Permit GraphShortlistSan Francisco building permits since 2000

How long do stairs permits take in San Francisco's Twin Peaks neighborhood?

In the Twin Peaks neighborhood of San Francisco, of the 11 stairs permits filed from October 2025 through September 2026 that have been issued, half were issued within 14 days, down from 24 days a year earlier. Of the 7 permits filed from October 2023 through September 2024 that have reached final sign-off, half did so within 161 days of being issued, down from 353 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 stairs permits take in San Francisco's Twin PeaksneighborhoodMedian 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/twin-peaks/stairs · 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 202611 issued1410 issued24
Permit issued to final sign-offOctober 2023 through September 20247 finished1619 finished353

“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 175 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-Q33100too recent
2026-Q24420too recent
2026-Q14300too recent
2025-Q45310too recent
2025-Q32220too recent
2025-Q22210too recent
2025-Q155548020too recent
2024-Q42110too recent
2024-Q32220yes
2024-Q23320yes
2024-Q11110yes
2023-Q43320yes
2023-Q31100yes
2023-Q24430yes
2023-Q13330yes
2022-Q44431yes
2022-Q3777642743yes
2022-Q24440yes
2022-Q13330yes
2021-Q43220yes
2021-Q3554844732yes
2021-Q2863973432yes
2021-Q15521629641yes
2020-Q4878116973729471yes
2020-Q39815670055941,0900yes
2020-Q1651434941yes
2019-Q43330yes
2019-Q34440yes
2019-Q25522941yes
2019-Q14440yes
2018-Q44220yes
2018-Q33330yes
2018-Q22220yes
2018-Q14440yes
2017-Q44421yes
2017-Q33330yes
2017-Q23201yes
2017-Q15330yes
2016-Q4763044255961,6121yes
2016-Q365991,38841yes
2016-Q24420yes
2016-Q15551540yes
2015-Q42220yes
2015-Q36641606507140yes
2015-Q25511595940yes
2015-Q16440yes
2014-Q43330yes
2014-Q33330yes
2014-Q25517855253231,7650yes
2014-Q12220yes
2013-Q44431yes
2013-Q3763419732yes
2013-Q22110yes
2013-Q14431yes
2012-Q43311yes
2012-Q31110yes
2012-Q21101yes
2012-Q12220yes
2011-Q43330yes
2011-Q38813372703621yes
2011-Q24440yes
2011-Q12102yes
2010-Q42110yes
2010-Q34421yes
2010-Q21101yes
2010-Q11110yes
2009-Q44430yes
2009-Q35430yes
2009-Q22220yes
2009-Q15321yes
2008-Q44431yes
2008-Q33312yes
2008-Q23321yes
2008-Q1774736772000yes
2007-Q44440yes
2007-Q34430yes
2007-Q13330yes
2006-Q44321yes
2006-Q34431yes
2006-Q24440yes
2006-Q11110yes
2005-Q45507220yes
2005-Q33220yes
2004-Q42201yes
2004-Q33320yes
2004-Q155042720yes
2003-Q41101yes
2003-Q33321yes
2003-Q255005857660yes
2003-Q11110yes
2002-Q42220yes
2002-Q32220yes
2002-Q23321yes
2002-Q13200yes
2001-Q32210yes
2001-Q13320yes
2000-Q31110yes
2000-Q22200yes
2000-Q12210yes

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

38 of the 358 stairs 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 Twin Peaks neighborhood

Shown apart, with their own page here: bathroom remodel (1,241 filed, 921 finished; contractors); kitchen remodel (958 filed, 702 finished; contractors); deck (507 filed, 341 finished; contractors); stairs (358 filed, 243 finished; contractors); roof deck (76 filed, 45 finished; contractors). Other types: 5,002 permits. All permits in San Francisco's Twin Peaks neighborhood

Nearby neighborhoods

Noe Valley, Castro/Upper Market, Haight Ashbury; 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.