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California · Permit Data

San Francisco Building Permits

Data updated October 30, 2026. Newest permit in the feed: October 29, 2026. Source: DataSF: Building Permits.

By the Home Permit Guide Editorial Team 3 official sources

Reviewed by Ken Pergeson, Permit Expediter & Code Compliance Consultant, Ventura County, CA ·

How to Look Up a Permit
Issued in October 2026 to date
1,233
Issued in the last 30 days
1,303
Median days, filing to issue
4

These figures cover every permit in DataSF: Building Permits, not only home projects. The last 30 days run from September 30, 2026 to October 29, 2026. That is 31% below the average of 1,876 permits a month over the previous 12 full months.

Top Permit Types in the Last 30 Days

Permit typePermitsShare
OTC Alterations Permit1,20893%
Additions, Alterations or Repairs786%
Demolitions20%
Sign: Erect20%
Grade, Quarry, Fill or Excavate10%

San Francisco is an over-the-counter city for small work. Of the 1,303 permits issued in the 30 days to October 29, 2026, 1,208 were OTC alterations permits. DBI can approve these at the counter without sending plans through full review, which is why the median time from filing to issue was just 4 days. Projects that need full plan review, filed as "additions, alterations or repairs", made up 78 permits in the same period and usually take far longer.

DataSF's building permit dataset does not name contractors, so the table below has no contractor column. Each record does carry its neighborhood analysis boundary, which is how we rank areas: Financial District/South Beach (183), Sunset/Parkside (81) and Mission (76) were the busiest in the last 30 days.

12-Month Permit Trend in San Francisco

2237 Oct 1934 Nov 2037 Dec 2047 Jan 1898 Feb 1869 Mar 2103 Apr 1770 May 1961 Jun 1713 Jul 1495 Aug 1453 Sep 1233 Oct
Building permits issued per month in San Francisco. Lighter bar = current month to date.
MonthPermits issued
October 20252,237
November 20251,934
December 20252,037
January 20262,047
February 20261,898
March 20261,869
April 20262,103
May 20261,770
June 20261,961
July 20261,713
August 20261,495
September 20261,453
October 2026 (to date)1,233

Over the 12 full months, the busiest was October 2025 with 2,237 permits and the quietest was September 2026 with 1,453.

Busiest Areas in the Last 30 Days

NeighborhoodPermits
Financial District/South Beach183
Sunset/Parkside81
Mission76
West of Twin Peaks72
Outer Richmond66
Marina64
Pacific Heights61
Noe Valley49
Castro/Upper Market46
Inner Richmond41

Recent Permits

The 15 most recent permits in the feed. We show the neighborhood rather than the street address, and never owner names.

IssuedTypeNeighborhood
2026-10-29OTC Alterations PermitWest of Twin Peaks
2026-10-29OTC Alterations PermitVisitacion Valley
2026-10-29OTC Alterations PermitPacific Heights
2026-10-29OTC Alterations PermitTenderloin
2026-10-29OTC Alterations PermitTenderloin
2026-10-29OTC Alterations PermitSunset/Parkside
2026-10-29OTC Alterations PermitPotrero Hill
2026-10-29OTC Alterations PermitFinancial District/South Beach
2026-10-29OTC Alterations PermitBayview Hunters Point
2026-10-29OTC Alterations PermitFinancial District/South Beach
2026-10-29OTC Alterations PermitPresidio Heights
2026-10-29OTC Alterations PermitGlen Park
2026-10-29OTC Alterations PermitFinancial District/South Beach
2026-10-29OTC Alterations PermitChinatown
2026-10-29OTC Alterations PermitMarina

How to Look Up a Building Permit in San Francisco

  1. San Francisco DBI Permit/Complaint Tracking System: Search by Address: Open the Department of Building Inspection (DBI) Permit/Complaint Tracking System.
  2. Search by street number and street name. The suffix and unit are optional, and DBI suggests leaving the suffix off if the address is not found.
  3. If the address still does not appear, search by block and lot instead. DBI notes that addresses or lots that were split, merged or discontinued must be researched in person.
  4. Choose the matching address to see its building, electrical, plumbing and boiler permits, plus any complaints.
  5. Open a permit number to see its status, its description and the inspection history. DBI says its online records go back to the 1980s.

For what a record's fields mean, see How to Read a Building Permit Record. For lookups in other cities, see How to Look Up Building Permits for a House.

San Francisco Project Permit Pages

Rules for specific home projects in San Francisco, each checked against official city sources:

Frequently Asked Questions

How many building permits does San Francisco issue?

San Francisco issued 1,303 permits in the 30 days to October 29, 2026, and an average of 1,876 a month over the 12 full months before October 2026, according to DataSF: Building Permits.

How long does it take to get a building permit in San Francisco?

For permits issued in the 30 days to October 29, 2026, the median time from filing to issue was 4 days. Simple permits are often issued much faster than projects that need full plan review.

How do I look up a building permit in San Francisco?

Use the San Francisco DBI Permit/Complaint Tracking System: Search by Address. Search by street number and street name. The suffix and unit are optional, and DBI suggests leaving the suffix off if the address is not found.

What is the most common permit type in San Francisco?

OTC Alterations Permit, with 1,208 of the 1,303 permits issued in the 30 days to October 29, 2026.

Back to San Francisco Building Permits for Home Projects.

Sources

Official sources checked on . Rules change; confirm with the department before you start work.

  1. San Francisco DBI Permit/Complaint Tracking System: Search by Address (linked above) (dbiweb02.sfgov.org)
  2. SF.gov: Permitting (sf.gov)
  3. DataSF: Building Permits (data.sf.gov)

Statistics computed by Home Permit Guide from DataSF: Building Permits, fetched October 30, 2026.