The usual Sacramento County (unincorporated) permit takes 53 days from issue to the county's final inspection or closeout, across all 14 kinds of work on file (33,488 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). The usual HVAC permit, the biggest trade here, takes 56 days. Plumbing & Sewer is quickest at 8 days; ADU the slowest at 254 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 county to approve it. Sacramento County'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 county 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 Sacramento County (unincorporated): For contractors with at least 5 permits a year or more old, the share the County finaled or completed.
Speed: How long their permits take from issue to the County's finaled date, compared with other contractors in the trade. 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 county closed out.
| Trade | Permits | Usual days to finish | Finished | Firms with 10+ permits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC | 7,937 | 56 | 84.1% | 101 |
| Roofing | 5,397 | 19 | 87.7% | 128 |
| Electrical & Panel | 4,054 | 56 | 80.5% | 87 |
| Water Heater | 3,553 | 38 | 71.5% | 44 |
| Remodel, Addition & Repair | 2,933 | 85 | 90.1% | 44 |
| New Home | 2,344 | 171 | 100.0% | 13 |
| Solar & Battery | 2,001 | 50 | 84.4% | 30 |
| Windows & Doors | 1,589 | 71 | 90.9% | 17 |
| Plumbing & Sewer | 1,506 | 8 | 91.0% | 23 |
| EV Charger | 839 | 25 | 93.9% | 15 |
| Patio Cover & Accessory Structure | 631 | 86 | 88.0% | 12 |
| Pool & Spa | 350 | 143 | 84.3% | 7 |
| ADU | 207 | 254 | 93.0% | 2 |
| Demolition | 147 | 115 | 89.7% | 0 |
Each trade on its own, from issue to the county's sign-off. The spread between the quickest and slowest quarter of firms is the part you can choose.
The usual HVAC permit in Sacramento County (unincorporated) takes 56 days from issue to the county's final inspection or closeout (7,937 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 84.1% of HVAC permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 1.2 months, the slowest quarter in 2.5 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Sacramento County's file.
90 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Sacramento County (unincorporated) HVAC contractors →
The usual roofing permit in Sacramento County (unincorporated) takes 19 days from issue to the county's final inspection or closeout (5,397 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 87.7% of roofing permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 0.4 months, the slowest quarter in 0.7 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Sacramento County's file.
122 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Sacramento County (unincorporated) roofing contractors →
The usual electrical & panel permit in Sacramento County (unincorporated) takes 56 days from issue to the county's final inspection or closeout (4,054 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 80.5% of electrical & panel permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 1 month, the slowest quarter in 1.9 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Sacramento County's file.
78 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Sacramento County (unincorporated) electrical & panel contractors →
The usual water heater permit in Sacramento County (unincorporated) takes 38 days from issue to the county's final inspection or closeout (3,553 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 71.5% of water heater 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 2 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Sacramento County's file.
37 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Sacramento County (unincorporated) water heater contractors →
The usual remodel, addition & repair permit in Sacramento County (unincorporated) takes 85 days from issue to the county's final inspection or closeout (2,933 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 90.1% of remodel, addition & repair permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 2 months, the slowest quarter in 3.6 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Sacramento County's file.
44 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Sacramento County (unincorporated) remodel, addition & repair contractors →
The usual new home permit in Sacramento County (unincorporated) takes 171 days from issue to the county's final inspection or closeout (2,344 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 100.0% of new home 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 6.1 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Sacramento County's file.
13 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Sacramento County (unincorporated) new home contractors →
The usual solar & battery permit in Sacramento County (unincorporated) takes 50 days from issue to the county's final inspection or closeout (2,001 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 84.4% of solar & battery permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 1.2 months, the slowest quarter in 1.8 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Sacramento County's file.
24 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Sacramento County (unincorporated) solar & battery contractors →
The usual windows & doors permit in Sacramento County (unincorporated) takes 71 days from issue to the county's final inspection or closeout (1,589 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 90.9% of windows & doors permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 2.3 months, the slowest quarter in 2.6 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Sacramento County's file.
17 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Sacramento County (unincorporated) windows & doors contractors →
The usual plumbing & sewer permit in Sacramento County (unincorporated) takes 8 days from issue to the county's final inspection or closeout (1,506 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 91.0% of plumbing & sewer permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 0.1 months, the slowest quarter in 0.4 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Sacramento County's file.
23 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Sacramento County (unincorporated) plumbing & sewer contractors →
The usual EV charger permit in Sacramento County (unincorporated) takes 25 days from issue to the county's final inspection or closeout (839 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 93.9% of EV charger 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 Sacramento County's file.
14 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Sacramento County (unincorporated) EV charger contractors →
The usual patio cover & accessory structure permit in Sacramento County (unincorporated) takes 86 days from issue to the county's final inspection or closeout (631 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 88.0% of patio cover & accessory structure 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 3 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Sacramento County's file.
11 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Sacramento County (unincorporated) patio cover & accessory structure contractors →
The usual pool & spa permit in Sacramento County (unincorporated) takes 143 days from issue to the county's final inspection or closeout (350 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 84.3% of pool & spa permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 4.7 months, the slowest quarter in 5.3 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Sacramento County's file.
7 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Sacramento County (unincorporated) pool & spa contractors →
The usual ADU permit in Sacramento County (unincorporated) takes 254 days from issue to the county's final inspection or closeout (207 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 93.0% of ADU permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 5 months, the slowest quarter in 6.8 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Sacramento County's file.
2 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Sacramento County (unincorporated) ADU contractors →
The usual demolition permit in Sacramento County (unincorporated) takes 115 days from issue to the county's final inspection or closeout (147 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 89.7% of demolition permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in Sacramento County's file.
Source: Sacramento County building permits on single-family, duplex and townhouse homes in the unincorporated county (the County's Accela permit layer). 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 Sacramento County (unincorporated) →
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