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New Orleans building permit search: the One Stop App and the city's open permit file

To look up a building permit in New Orleans, use the City's One Stop App. The City's Search permits page says the search box at the top takes "A permit/license etc. number", "A street address: use only the house number, and street, do not include city, state, or zip code", or "A person's name, e.g. a contractor, architect, or applicant" (read 24 October 2026). The same records are published nightly as NOLA Permits BLDS on data.nola.gov, the source of our 27,739 residential permits issued October 2024 to September 2026.

By Contractor Records · data through October 18, 2026

Which addresses this covers

The Department of Safety and Permits issues permits inside the city, which is also Orleans Parish. Jefferson Parish (Metairie, Kenner), St. Bernard and St. Tammany have their own permit offices.

Tool Search by What it shows
One Stop App Address, permit or licence number, person's name (contractor, architect, applicant) What has been permitted, licensed or cited at a location
NOLA Permits BLDS (open data) Any column, including contractor name and licence number Permit type, status, issue and completion dates, declared project cost; our source
Public records request Your written request Records not in the app or the open data

How to look up the permits on a New Orleans address

  1. Open onestopapp.nola.gov and use the search box at the top of the page.
  2. Type the house number and street only, for example "1234 Magazine", with no city, state or ZIP.
  3. Open each permit on the address. A New Orleans renovation often has a building permit plus separate electrical, mechanical and gas permits.
  4. Read each permit's status and its inspections.
  5. To check the firm, search the contractor's name in the same box, or filter NOLA Permits BLDS by the licence number, and look the licence up at the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors.

What the statuses mean

These are the current-status values in the City's BLDS file that matter for a homeowner:

Status in the record What it means Finished in our data?
Finaled, Certificate of Completion, Certificate of Occupancy Final inspection passed Yes
Meter Release Electrical work passed and power released Yes
Permit Issued Issued, not yet finaled Not yet
Closed Closed by the City; the file does not say whether it passed a final Counted as finished, but adds no days
Permit Expired, Permit Expired Due to Inactivity Lapsed without a final No
VOIDED (withdrawn, duplicate, owner changed contractor) Cancelled Not counted

Of permits issued October 2024 to September 2025, 69.9% were finished, 29.3% still open and 0.9% expired by our count.

When the record you want is not online

The City's help page points first to NOLA Permits BLDS, which is "updated nightly" and, unlike the One Stop App, can export more than 200 records and save filtered views. For anything in neither place, it says to file a public records request through nola.nextrequest.com (read 24 October 2026).

What our New Orleans pages add

Our New Orleans page counts residential permits by kind of work, with the usual days from issue to final, for permits issued October 2024 to September 2026:

Kind of work Permits Last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026) Usual days to final
Electrical 9,668 4,752 47
Plumbing and gas 7,492 3,843 41
HVAC 3,333 1,918 112
Remodels and repairs 2,172 953 155
Roofing 1,777 1,276 111
Solar 1,046 166 63
New homes 717 385 272
Demolition 666 258 203

The usual permit took 72 days to final in that window (how long a permit takes). The busiest ZIP codes were 70115 (2,982 permits), 70118 (2,844) and 70117 (2,638); every ZIP is on the ZIP code pages. The permit statistics page has counts by year and month, and browse permits lists the rows. Smaller kinds of work are on the pools, additions and garages and sheds pages.

What this does not tell you

Our New Orleans pages cover single-family homes, two-family homes and doubles; permits for three or more units and commercial property are left out. The contractor on a permit is usually the licensed person, not the company, and we have not matched those names to state licence records, so we show no firm lists. The roofing count rose partly because the City added a residential re-roofing permit type in May 2025. About a third of permits carry no declared cost.

How we know this

Search options and records-request wording are quoted from the City of New Orleans' Search permits page and One Stop App help page, read 24 October 2026. Statuses and counts are from the City's NOLA Permits BLDS file, read 18 October 2026: residential permits issued October 2024 to September 2026.

Numbers come from public permit records in 57 cities, data through October 18, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.

Questions

  • How do I find out if a permit was pulled on my house in New Orleans?

    Type the house number and street into the search box at the top of the One Stop App (onestopapp.nola.gov), without city, state or ZIP. Open each permit on the address and read its status and inspections.

  • Can I search New Orleans permits by contractor?

    Yes. The City says the One Stop App search box takes a person's name, such as a contractor, architect or applicant. The open NOLA Permits BLDS file also carries the contractor's name and licence number on most permits.

  • How do I get New Orleans permit records that are not in the One Stop App?

    The City sends you first to NOLA Permits BLDS on data.nola.gov, which is updated nightly and exports more than 200 records, and then to a public records request at nola.nextrequest.com for anything not there.

  • How long does a New Orleans permit take to final?

    For permits issued October 2024 to September 2026, the usual time from issue to final was 72 days overall: 41 days for plumbing, 47 for electrical, 112 for HVAC, 155 for remodels and 272 for a new home.

  • Does the City of New Orleans issue permits for Metairie or Kenner?

    No. The City of New Orleans covers Orleans Parish only. Jefferson Parish (Metairie, Kenner), St. Bernard and St. Tammany run their own permit offices.

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Related guides

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Sources
  1. Search permits — City of New Orleans (2026-10-24)
  2. One Stop App — City of New Orleans (2026-10-24)
  3. Where can I find more information not available at the One Stop App — City of New Orleans (2026-10-24)
  4. Permits - BLDS (data.nola.gov, 72f9-bi28) — City of New Orleans (2026-10-18)
  5. Public records requests (NextRequest) — City of New Orleans (2026-10-24)