The usual demolition permit in Denver, the biggest trade with a completion date, takes 21 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,139 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). Demolition is also the quickest trade here; foundation & structural repair the slowest at 93 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. Denver'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 Denver: Only for repair and demolition: Denver stopped recording final dates for most other permits after 2020.
Speed: Only for repair and demolition, for the same reason. 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 Denver record has no completion date for that trade (remodel & alteration, new home, garage, addition, pool, shed & outdoor structure, ADU), 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remodel & Alteration | 3,530 | — | — | 65 |
| New Home | 2,371 | — | — | 51 |
| Demolition | 1,139 | 21 | 91.0% | 11 |
| Garage | 989 | — | — | 15 |
| Foundation & Structural Repair | 951 | 93 | 63.7% | 8 |
| Addition | 864 | — | — | 8 |
| Pool, Shed & Outdoor Structure | 269 | — | — | 4 |
| ADU | 262 | — | — | 2 |
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 demolition permit in Denver takes 21 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,139 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 91.0% of demolition permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in Denver's file.
The usual foundation & structural repair permit in Denver takes 93 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (951 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 63.7% of foundation & structural repair permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 1.3 months, the slowest quarter in 3 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Denver's file.
7 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Denver foundation & structural repair contractors →
No completion date or closeout on record for remodel & alteration, new home, garage, addition, pool, shed & outdoor structure, ADU, so no answer for those trades.
Source: City and County of Denver residential construction and demolition permits. 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 Denver →
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