When Does a Building Permit Expire?

A building permit is not open-ended. Every permit carries an expiration rule, and if you miss it the work loses its legal authorization until you extend, reinstate, or replace the permit. Projects most often expire for ordinary reasons: a contractor walks off the job, financing stalls, or the owner finishes the work but never calls for a final inspection.

The baseline rule comes from the International Residential Code (IRC), but most large cities write their own timelines and fees. Your permit card or online permit record usually shows the actual expiration date. If you don’t know which office issued your permit, you can find your local building department.

What the model code says

Section R105.5 of the 2021 IRC sets two triggers. A permit becomes invalid if:

• Work does not start within 180 days after the permit is issued, or
• After work starts, more than 180 days pass between inspections.

The same section lets the building official grant, in writing, one or more extensions of up to 180 days each. You have to ask in writing and show “justifiable cause.”

The 2021 wording ties the clock to inspections, which is easy to track: if your last passed or failed inspection was more than six months ago, your permit may already be dead. Some state codes still use an older formulation. Massachusetts’ state building code (780 CMR 105.5), for example, voids a permit if work is “suspended or abandoned for a period of 180 days” and requires the extension request to be made before the 180-day expiration date.

Two related IRC sections matter when a permit lapses. R105.1 requires a permit before work starts, so work done after expiration is technically unpermitted. R108.6 lets jurisdictions charge an extra fee, on top of the permit fee, when work starts before a permit is issued.

How the rules differ by city

Large cities rarely use the bare 180-day rule. These examples come from each city’s own published rules:

• Phoenix. Building and civil permits expire 24 months from issuance. An unexpired permit can be extended once for up to one year, and an expired permit can be reinstated for up to one year if the plans are unchanged and it expired less than a year ago. Both cost 50 percent of the current permit fee, and both must be requested in writing with justifiable cause. Demolition permits expire if the work is not finished within 60 days, with a single 30-day extension.
• Seattle. Construction, demolition, mechanical and grading permits typically expire 18 months after issuance. SDCI says you can renew these permits up to 30 days before the expiration date. A permit expired less than a year can be reestablished; after a year, you need a new application. SDCI charges one and a half times its hourly fee for a renewal or reestablishment; its 2026 base hourly rate is $292. Renewals generally require that delays came from causes beyond your control, such as litigation, appeals or strikes.
• San Diego. A permit is void if it is not “utilized” (substantial work verified by an inspection) within one year, or if work stops for 180 calendar days after that. Permits for one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses expire three years after issuance; other projects expire after four years. Extensions of up to 180 days are possible for circumstances beyond the permit holder’s control, using Form DS-117 filed at least one month before the utilization deadline.
• New York City. DOB NOW permits expire on the earliest of the contractor’s insurance expiration, license expiration, or one year from issuance. If the contractor renews insurance or a license in time, the permit extends automatically at no cost. A $130 renewal fee applies if coverage lapsed or the permit is more than a year old.
• Florida (statewide). State law sets the lifetime of a single-family dwelling permit at one year after issuance or the effective date of the next Florida Building Code edition, whichever is later, and lets local governments send a notice at least 30 days before expiration. Florida also lets an owner close an expired permit without a new one if the work is substantially complete, and lets a local agency close a permit six years after issuance if it finds no apparent safety hazards. Local offices such as Miami-Dade County apply these rules alongside their own.

The pattern: many cities give longer total lifetimes than the IRC but tie extensions to fees and to causes beyond your control.

Extension, renewal, reinstatement: what the terms mean

Cities use these words differently, but the general distinctions are:

• Extension. Requested before the permit expires. Usually the cheapest option and often approved on a written request.
• Renewal. Often the same as an extension, or a scheduled renewal for long projects (Seattle’s term).
• Reinstatement or reactivation. Requested after expiration, within a limited window. Usually requires that plans have not changed. Phoenix allows it if the permit expired less than one year ago; Seattle allows it if the permit expired less than one year ago.
• New permit. Required once the reinstatement window closes. Expect full plan review and permit fees, and possibly a newer code edition.

What happens when a permit expires

• Work must stop. The permit no longer authorizes the work. San Diego, for example, requires all work to stop until a new permit is issued.
• Fees go up. Reinstatement fees are typically a share of the original permit fee; a new permit is full price.
• Code changes can apply. A replacement permit may have to meet the code edition in effect when you reapply. Phoenix’s reinstatement rule for fire permits requires that the governing codes have not changed in a way that affects the work.
• It follows the property. Expired, never-finaled permits stay on the public record and commonly surface during a sale. See how to look up building permits for a property.
• Finished work can still be “expired.” A permit where the work was completed but the final inspection never happened is still an open or expired permit in the city’s system.

Checklist: keeping a permit alive

• Find the expiration date on the permit card or online record, and put it on a calendar with a 60-day reminder.
• Note the inspection interval rule. If your city uses the IRC 180-day rule, schedule an inspection before six months pass.
• If work will pause (financing, weather, a contractor change), request an extension in writing before expiration and state the cause.
• Keep records that show progress: inspection results, invoices, dated photos.
• If your contractor holds the permit, confirm their insurance and license stay current. In New York City a lapse can expire the permit.
• When work is done, call for the final inspection and confirm the online status changes to final, closed or complete.
• If the permit already expired, ask about reinstatement right away. Windows are often one year or less.

Questions to ask your building department

• What is the expiration rule for my permit type, and does an inspection reset it?
• Can I extend before expiration, and how much does it cost?
• How long after expiration can the permit be reinstated, and what does that cost?
• If I need a new permit, which code edition will apply?
• Do my separate trade permits (electrical, plumbing, mechanical) expire on the same schedule?
• Will the department notify me before the permit expires?

If you have a long-expired permit with uninspected work, the process looks a lot like legalizing work done without a permit. Our guide to unpermitted work explains what that usually involves, and building inspection stages covers which inspections you need to reach a final.