How Long Does a Building Permit Take?

Building permit timelines range from a few minutes at the counter to many months. The biggest factor is whether your project needs full plan review. Department workload, how complete your submittal is, and whether other agencies must sign off account for most of the rest.

No reliable national average exists, because each department measures time differently and workloads shift with local construction activity. What you can do is learn where the time goes, check what your department publishes, and avoid the delays you control.

What the model code says about timing

The International Residential Code does not set a review deadline. These are the timing rules in the 2021 IRC as adopted in Montana:

• R105.3.1 Action on application. The building official reviews applications “within a reasonable time after filing.” Applications that do not conform must be rejected in writing, with the reasons.
• R105.3.2 Time limitation of application. An application is considered abandoned 180 days after filing unless it has been pursued in good faith or a permit has been issued. Written extensions of up to 180 days each are allowed.
• R105.5 Expiration. A permit becomes invalid if work does not start within 180 days of issuance, or if more than 180 days pass between inspections.
• R109.4 Approval required. Work may not go beyond each inspection point until the building official approves it.

Specific deadlines, where they exist, come from state law or local policy.

Typical paths, from fastest to slowest

Over-the-counter and quick permits

Many departments issue permits for routine replacement work without plan review. Common examples are water heaters, furnaces and air conditioners, reroofs, and window replacements in existing openings. Denver calls these quick permits and checks compliance by field inspection instead of plan review. These permits are often issued the same day or within a few business days.

Minor plan review

Small projects with simple drawings, such as decks, sheds above the exemption size, basement finishes, and modest interior remodels, usually go through a shorter review track. Denver, for example, reports separate review times for minor, intermediate, and major residential projects.

Full plan review

Additions, new homes, accessory dwelling units, structural changes, and pools generally get a complete review, often by several disciplines: zoning, structural, energy, fire, and sometimes public works or utilities. Each round of corrections adds time.

What cities actually publish

A growing number of departments post review-time data. These examples show both the numbers and why you need to read the fine print:

• Seattle. As of October 1, 2025, the city has set goals for permit intake to issuance, measured in calendar days in city control and meant to be met for 75 percent of permits. The goal for single-family additions and alterations is 30 days, against a current 75th-percentile figure of 64 days. For middle housing, which includes single-family homes and houses with ADUs, the goal is 60 days against 117. Pre-approved detached ADU plans have a 30-day goal against 60. Seattle notes that the total time applicants actually experience is roughly twice the days in city control.
• San Diego. Development Services posts a weekly snapshot of average calendar days for each phase: intake screening, first review, rechecks of resubmittals, and permit issuance. It counts a project as complete only after the project setup fees are paid. A recheck clock starts only after every requested document has been uploaded.
• Denver. Community Planning and Development publishes review-time estimates by project category, drawn from reviews completed in the last 90 days. They range from the average customer’s time to a worst-case 90th-percentile time. Denver warns that actual review times may vary by project.

The pattern holds across these cities: published numbers usually measure the city’s share of the time, and they are ranges or percentiles, not promises. Check your own department’s page before you set a construction start date. You can find your local building department in our directory.

Where the time actually goes

A permit’s total timeline is the sum of several pieces, and only some of them belong to the department:

1. Intake and completeness check. Many departments will not assign a reviewer until every required document is in.
2. Queue time. Applications wait their turn before a reviewer picks them up.
3. Review cycle. The reviewer either approves the plans or returns a list of corrections.
4. Your revision time. You or your designer address the comments and resubmit.
5. Re-review. The reviewer checks the revisions, usually faster than the first review.
6. Other approvals. Zoning variances, historic review, floodplain review, septic approval from the health department, and utility sign-offs can each run on their own schedule.
7. Fee payment and issuance. Usually quick, but the permit does not issue until fees are paid.

State laws on review times

A few states set deadlines or consequences by statute. These are the ones verified from the statute text:

• Florida (s. 553.792). Within 5 business days of receiving an application, the local government must tell the applicant in writing what is missing. If it does not, the application is automatically considered complete. Once an application is complete and sufficient, it must be approved, approved with conditions, or denied within these limits:

  • 30 business days for residential units, accessory structures, and trade permits (electrical, mechanical, plumbing, roofing, and others) under 7,500 square feet
  • 60 business days for those permits at 7,500 square feet or more
  • 12 business days for a site-specific permit under a master building permit

  If the government misses a deadline, it must cut the permit fee by 10 percent for each business day late. That penalty does not apply if it sends a written notice of the code deficiencies in time. After such a notice, the applicant has 10 business days to submit revisions and the government has 10 business days to act on them. Missing that second deadline costs 20 percent of the fee per business day.

• Arizona (A.R.S. 9-835). Cities and towns must post an overall time frame for each type of license, including permits, split into an administrative completeness review and a substantive review. The clock stops while the city waits for missing information or corrections. For residential construction, if the city misses the overall time frame or makes more requests for corrections than the law allows, it must refund all review fees and keep processing the application.

• Texas. H.B. 3167 (2019) requires cities to approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove plats and subdivision plans within 30 days of filing. A plan or plat is approved unless it is disapproved within that period. This covers plats and plans, not ordinary building permits. H.B. 14 (2023, effective September 1, 2023) adds a backstop for development documents and inspections that have a deadline set by the Local Government Code. If the city has not acted by the 15th day after that deadline, a qualified third party, such as a licensed engineer, may do the review or inspection, and the city may not charge an extra fee for it.

Other states have their own rules, and many have none. Ask your department whether any state or local deadline applies to your permit type.

Common causes of delay

• Incomplete applications. Missing site plans, structural details, energy forms, or owner authorization are the most common reason for a slow start.
• Unclear drawings. Plans that are not to scale, lack dimensions, or omit framing and connection details generate correction lists.
• Zoning problems. A setback, height, or lot coverage conflict can stop a project until it is redesigned or a variance is granted, which usually requires a public hearing.
• Flood zones. Properties in mapped flood hazard areas may need elevation information and a separate floodplain review.
• Septic and well approvals. Bedroom additions on septic systems often need health department review of system capacity.
• Partial responses to corrections. Resubmitting without addressing every comment means another cycle.
• Unpaid fees. San Diego, for example, does not treat a project as complete until its setup fees are paid.

Checklist: getting your permit faster

• Confirm zoning (setbacks, height, lot coverage) before design.
• Download the department’s submittal checklist for your project type and follow it exactly.
• Check your department’s posted review times, and note whether they count city time only.
• Ask whether your work qualifies for a quick, over-the-counter, or express permit.
• Request a pre-application meeting for larger projects.
• Line up other approvals early: HOA, historic district, health department, utilities.
• Pay submittal fees right away, since some departments do not start review until fees are paid.
• Answer every correction in a written response letter that points to the revised sheets.
• Stay reachable by phone and email during review.
• Track the 180-day limits on applications and permits, and request extensions in writing.

Inspections and the rest of the timeline

Getting the permit issued is only the start. Inspections usually have to be scheduled ahead, and failed inspections add reinspection time. Because IRC R109.4 bars work past each inspection point until it is approved, build inspection lead time into your construction schedule. See Building inspection stages for what is checked and when.

Questions to ask your building department

• Does my project qualify for over-the-counter or quick issuance?
• What are current review times for my project type, and do they measure city time only or the total?
• Which other departments or agencies will review this project?
• Do you offer pre-application meetings, express review, or third-party review?
• Does a state or local deadline apply to my application?
• How far ahead do I need to schedule inspections?

Before you apply, read How to apply for a building permit to put together a complete submittal, and How much does a building permit cost? to budget for fees.