The usual electrical permit in Greensboro, the biggest trade with a completion date, takes 52 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (17,544 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). Driveway & Concrete is quickest at 7 days; addition the slowest at 179 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. Greensboro'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 Greensboro: For contractors with at least 5 permits a year or more old, the share that passed final inspection, compared with permits of the same trade issued in the same quarter.
Speed: How long their permits take to reach final inspection, using the city's dates, compared with other Greensboro 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 Greensboro record has no completion date for that trade (demolition), 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 | 17,544 | 52 | 93.8% | 252 |
| HVAC | 16,678 | 48 | 89.5% | 153 |
| Plumbing | 8,165 | 121 | 94.1% | 111 |
| New Home | 2,341 | 156 | 97.4% | 28 |
| Driveway & Concrete | 1,664 | 7 | 98.0% | 15 |
| Remodel & Repair | 1,509 | 126 | 84.7% | 31 |
| Foundation & Crawl Space | 682 | 85 | 82.1% | 3 |
| Solar | 397 | 103 | 77.3% | 10 |
| Addition | 393 | 179 | 89.1% | 6 |
| Deck | 226 | 41 | 88.1% | 3 |
| Demolition | 142 | — | 41.3% | 3 |
| Garage & Shed | 119 | 156 | 94.6% | 1 |
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 Greensboro takes 52 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (17,544 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 93.8% of electrical permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 0.8 months, the slowest quarter in 2.8 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Greensboro's file.
245 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Greensboro electrical contractors →
The usual HVAC permit in Greensboro takes 48 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (16,678 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 89.5% of HVAC 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 2.4 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Greensboro's file.
140 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Greensboro HVAC contractors →
The usual plumbing permit in Greensboro takes 121 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (8,165 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 94.1% of plumbing permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 2 months, the slowest quarter in 5.8 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Greensboro's file.
106 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Greensboro plumbing contractors →
The usual new home permit in Greensboro takes 156 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (2,341 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 97.4% of new home permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 4.4 months, the slowest quarter in 6.2 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Greensboro's file.
28 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Greensboro new home contractors →
The usual driveway & concrete permit in Greensboro takes 7 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,664 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 98.0% of driveway & concrete permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in Greensboro's file.
The usual remodel & repair permit in Greensboro takes 126 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,509 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 84.7% of remodel & repair permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 2.7 months, the slowest quarter in 4 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Greensboro's file.
29 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Greensboro remodel & repair contractors →
The usual foundation & crawl space permit in Greensboro takes 85 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (682 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 82.1% of foundation & crawl space permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in Greensboro's file.
The usual solar permit in Greensboro takes 103 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (397 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 77.3% of solar permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 2 months, the slowest quarter in 4 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Greensboro's file.
8 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Greensboro solar contractors →
The usual addition permit in Greensboro takes 179 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (393 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 89.1% of addition permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 4.7 months, the slowest quarter in 6.4 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Greensboro's file.
6 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Greensboro addition contractors →
The usual deck permit in Greensboro takes 41 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (226 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 88.1% of deck permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 1 month, the slowest quarter in 1.3 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Greensboro's file.
3 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Greensboro deck contractors →
The Greensboro record carries no completion date for demolition permits, so we can't count days. 41.3% of demolition permits a year or more old have been closed out. That is from 142 permits, October 2023 through September 2026. The wait for approval before issue is not in Greensboro's file.
The usual garage & shed permit in Greensboro takes 156 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (119 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 94.6% of garage & shed permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in Greensboro's file.
Source: City of Greensboro building and trade 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 Greensboro →
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