Data through September 2026 · updated 19 Oct 2026
2,188 solar permits were issued in Philadelphia, October 2024 through September 2026: about 1,094 a year and 4% of all permits. 678 solar permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), 55% fewer than the 1,510 in the 12 months before. The busiest month is October. The usual one took 37 days from issue to the city's final. 19143 has the most, 150.
Permits issued each month, October 2024 through September 2026.
| Month | Permits |
|---|---|
| Oct 2024 | 150 |
| Nov 2024 | 75 |
| Dec 2024 | 125 |
| Jan 2025 | 130 |
| Feb 2025 | 127 |
| Mar 2025 | 181 |
| Apr 2025 | 167 |
| May 2025 | 140 |
| Jun 2025 | 106 |
| Jul 2025 | 128 |
| Aug 2025 | 106 |
| Sep 2025 | 75 |
| Oct 2025 | 106 |
| Nov 2025 | 91 |
| Dec 2025 | 60 |
| Jan 2026 | 43 |
| Feb 2026 | 32 |
| Mar 2026 | 46 |
| Apr 2026 | 40 |
| May 2026 | 37 |
| Jun 2026 | 73 |
| Jul 2026 | 54 |
| Aug 2026 | 60 |
| Sep 2026 | 36 |
By calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line). October is the busiest (140), September the quietest (61). A busy month at the permit counter usually means a longer wait for a contractor.
| Month | Index |
|---|---|
| January | 95 |
| February | 87 |
| March | 124 |
| April | 114 |
| May | 97 |
| June | 98 |
| July | 100 |
| August | 91 |
| September | 61 |
| October | 140 |
| November | 91 |
| December | 101 |
Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025, at least 12 months before the file ends. Usual days is the middle permit among the 1,194 with a final date.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Permits issued Oct 2024–Sep 2025 | 1,510 |
| Finished | 79.1% |
| Expired | 12.8% |
| Usual days, issue to final | 37 |
| Middle half, days | 24–63 |
Counted at the property's ZIP code. Share is the part of the city's 2,188 solar permits.
How the city filed these permits. We group its types into kinds of work; this is the split.
| Permit type | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical: Addition and/or Alteration | 1,808 | 83% |
| General: Solar Panels and Structure | 374 | 17% |
| Residential Building: Addition and/or Alteration | 3 | under 1% |
| Electrical: New Construction | 3 | under 1% |
Plumbing (20,008)Remodels & repairs (10,519)Electrical (9,822)HVAC (6,884)Roofing (3,853)New homes (1,334)Additions (847)Demolition (621)
From our cross-city data studies: the same measure, read the same way, for every city we cover.
Source: City of Philadelphia, Licenses and Inspections Building and Zoning Permits, 2007 to present (OpenDataPhilly; Carto table permits), 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 Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) issues inside the city, which is also Philadelphia County: building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, EZ minor-work, demolition and solar permits for homes. Commercial permits, zoning and use permits, excavation and site permits, certificates of occupancy and event permits in the same file are not counted. Suburbs in Bucks, Montgomery and Delaware counties run their own permit offices and are not in this file.
Counts are permits, not jobs: one job can need several permits. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. Sources and definitions →
Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please credit Contractor Records and link to this page. Suggested citation:
Contractor Records, "Solar permits in Philadelphia, PA", https://contractorrecords.com/philadelphia/solar-permits, data through September 2026, from the City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections building-permit records.Link to a table: By month · Season · Days to final · By ZIP code · Permit types.
Download the tables (CSV): Solar permits by month · Solar permits by calendar month (index) · Solar permits: days to final · Solar permits by ZIP code · Solar permits by permit type.