Permit GraphShortlistSan Francisco building permits since 2000

How long do building permits take in San Francisco?

In San Francisco, of the 18,935 building 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 17,290 permits filed from October 2023 through September 2024 that have reached final sign-off, half did so within 98 days of being issued, down from 123 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 building permits take in San FranciscoMedian days from filing to permit issuedMedian days from issue to final sign-offToo recent to judge0501001502002017201820192020202120222023202420252026DaysSource: San Francisco Department of Building Inspection permit data via DataSF, analysis by Permit Graph(permitgraph.org), CC BY 4.0.permitgraph.org/neighborhoods/san-francisco · 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 202618,935 issued022,334 issued0
Permit issued to final sign-offOctober 2023 through September 202417,290 finished9816,489 finished123

“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.

Every quarter since 2000

Quarter filedFiledIssuedMedian days to issueSlowest 10%Reached finalMedian days issue to finalSlowest 10%Never finaledSettled
2026-Q43231300420too recent
2026-Q34,5023,27512764020620too recent
2026-Q25,4994,8410412,281381110too recent
2026-Q15,4414,9830513,031531610too recent
2025-Q46,4025,8360853,795712240too recent
2025-Q36,3836,0140674,251732540too recent
2025-Q26,2205,8790714,310813040too recent
2025-Q15,6535,3670674,057753140too recent
2024-Q45,3625,0740723,816873150too recent
2024-Q36,1965,8440574,585913381yes
2024-Q26,4096,0700624,791993641yes
2024-Q15,3815,0490534,055983860yes
2023-Q45,3624,9790913,86011143373yes
2023-Q36,2235,7420784,4141104341,290yes
2023-Q26,3445,8001974,5281164751,172yes
2023-Q15,1094,7150713,655123489953yes
2022-Q45,8435,22311893,8971465261,219yes
2022-Q35,6705,25301164,0121305261,138yes
2022-Q26,0765,52301264,1891395741,304yes
2022-Q15,9375,4320964,2561415641,170yes
2021-Q45,4545,03901083,9041445671,059yes
2021-Q35,9045,46201034,1831515821,182yes
2021-Q25,7365,35121244,0721536091,187yes
2021-Q15,5475,084161943,8111406311,252yes
2020-Q46,2215,649282084,2781476521,330yes
2020-Q36,6655,98481664,0551416232,060yes
2020-Q22,6812,35861341,3601135551,108yes
2020-Q17,4716,84401643,8331736162,932yes
2019-Q49,6718,89201014,9751847053,898yes
2019-Q310,60510,0470595,5011316454,360yes
2019-Q210,0369,3770625,3201296684,040yes
2019-Q18,9248,4290614,9171326793,441yes
2018-Q49,2118,6690884,9961336983,568yes
2018-Q310,2339,7280845,4991386714,042yes
2018-Q210,1389,5700815,5741286093,881yes
2018-Q19,2308,6250724,9421285943,568yes
2017-Q49,2468,7810845,0671366253,545yes
2017-Q310,82010,24102306,0731436513,883yes
2017-Q29,4328,9820875,4161336093,346yes
2017-Q17,9727,6080734,5821205792,867yes
2016-Q48,6138,13801214,6701335953,241yes
2016-Q39,6179,15901245,3231315733,575yes
2016-Q29,1948,7620715,2141305443,307yes
2016-Q18,6258,1450895,1111266032,848yes
2015-Q49,2328,7850975,1411416723,411yes
2015-Q39,5419,0450665,4231315673,451yes
2015-Q29,0908,6580855,4131395343,000yes
2015-Q18,7248,3410625,1491265752,967yes
2014-Q48,0957,7120674,7321215502,743yes
2014-Q38,7978,3570485,0761165603,047yes
2014-Q29,0988,6960755,5821145432,879yes
2014-Q17,5457,2530494,6171045052,432yes
2013-Q48,2227,8940845,0151095222,649yes
2013-Q38,4378,1220334,9891004422,891yes
2013-Q28,3148,0020415,0881044812,676yes
2013-Q17,2436,9820344,486994552,270yes
2012-Q46,9556,6900384,2011025112,274yes
2012-Q38,0307,7390414,8731024502,609yes
2012-Q27,4667,1980404,605914112,333yes
2012-Q16,4786,2360394,006914341,993yes
2011-Q46,4266,1730333,921864032,010yes
2011-Q37,5887,3400264,699853972,293yes
2011-Q26,9746,7290244,288953942,157yes
2011-Q16,1775,9170253,962893911,717yes
2010-Q46,5286,2490383,947994472,045yes
2010-Q37,3797,0700264,276893862,476yes
2010-Q27,4017,1450224,296913842,529yes
2010-Q16,2385,9920203,554883782,103yes
2009-Q46,7776,5330213,904803612,276yes
2009-Q37,1086,8910154,105863602,413yes
2009-Q27,2847,0320194,330833542,281yes
2009-Q16,7536,5090133,750783622,309yes
2008-Q47,6977,4590124,106953642,770yes
2008-Q38,8298,575084,567953553,210yes
2008-Q28,7958,4970114,508983513,125yes
2008-Q17,9167,5550123,926943392,804yes
2007-Q48,9098,6010184,2011063783,307yes
2007-Q39,3989,085074,513983473,385yes
2007-Q28,9578,7890134,5821043662,963yes
2007-Q18,0667,8970304,0921003752,483yes
2006-Q47,8667,6980293,8881043522,339yes
2006-Q39,0898,8970274,5231023522,522yes
2006-Q28,2988,1340404,3281093492,217yes
2006-Q17,3397,2060353,813973531,888yes
2005-Q47,4597,3000303,6421103622,129yes
2005-Q38,5848,3870324,2911073522,283yes
2005-Q28,2848,0970414,3351043542,129yes
2005-Q17,1426,9630403,6801013521,925yes
2004-Q47,2136,9980423,6391053611,938yes
2004-Q38,5478,3660354,240943362,439yes
2004-Q28,1747,9800534,384973631,994yes
2004-Q17,3037,1630493,842923351,838yes
2003-Q47,2937,1330563,817993591,811yes
2003-Q38,0427,8700494,118943342,086yes
2003-Q27,4767,3010514,016883401,779yes
2003-Q16,9236,7460493,656873411,587yes
2002-Q46,6716,4580643,375983551,641yes
2002-Q37,6747,4130483,951963371,728yes
2002-Q27,6207,3840503,86194329785yes
2002-Q16,7106,5110583,36598361276yes
2001-Q46,6826,4440573,392105351214yes
2001-Q36,7536,5530563,322104362121yes
2001-Q27,1026,8770653,585114386114yes
2001-Q16,7186,4590783,381115391119yes
2000-Q46,7516,4360743,27912742086yes
2000-Q37,6907,4200593,68212942565yes
2000-Q28,1907,8330673,97613947692yes
2000-Q17,7457,3830723,193168558107yes

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

210,374 of the 801,386 building permits filed since 2000 (26%) 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. Citywide, 798 of 801,386 permits since 2000 (0%) name no neighborhood and count in the city's figures only. Inspection records are not yet included: “final sign-off” is the city’s own completion date on the permit.

Project types in San Francisco

Shown apart, with their own page here: bathroom remodel (104,357 filed, 75,687 finished; contractors); kitchen remodel (88,742 filed, 63,705 finished; contractors); stairs (42,896 filed, 29,067 finished; contractors); deck (24,218 filed, 16,266 finished; contractors); roof deck (5,264 filed, 3,106 finished; contractors); pergola or trellis (645 filed, 372 finished; contractors). Other types: 613,041 permits.

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.