The usual electrical permit in New York City, the biggest trade with a completion date, takes 162 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (50,479 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). Demolition is quickest at 32 days; structural & foundation the slowest at 805 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. New York City'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 New York City: For contractors with at least 5 permits a year or more old, the share that reached sign-off.
Speed: How fast their permits get signed off compared with other NYC contractors in the trade. Building trades use the letter-of-completion date; electrical uses how quickly permits close. Shown for firms with 10+ permits (20+ for electrical).
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 New York City record has no completion date for that trade (new home), 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 | 50,479 | 162 | 76.1% | 499 |
| Solar | 19,067 | 144 | 83.9% | 52 |
| Renovation | 11,805 | 433 | 65.2% | 183 |
| Plumbing | 11,396 | 350 | 77.4% | 194 |
| Structural & Foundation | 6,279 | 805 | 44.3% | 120 |
| HVAC & Boilers | 3,503 | 417 | 65.1% | 53 |
| Driveway Curb Cut | 2,045 | 74 | 93.1% | 45 |
| Demolition | 1,736 | 32 | 97.8% | 38 |
| New Home | 1,087 | — | 19.9% | 26 |
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 New York City takes 162 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (50,479 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 76.1% of electrical permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in New York City's file.
The usual solar permit in New York City takes 144 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (19,067 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 83.9% of solar permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 3 months, the slowest quarter in 4.6 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in New York City's file.
46 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare New York City solar contractors →
The usual renovation permit in New York City takes 433 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (11,805 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 65.2% of renovation permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 5.5 months, the slowest quarter in 10.5 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in New York City's file.
111 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare New York City renovation contractors →
The usual plumbing permit in New York City takes 350 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (11,396 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 77.4% of plumbing permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 8.1 months, the slowest quarter in 13.4 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in New York City's file.
165 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare New York City plumbing contractors →
The usual structural & foundation permit in New York City takes 805 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (6,279 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 44.3% of structural & foundation permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 13.8 months, the slowest quarter in 25 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in New York City's file.
58 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare New York City structural & foundation contractors →
The usual HVAC & boilers permit in New York City takes 417 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (3,503 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 65.1% of HVAC & boilers permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 7.3 months, the slowest quarter in 11.3 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in New York City's file.
39 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare New York City HVAC & boilers contractors →
The usual driveway curb cut permit in New York City takes 74 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (2,045 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 93.1% of driveway curb cut permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 1.5 months, the slowest quarter in 2.6 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in New York City's file.
43 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare New York City driveway curb cut contractors →
The usual demolition permit in New York City takes 32 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,736 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 97.8% of demolition 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 1.1 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in New York City's file.
38 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare New York City demolition contractors →
The New York City record carries no completion date for new home permits, so we can't count days. 19.9% of new home permits a year or more old have been closed out. That is from 1,087 permits, October 2023 through September 2026. The wait for approval before issue is not in New York City's file.
Source: NYC Department of Buildings permits and DOB NOW filings on one- and two-family homes (NYC Open Data). 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 New York City →
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