Permit GraphShortlistSan Francisco building permits since 2000

How long do kitchen remodel permits take in San Francisco's Financial District/South Beach neighborhood?

In the Financial District/South Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, of the 152 kitchen remodel permits filed from October 2025 through September 2026 that have been issued, half were issued within 0 days, the same as a year earlier. Of the 221 permits filed from October 2023 through September 2024 that have reached final sign-off, half did so within 77 days of being issued, up from 44 days the year before.

From the city’s permit records, by the quarter each permit was filed. Data as of 8 October 2026. How to cite this · How this is calculated

How long until a permit is issued, and until final sign-off?

How long kitchen remodel permits take in San Francisco'sFinancial District/South Beach neighborhoodMedian days from filing to permit issuedMedian days from issue to final sign-offToo recent to judge01002003004005002017201820192020202120222023202420252026DaysSource: San Francisco Department of Building Inspection permit data via DataSF, analysis by Permit Graph(permitgraph.org), CC BY 4.0.permitgraph.org/neighborhoods/financial-district-south-beach/kitchen · Data as of 8 October 2026By the quarter the permit was filed. A median counts only permits that finished the stage, so recent quarterslook faster than they will end up. Gaps: fewer than 5 permits.

This chart as an image (SVG), with its title, source and date, free to embed under CC BY 4.0.

At a glance

StagePermits filedPermits countedMedian daysCounted a year earlierMedian a year earlier
Filed to permit issuedOctober 2025 through September 2026152 issued0179 issued0
Permit issued to final sign-offOctober 2023 through September 2024221 finished77187 finished44

“Counted” is the permits the median was taken over: those filed in the window that have been issued, or that have reached final sign-off. The first stage covers the last four complete quarters, since most permits are issued within the year. The second covers the last four quarters that ended two or more years ago, so that most of their permits have had time to finish. Citywide, the median was 0 days to issue and 176 days from issue to final over the same quarters.

Every quarter since 2000

Quarter filedFiledIssuedMedian days to issueSlowest 10%Reached finalMedian days issue to finalSlowest 10%Never finaledSettled
2026-Q44100too recent
2026-Q34436061533490too recent
2026-Q241391502848700too recent
2026-Q14141073574990too recent
2025-Q4383605026781280too recent
2025-Q3504904344541950too recent
2025-Q236350133761550too recent
2025-Q146460742541590too recent
2024-Q4504902343882490too recent
2024-Q343420638763210yes
2024-Q210410407782365450yes
2024-Q157540350725040yes
2023-Q460570855731590yes
2023-Q3626101456442165yes
2023-Q2646405260391523yes
2023-Q13937020311094626yes
2022-Q4474203540623224yes
2022-Q3595609254753064yes
2022-Q2585501749724226yes
2022-Q1565301149681666yes
2021-Q4474501542593634yes
2021-Q3706901162433457yes
2021-Q29494022824937812yes
2021-Q1595906851471756yes
2020-Q4939108626224029yes
2020-Q3145137134834823257yes
2020-Q21091412271573342yes
2020-Q1212010229172506573yes
2019-Q419189100142948673yes
2019-Q3433841592626874213yes
2019-Q23535392304998295yes
2019-Q12726098161346909yes
2018-Q42120469131767506yes
2018-Q337362682424591912yes
2018-Q224242127152647468yes
2018-Q12929264262224942yes
2017-Q42827058212894233yes
2017-Q33230022202264794yes
2017-Q23333044253314887yes
2017-Q130290116263746103yes
2016-Q416164166121623794yes
2016-Q31818013171675931yes
2016-Q231300122261643564yes
2016-Q12221057171113364yes
2015-Q429271102231424983yes
2015-Q324230136181555054yes
2015-Q23030025222303938yes
2015-Q11715041151497030yes
2014-Q42121051181724443yes
2014-Q3302802122944404yes
2014-Q23231674271092504yes
2014-Q1242404918923766yes
2013-Q42020012151363515yes
2013-Q32424171171333567yes
2013-Q22525025221546703yes
2013-Q12323111171333095yes
2012-Q42019744131413773yes
2012-Q33434027281542573yes
2012-Q22323023201163102yes
2012-Q13231075271043223yes
2011-Q42323256201241,6951yes
2011-Q32928085201543493yes
2011-Q23028134211362866yes
2011-Q1171504715713700yes
2010-Q41211685112155450yes
2010-Q3171602581583406yes
2010-Q22320164141634055yes
2010-Q11414110131855631yes
2009-Q41816164101603845yes
2009-Q32121026161242443yes
2009-Q2181808141224154yes
2009-Q1262601716882607yes
2008-Q4151401382445154yes
2008-Q32422026152204233yes
2008-Q21919048171435160yes
2008-Q11717024151352771yes
2007-Q41817146131413443yes
2007-Q32322011151614003yes
2007-Q22020036171774282yes
2007-Q11313033111633490yes
2006-Q412120093426181yes
2006-Q31313021961843542yes
2006-Q21918059121151751yes
2006-Q111110082884390yes
2005-Q411110072254301yes
2005-Q32222058151243711yes
2005-Q2131308292126100yes
2005-Q11818086131396932yes
2004-Q4770061602701yes
2004-Q3131300111622472yes
2004-Q2990361603080yes
2004-Q1101004361602640yes
2003-Q4660051382270yes
2003-Q3981111363486281yes
2003-Q27601420yes
2003-Q1660152072500yes
2002-Q4660040yes
2002-Q33320yes
2002-Q2660365711271yes
2002-Q18801030yes
2001-Q4880340yes
2001-Q35410yes
2001-Q21010011351823100yes
2001-Q15504710yes
2000-Q47632845972520yes
2000-Q38803861164820yes
2000-Q2111101771644020yes
2000-Q198027430yes

