day

Many cities run a fast track for routine work that needs no drawings. Chicago Express Permit Program Explained covers roof, HVAC, solar and porch repairs; LADBS Express Permits for Re-Roofs and A/C Replacement covers re-roofs and same-size A/C replacement without plan check; and Philadelphia EZ Permits: Home Projects That Need No Plans covers common repairs. Austin issues HVAC replacements as a Residential Change-Out permit pulled by a licensed contractor. For rooftop solar, some jurisdictions use SolarAPP+, an automated permitting platform from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory that checks standard residential systems instantly.

In all of these, the city has decided in advance what a code-compliant job looks like, so it can issue the permit without a reviewer studying plans.

Why Others Take Weeks or Months

Projects that change structure, add floor area, add a dwelling unit or sit in a special district need plan review. Seattle's ADU page gives a useful benchmark: using pre-approved detached ADU plans, permits are issued "in most cases" in 2–6 weeks. Custom plans take longer because each one is reviewed from scratch.

Other common causes of delay:

• Incomplete applications, missing site plans or unsigned forms.
• Zoning questions such as setbacks, height or lot coverage.
• Historic-district, floodplain or right-of-way approvals that run in parallel.
• Seasonal volume. Our city pages show permit counts by month; spring and summer peaks are common for roofs and decks.
• Slow responses to correction comments.

Official Processing Targets

Few cities publish service-level targets in plain language. Philadelphia's Start Right guide does: applications that need no plans are processed the same day in person or within 5 business days online, while other applications are processed within 20 business days. Philadelphia also says permits must be picked up within 60 days of approval. Where a city publishes nothing, the median from its own records, as in our table, is the best evidence available.

How to Get Your Permit Faster

• Check eligibility for a fast-track program before designing the job. Sometimes a small change, such as keeping a deck under 30 inches, changes the path.
• Submit a complete package. Use the city's checklist; Orlando, for example, publishes permitting checklists by permit type.
• Let the contractor apply when a license is required; they know the system. See Hiring a Licensed Contractor: Permit Rules That Depend on Licensing.
• Answer corrections quickly and completely.
• Book coaching. Seattle offers free 20-minute permit coaching sessions.

Plan the Whole Timeline

After issue, the clock keeps running. Under IRC R105.5 a permit becomes invalid if work does not start within 180 days or is suspended or abandoned for 180 days, and cities set their own versions (see How Long Is a Building Permit Good For? Permit Expiration Rules). Build inspections into your contractor's schedule, and do not let the crew close up walls before the rough inspection.

Building Departments in the Cities We Cover

Rules in this guide vary by jurisdiction. These are the official departments that issue residential permits in the ten cities we track, with the city's open-data source for permit records. Each city page shows the rules for roofing, HVAC, solar, fence and deck work.

Before relying on any rule, read the department's current page or call its permit desk. Model-code sections cited here (such as IRC R105) are adopted locally, often with amendments.

Frequently Asked Questions