The usual electrical permit in Bellevue, the biggest trade with a completion date, takes 45 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (8,025 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). EV Charger is quickest at 14 days; new home the slowest at 568 days. This is the turnaround to finish the work and close the permit, not the wait for approval.
“How long does a permit take?” can mean two waits. This page measures the second one.
Getting the permit (not measured): application → issue, the wait for the city to approve it. Bellevue's file we read does not carry a usable application date, so we don't guess at it. Ask the permit office for its current review times.
Finishing the work (measured here): issue → completion. The day the city issued the permit to the day it recorded a final inspection or closeout. That is the contractor's part: doing the work and getting it signed off.
What “finished” means in Bellevue: For contractors with at least 5 permits a year or more old, the share that passed final inspection.
Speed: How long their permits take from issue to final inspection, using the city's dates, compared with other Bellevue contractors in the trade. Shown for firms with 10+ permits.
Usual is the middle permit: half finish sooner, half later. Finished is the share of permits a year or more old that the city closed out. A dash means the Bellevue record has no completion date for that trade (tree removal), so there is nothing to count days from; it does not mean those permits are slow.
| Trade | Permits | Usual days to finish | Finished | Firms with 10+ permits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical | 8,025 | 45 | 83.3% | 151 |
| HVAC & Mechanical | 5,650 | 76 | 73.7% | 86 |
| Plumbing | 1,727 | 190 | 84.6% | 48 |
| Water Heater | 1,402 | 32 | 66.6% | 15 |
| Side Sewer | 1,386 | 189 | 90.5% | 30 |
| EV Charger | 1,257 | 14 | 89.6% | 31 |
| Remodel | 675 | 216 | 74.6% | 4 |
| Tree Removal | 630 | — | 36.0% | 12 |
| Generator | 508 | 31 | 87.6% | 6 |
| Fire Sprinkler | 464 | 199 | 94.2% | 11 |
| Roofing | 333 | 41 | 91.9% | 9 |
| New Home | 194 | 568 | 61.7% | 2 |
| Addition | 177 | 364 | — | 0 |
| Deck & Patio Cover | 173 | 205 | 92.1% | 0 |
Each trade on its own, from issue to the city's sign-off. The spread between the quickest and slowest quarter of firms is the part you can choose.
The usual electrical permit in Bellevue takes 45 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (8,025 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 83.3% of electrical permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 0.9 months, the slowest quarter in 2.1 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Bellevue's file.
145 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Bellevue electrical contractors →
The usual HVAC & mechanical permit in Bellevue takes 76 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (5,650 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 73.7% of HVAC & mechanical permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 1 month, the slowest quarter in 3.1 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Bellevue's file.
77 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Bellevue HVAC & mechanical contractors →
The usual plumbing permit in Bellevue takes 190 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,727 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 84.6% of plumbing permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 3.9 months, the slowest quarter in 6.8 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Bellevue's file.
46 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Bellevue plumbing contractors →
The usual water heater permit in Bellevue takes 32 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,402 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 66.6% of water heater permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 1 month, the slowest quarter in 1.4 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Bellevue's file.
12 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Bellevue water heater contractors →
The usual side sewer permit in Bellevue takes 189 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,386 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 90.5% of side sewer permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in Bellevue's file.
The usual EV charger permit in Bellevue takes 14 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,257 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 89.6% of EV charger permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 0.4 months, the slowest quarter in 0.6 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Bellevue's file.
30 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Bellevue EV charger contractors →
The usual remodel permit in Bellevue takes 216 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (675 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 74.6% of remodel permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 5.1 months, the slowest quarter in 6.3 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Bellevue's file.
4 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Bellevue remodel contractors →
The Bellevue record carries no completion date for tree removal permits, so we can't count days. 36.0% of tree removal permits a year or more old have been closed out. That is from 630 permits, October 2023 through September 2026. The wait for approval before issue is not in Bellevue's file.
The usual generator permit in Bellevue takes 31 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (508 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 87.6% of generator permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 0.7 months, the slowest quarter in 0.9 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Bellevue's file.
6 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Bellevue generator contractors →
The usual fire sprinkler permit in Bellevue takes 199 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (464 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 94.2% of fire sprinkler permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 5.7 months, the slowest quarter in 5.9 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Bellevue's file.
11 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Bellevue fire sprinkler contractors →
The usual roofing permit in Bellevue takes 41 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (333 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 91.9% of roofing permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 1 month, the slowest quarter in 1.5 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Bellevue's file.
9 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Bellevue roofing contractors →
The usual new home permit in Bellevue takes 568 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (194 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 61.7% of new home permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 11.9 months, the slowest quarter in 14.8 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Bellevue's file.
2 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Bellevue new home contractors →
The usual addition permit in Bellevue takes 364 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (177 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). The wait for approval before issue is not in Bellevue's file.
The usual deck & patio cover permit in Bellevue takes 205 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (173 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 92.1% of deck & patio cover permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in Bellevue's file.
Source: City of Bellevue permits on single-family homes and condo units. The window is October 2023 through September 2026; a permit filed after that isn't here yet.
A filed value is what the contractor wrote on the permit when they applied. It is not a quote and not the final bill.
Counts are permits, not jobs: one job can need several permits, and one permit can cover several visits.
Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. How the records work in Bellevue →
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