A blank median means fewer than 5 permits behind it: issued permits for the first stage, and for the second, finished permits whose final is dated after their issue (a permit never issued has no span). “Slowest 10%” is the 90th percentile: one permit in ten took at least this long. Download the table as CSV or JSON; both carry the source, license and data date.

What the numbers leave out

375 of the 3,060 kitchen remodel permits filed since 2000 (12%) have no final sign-off 3 years after they were issued or, if never issued, filed. A median over finished permits understates the real wait: the permits that never finish are not in it. Inspection records are not yet included: “final sign-off” is the city’s own completion date on the permit.

Project types in San Francisco's Financial District/South Beach neighborhood

Shown apart, with their own page here: kitchen remodel (3,060 filed, 2,343 finished; contractors); bathroom remodel (2,943 filed, 2,280 finished; contractors); stairs (1,642 filed, 1,122 finished; contractors); deck (176 filed, 96 finished; contractors); roof deck (108 filed, 65 finished; contractors); pergola or trellis (62 filed, 30 finished; contractors). Other types: 85,930 permits. All permits in San Francisco's Financial District/South Beach neighborhood

Nearby neighborhoods

Chinatown, Nob Hill, Tenderloin; all of San Francisco; every neighborhood compared.

How this is calculated

Approved means the city issued the permit: the permit’s issue date. The first stage counts days from the filing date to the issue date, over permits issued on or after they were filed. Final sign-off means the city’s own status for the permit is “complete”, with its completion date; this site does not yet read inspection records, so the inspection date is not a separate stage. The second stage counts days from the issue date to the completion date, over permits that have reached it.

Permits are grouped by the quarter they were filed. A quarter’s median counts only its permits that have finished the stage, so recent quarters look faster than they will end up: their slow permits have not finished yet. Quarters that ended two or more years ago are marked settled; the rest are shaded in the chart. The headline’s first stage uses the last four complete quarters; its second uses the last four settled quarters.

The median is the middle permit: half took less, half more. The slowest 10% is the 90th percentile. A median needs at least 5 permits behind it, or it is left out. A project type is shown apart within a neighborhood only when it has 30 or more finished permits there; the rest are “other types”.

Never finaled means no final sign-off three years after the permit was issued (or filed, if never issued), and not expired, cancelled, withdrawn, revoked, disapproved, denied or suspended (the site’s “expired or cancelled” outcome). About a quarter of permits citywide end this way; often the work was done and nobody called for the final inspection. These permits are in the counts and not in the medians.

A permit’s neighborhood is the Analysis Neighborhood the city writes on the permit record (the official set of 41). Permits with none are counted citywide only; the page says how many. “Nearby” neighborhoods are the three nearest by the center of their permits. The site reloads the city’s data every night; permits filed since 1 January 2000 are included. The placement of a permit, its dates and its status are the city’s; the grouping and the words are this site’s. How to read these records.