The usual roofing permit in Palo Alto, the biggest trade with a completion date, takes 48 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,603 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). Plumbing & Sewer is quickest at 20 days; addition the slowest at 554 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. Palo Alto'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.
Speed: How long their permits take from the date the application was opened to final inspection, compared with other Palo Alto contractors in the trade. For permits not issued on the spot this includes plan-review time. 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 Palo Alto record has no completion date for that trade (ADU, new home), so there is nothing to count days from; it does not mean those permits are slow.
| Trade | Permits | Usual days to finish | Firms with 10+ permits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roofing | 1,603 | 48 | 36 |
| HVAC & Heat Pumps | 938 | 69 | 16 |
| Electrical | 915 | 70 | 11 |
| Water Heater | 851 | 50 | 6 |
| Remodel & Alteration | 673 | 187 | 4 |
| Plumbing & Sewer | 634 | 20 | 13 |
| Solar & Battery | 410 | 109 | 7 |
| Demolition | 256 | 283 | 3 |
| Windows & Doors | 216 | 81 | 2 |
| ADU | 206 | — | 0 |
| Foundation & Seismic | 148 | 130 | 4 |
| New Home | 128 | — | 1 |
| Addition | 100 | 554 | 0 |
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 roofing permit in Palo Alto takes 48 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,603 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 1 month, the slowest quarter in 2.3 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Palo Alto's file.
36 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Palo Alto roofing contractors →
The usual HVAC & heat pumps permit in Palo Alto takes 69 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (938 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 1.7 months, the slowest quarter in 2.9 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Palo Alto's file.
16 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Palo Alto HVAC & heat pumps contractors →
The usual electrical permit in Palo Alto takes 70 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (915 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 1.6 months, the slowest quarter in 2.8 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Palo Alto's file.
11 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Palo Alto electrical contractors →
The usual water heater permit in Palo Alto takes 50 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (851 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). The wait for approval before issue is not in Palo Alto's file.
The usual remodel & alteration permit in Palo Alto takes 187 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (673 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 3.2 months, the slowest quarter in 7 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Palo Alto's file.
4 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Palo Alto remodel & alteration contractors →
The usual plumbing & sewer permit in Palo Alto takes 20 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (634 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 0.4 months, the slowest quarter in 0.6 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Palo Alto's file.
13 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Palo Alto plumbing & sewer contractors →
The usual solar & battery permit in Palo Alto takes 109 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (410 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 3.5 months, the slowest quarter in 5.2 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Palo Alto's file.
7 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Palo Alto solar & battery contractors →
The usual demolition permit in Palo Alto takes 283 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (256 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 7.3 months, the slowest quarter in 9.3 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Palo Alto's file.
3 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Palo Alto demolition contractors →
The usual windows & doors permit in Palo Alto takes 81 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (216 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 2.2 months, the slowest quarter in 2.3 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Palo Alto's file.
2 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Palo Alto windows & doors contractors →
The usual foundation & seismic permit in Palo Alto takes 130 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (148 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 3.2 months, the slowest quarter in 4.8 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Palo Alto's file.
4 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Palo Alto foundation & seismic contractors →
The usual addition permit in Palo Alto takes 554 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (100 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). The wait for approval before issue is not in Palo Alto's file.
No completion date or closeout on record for ADU, new home, so no answer for those trades.
Source: City of Palo Alto Development Center building permits on single-family, duplex and ADU homes. 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 Palo Alto →
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