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Norfolk, VA building permits

Data through September 2026 · updated 19 Oct 2026

13,323 building permits were issued in Norfolk from October 2024 to September 2026, about 6,662 a year. Electrical permits lead with 3,913, then HVAC (3,708) and plumbing (2,609). 100% were for homes. The city's file doesn't name contractors, so we can't rank, compare or profile firms here: these pages show what was built, where, when and how fast the city signed it off.

13,323permits issued
6,662a year
100%for homes
80%finished (Oct 2024–Sep 2025 permits)
43days, usual issue to final
Sep 2026records through

What gets built here

Electrical

3,913permits
2,003last 12 mo
44days to final

HVAC

3,708permits
2,012last 12 mo
32days to final

Plumbing

2,609permits
1,444last 12 mo
16days to final

Remodels & repairs

1,327permits
713last 12 mo
56days to final

Solar

624permits
304last 12 mo
57days to final

New homes

490permits
264last 12 mo
219days to final

Additions

282permits
129last 12 mo
164days to final

What this page can and can't show

  • ✓Permits the city issued, by kind of work, month and ZIP code.
  • ✓How long a permit takes from issue to the city's final inspection.
  • ✓Which permits finished, are still open or expired.
  • ✓What the job was declared at on the permit.
  • Who did the work. The city's file doesn't name contractors, so we can't rank, compare or profile firms here.
  • Street addresses or owners. We publish counts and permit rows without them.

Residential permits the City of Norfolk issues inside the city: building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and demolition permits for single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses and their garages and sheds. Commercial permits, zoning permits and short-term rental inspections in the same file are not counted. Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and the other Hampton Roads cities run their own permit offices and are not in this file.

Hiring someone here?

The permit file can't tell you who does good work. Ask for the contractor's license number and look it up at the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, then ask the city whether they pulled the permit for your job.

How to check a contractor's license in Virginia →

Permits by kind of work

Permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, every kind of work with 100 or more. Last 12 months is Oct 2025–Sep 2026. Homes is the share issued as residential permits.

Kind of workPermitsShareLast 12 mo
Electrical3,91329%2,003
HVAC3,70828%2,012
Plumbing2,60920%1,444
Remodels & repairs1,32710%713
Solar6245%304
New homes4904%264
Additions2822%129
Demolition1401%68
Other1421%81

Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: roofing (49), garages, sheds & shade structures (36), ADUs & casitas (3).

Download this table (CSV)

Norfolk permit statistics →How long permits take in Norfolk →Norfolk permits by ZIP code →Norfolk building permit search: the open permits file, E-Permit Portal and FOIA →

Before you start a project

All guides →

Guides for Norfolk

Local permit rules and lookups, each with Norfolk's own permit numbers.

How these numbers are made

Source: City of Norfolk Open Data, Permits (data.norfolk.gov, dataset fahm-yuh4), read 19 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out.

Residential permits the City of Norfolk issues inside the city: building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and demolition permits for single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses and their garages and sheds. Commercial permits, zoning permits and short-term rental inspections in the same file are not counted. Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and the other Hampton Roads cities run their own permit offices and are not in this file.

  • The city's file names no contractor, so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Norfolk.
  • The city files roof replacements and rooftop solar under one work type. We count a permit of that type as solar when the city issued an electrical permit under it, and as roofing when it did not.
  • A new house or a big renovation gets separate building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, so one project can count several times, once under each kind of work.
  • The value is the project cost declared on the permit. The ZIP code comes from the city assessor's record for the parcel.

Counts are permits, not jobs: one job can need several permits. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. Sources and definitions →

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please credit Contractor Records and link to this page. Suggested citation:

Contractor Records, "Norfolk, VA building permits", https://contractorrecords.com/norfolk/, data through September 2026, from the City of Norfolk Development Services Center building-permit records.

Link to a table: By kind of work · Browse the permits · Permits each month.

Download the tables (CSV): Permits by kind of work · Permits in the last 12 months.

Common questions

  • How many building permits does Norfolk issue a year?About 6,662 a year in Norfolk: 13,323 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, 7,063 of them in the last 12 months. That counts the permits the city issued, all for homes, not denied or withdrawn applications.
  • Can I find a contractor's permits in Norfolk?Not from this file: the city publishes its permits without the contractor's name, so we can't list or rank firms. Check a license at the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation and ask the contractor for the permit number of a past job.
  • What do people build most in Norfolk?Electrical: 3,913 of the 13,323 permits (29%), then HVAC (3,708), plumbing (2,609), October 2024 through September 2026.
  • How long does a building permit take in Norfolk?The usual permit took 43 days from issue to the city's final (middle half: 12 to 116 days), from 5,017 permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025 that reached a final. Each kind of work →
  • How do I look up a building permit in Norfolk?Filter the permit list on this page by month, kind of work and ZIP code to see what was issued. For one property's permits, search the city's own records by address or permit number; we don't publish addresses. How to look up a permit in Norfolk →
  • How many permits were issued in Norfolk last month?588 in September 2026, the last full month on file; 7,063 over the last 12 months.

Browse the permits

Browse 13,323 permits

Every permit in the file issued October 2024 through September 2026, newest first. Pick a month, a kind of work, a ZIP code or a status. Each row is one permit: no street address, no names.

The list loads as you reach it (13,323 permits).

IssuedKind of workCity permit typeStatusZIP

Permits each month, the last 12 months

Permits issued each month and the kind of work with the most. A month opens its permits in the list above.

MonthPermitsTop kind of work
Sep 2026588HVAC (179)
Aug 2026573HVAC (163)
Jul 2026633HVAC (190)
Jun 2026613Electrical (188)
May 2026567Electrical (166)
Apr 2026653Electrical (188)
Mar 2026786Electrical (216)
Feb 2026637HVAC (209)
Jan 2026538HVAC (168)
Dec 2025516HVAC (162)
Nov 2025436HVAC (138)
Oct 2025523HVAC (152)

Download this table (CSV)