The usual electrical permit in Cambridge, the biggest trade with a completion date, takes 104 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (3,820 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). Roofing is quickest at 17 days; demolition the slowest at 697 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. Cambridge'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 Cambridge: For contractors with at least 5 permits a year or more old, the share marked complete.
Speed: An estimate of how quickly their permits are marked complete, based on permit status and age, compared with other Cambridge contractors in the trade. Shown for firms with 20+ 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 Cambridge record has no completion date for that trade (siding), 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 | 3,820 | 104 | 71.7% | 79 |
| Remodel, Addition & Alteration | 3,512 | 304 | 49.7% | 38 |
| Plumbing | 2,906 | 69 | 67.8% | 72 |
| Gas Fitting | 2,057 | 46 | 53.8% | 40 |
| HVAC & Sheet Metal | 1,470 | 325 | 54.7% | 24 |
| Roofing | 766 | 17 | 92.1% | 8 |
| Solar | 284 | 115 | 51.0% | 6 |
| Demolition | 133 | 697 | — | 0 |
| Fire Sprinkler | 113 | 308 | 93.3% | 1 |
| New Construction | 111 | 524 | 30.8% | 0 |
| Siding | 106 | — | — | 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 Cambridge takes 104 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (3,820 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 71.7% of electrical permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in Cambridge's file.
The usual remodel, addition & alteration permit in Cambridge takes 304 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (3,512 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 49.7% of remodel, addition & alteration permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in Cambridge's file.
The usual plumbing permit in Cambridge takes 69 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (2,906 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 67.8% of plumbing permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 0.6 months, the slowest quarter in 4.2 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Cambridge's file.
19 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Cambridge plumbing contractors →
The usual gas fitting permit in Cambridge takes 46 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (2,057 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 53.8% of gas fitting 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 11.5 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Cambridge's file.
17 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Cambridge gas fitting contractors →
The usual HVAC & sheet metal permit in Cambridge takes 325 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,470 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 54.7% of HVAC & sheet metal permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 5.2 months, the slowest quarter in 12 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Cambridge's file.
12 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Cambridge HVAC & sheet metal contractors →
The usual roofing permit in Cambridge takes 17 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (766 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 92.1% of roofing permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 0 months, the slowest quarter in 0.4 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Cambridge's file.
4 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Cambridge roofing contractors →
The usual solar permit in Cambridge takes 115 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (284 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 51.0% of solar permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in Cambridge's file.
The usual demolition permit in Cambridge takes 697 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (133 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). The wait for approval before issue is not in Cambridge's file.
The usual fire sprinkler permit in Cambridge takes 308 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (113 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 93.3% of fire sprinkler permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in Cambridge's file.
The usual new construction permit in Cambridge takes 524 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (111 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 30.8% of new construction permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in Cambridge's file.
No completion date or closeout on record for siding, so no answer for that trade.
Source: City of Cambridge Inspectional Services permits (the city's per-type open-data permit files). 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 Cambridge →
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