Permit GraphShortlistSan Francisco building permits since 2000

How long do deck permits take in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood?

In the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco, only 4 deck permits filed from October 2025 through September 2026 have been issued, too few for a reliable figure. Only 1 of the permits filed from October 2023 through September 2024 has reached final sign-off, too few for a reliable figure.

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 deck permits take in San Francisco's South of MarketneighborhoodMedian days from filing to permit issuedMedian days from issue to final sign-offToo recent to judge01002003004005006002017201820192020202120222023202420252026DaysSource: San Francisco Department of Building Inspection permit data via DataSF, analysis by Permit Graph(permitgraph.org), CC BY 4.0.permitgraph.org/neighborhoods/south-of-market/deck · 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 20264 issuedunder 54 issuedunder 5
Permit issued to final sign-offOctober 2023 through September 20241 finishedunder 510 finished516

“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 7 days to issue and 164 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-Q31110too recent
2026-Q21100too recent
2025-Q43220too recent
2025-Q31100too recent
2025-Q11110too recent
2024-Q42220too recent
2024-Q31110yes
2023-Q32220yes
2023-Q277134975175180yes
2023-Q11110yes
2022-Q21101yes
2021-Q42110yes
2021-Q31110yes
2021-Q23330yes
2021-Q11110yes
2020-Q41001yes
2020-Q31100yes
2020-Q12101yes
2019-Q41000yes
2019-Q32220yes
2019-Q11110yes
2018-Q41110yes
2018-Q31000yes
2018-Q22211yes
2018-Q12220yes
2017-Q21110yes
2017-Q13312yes
2016-Q41110yes
2016-Q33321yes
2016-Q12210yes
2015-Q43330yes
2015-Q33311yes
2015-Q23330yes
2015-Q13220yes
2014-Q44422yes
2014-Q25330yes
2014-Q12210yes
2013-Q42220yes
2013-Q33211yes
2013-Q11110yes
2012-Q42220yes
2012-Q31000yes
2012-Q13330yes
2011-Q42220yes
2011-Q32211yes
2011-Q22220yes
2011-Q13210yes
2010-Q31110yes
2010-Q21110yes
2010-Q11101yes
2009-Q41110yes
2009-Q3191901191811850yes
2009-Q12210yes
2008-Q44421yes
2008-Q32220yes
2008-Q23320yes
2007-Q43220yes
2007-Q31110yes
2006-Q33210yes
2006-Q21110yes
2006-Q11110yes
2005-Q41110yes
2005-Q34413yes
2005-Q21000yes
2005-Q11110yes
2004-Q41110yes
2004-Q32210yes
2004-Q21110yes
2004-Q12220yes
2003-Q42220yes
2003-Q22210yes
2003-Q12210yes
2002-Q42202yes
2002-Q31110yes
2001-Q42220yes
2001-Q32200yes
2001-Q11000yes
2000-Q21100yes
2000-Q11100yes

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

19 of the 168 deck permits filed since 2000 (11%) 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 South of Market neighborhood

Shown apart, with their own page here: bathroom remodel (1,159 filed, 750 finished; contractors); kitchen remodel (1,156 filed, 762 finished; contractors); stairs (837 filed, 539 finished; contractors); deck (168 filed, 116 finished; contractors); roof deck (103 filed, 63 finished; contractors). Other types: 23,340 permits. All permits in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood

Nearby neighborhoods

Tenderloin, Mission Bay, Financial District/South Beach; 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.