The usual fence permit in Naperville, the biggest trade with a completion date, takes 405 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,331 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). EV Charger is quickest at 59 days; new home the slowest at 672 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. Naperville'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 Naperville: For contractors with at least 8 permits a year or more old in the city's current permit system, the share finalized within a year.
Speed: How long their permits take from issue to final, using the city's dates in its current permit system, compared with other Naperville contractors in the trade. Shown for firms with 10+ such 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 Naperville record has no completion date for that trade (lawn irrigation), 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fence | 1,331 | 405 | 45.0% | 18 |
| Driveway & Sidewalk | 1,175 | 99 | 76.0% | 27 |
| Remodel & Repair | 1,057 | 175 | 78.5% | 13 |
| New Home | 955 | 672 | 14.0% | 8 |
| Electrical | 668 | 144 | 64.8% | 13 |
| Deck, Pergola & Gazebo | 348 | 169 | 75.5% | 6 |
| Solar | 341 | 107 | 78.2% | 10 |
| Lawn Irrigation | 300 | — | 35.4% | 9 |
| Addition | 299 | 422 | 65.3% | 3 |
| EV Charger | 266 | 59 | 69.9% | 7 |
| Patio | 252 | 355 | 59.9% | 2 |
| Plumbing & Sewer | 209 | 360 | 68.4% | 4 |
| Pool & Hot Tub | 111 | 418 | 28.8% | 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 fence permit in Naperville takes 405 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,331 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 45.0% of fence permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 12 months, the slowest quarter in 15.5 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Naperville's file.
16 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Naperville fence contractors →
The usual driveway & sidewalk permit in Naperville takes 99 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,175 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 76.0% of driveway & sidewalk permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 1.7 months, the slowest quarter in 4.1 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Naperville's file.
26 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Naperville driveway & sidewalk contractors →
The usual remodel & repair permit in Naperville takes 175 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,057 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 78.5% of remodel & repair permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 4 months, the slowest quarter in 8.6 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Naperville's file.
9 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Naperville remodel & repair contractors →
The usual new home permit in Naperville takes 672 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (955 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 14.0% of new home permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in Naperville's file.
The usual electrical permit in Naperville takes 144 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (668 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 64.8% of electrical permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 3.7 months, the slowest quarter in 4.8 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Naperville's file.
11 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Naperville electrical contractors →
The usual deck, pergola & gazebo permit in Naperville takes 169 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (348 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 75.5% of deck, pergola & gazebo permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 2.9 months, the slowest quarter in 5 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Naperville's file.
6 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Naperville deck, pergola & gazebo contractors →
The usual solar permit in Naperville takes 107 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (341 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 78.2% of solar permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 2.8 months, the slowest quarter in 3.6 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Naperville's file.
10 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Naperville solar contractors →
The Naperville record carries no completion date for lawn irrigation permits, so we can't count days. 35.4% of lawn irrigation permits a year or more old have been closed out. That is from 300 permits, October 2023 through September 2026. The wait for approval before issue is not in Naperville's file.
The usual addition permit in Naperville takes 422 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (299 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 65.3% of addition permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in Naperville's file.
The usual EV charger permit in Naperville takes 59 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (266 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 69.9% of EV charger permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 1.6 months, the slowest quarter in 2.3 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Naperville's file.
7 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Naperville EV charger contractors →
The usual patio permit in Naperville takes 355 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (252 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 59.9% of patio permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 6.9 months, the slowest quarter in 10.4 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Naperville's file.
2 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Naperville patio contractors →
The usual plumbing & sewer permit in Naperville takes 360 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (209 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 68.4% of plumbing & sewer permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 1.7 months, the slowest quarter in 11.8 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Naperville's file.
3 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Naperville plumbing & sewer contractors →
The usual pool & hot tub permit in Naperville takes 418 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (111 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 28.8% of pool & hot tub permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in Naperville's file.
Source: City of Naperville building permits (the current permit system plus the city's older records). 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 Naperville →
Other cities: Nashville Orlando New York City Chicago Austin Raleigh Cincinnati Cleveland Pittsburgh Miami Minneapolis St. Louis Denver San Diego Colorado Springs Honolulu Albuquerque Boulder Greensboro Saint Paul Arlington, VA Scottsdale Henderson Cambridge Somerville Cary Mesa Bellevue Cape Coral Provo Palo Alto Bellingham Bend Ames Denton Sugar Land Burlington, VT Seattle San Francisco Medford Anaheim Elk Grove Wilmington, NC Bismarck Tyler, TX Columbus, OH Wheaton, IL San Diego County (unincorporated) Marin County (unincorporated) Sacramento County (unincorporated) Citrus Heights, CA Waco, TX