The usual electrical permit in Somerville, the biggest trade with a completion date, takes 112 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (2,877 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). Solar is quickest at 91 days; addition the slowest at 472 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. Somerville'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 Somerville: For contractors with at least 5 permits a year or more old, the share that were closed.
Speed: How long their permits take from issue to close, using the city's dates, compared with other Somerville 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 city closed out. A dash means the Somerville record has no completion date for that trade (insulation & weatherization, roofing, 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 | 2,877 | 112 | 89.1% | 64 |
| Plumbing | 1,810 | 196 | 67.1% | 40 |
| Remodel & Repair | 1,538 | 286 | 63.0% | 15 |
| Gas Fitting | 1,368 | 225 | 60.2% | 26 |
| Insulation & Weatherization | 805 | — | 46.7% | 15 |
| Roofing | 756 | — | 38.5% | 10 |
| HVAC & Sheet Metal | 691 | 365 | 50.8% | 12 |
| Windows, Doors & Siding | 547 | 461 | 51.4% | 10 |
| Solar | 324 | 91 | 77.4% | 9 |
| Deck & Porch | 205 | 208 | — | 0 |
| New Home | 187 | — | 36.4% | 4 |
| Addition | 114 | 472 | — | 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 electrical permit in Somerville takes 112 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (2,877 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 89.1% of electrical permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 2.9 months, the slowest quarter in 4.9 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Somerville's file.
62 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Somerville electrical contractors →
The usual plumbing permit in Somerville takes 196 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,810 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 67.1% of plumbing permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 4 months, the slowest quarter in 9 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Somerville's file.
30 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Somerville plumbing contractors →
The usual remodel & repair permit in Somerville takes 286 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,538 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 63.0% of remodel & repair permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 6.6 months, the slowest quarter in 14.6 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Somerville's file.
10 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Somerville remodel & repair contractors →
The usual gas fitting permit in Somerville takes 225 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (1,368 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 60.2% of gas fitting permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 2.8 months, the slowest quarter in 9.3 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Somerville's file.
19 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Somerville gas fitting contractors →
The Somerville record carries no completion date for insulation & weatherization permits, so we can't count days. 46.7% of insulation & weatherization permits a year or more old have been closed out. That is from 805 permits, October 2023 through September 2026. The wait for approval before issue is not in Somerville's file.
The Somerville record carries no completion date for roofing permits, so we can't count days. 38.5% of roofing permits a year or more old have been closed out. That is from 756 permits, October 2023 through September 2026. The wait for approval before issue is not in Somerville's file.
The usual HVAC & sheet metal permit in Somerville takes 365 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (691 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 50.8% of HVAC & sheet metal permits a year or more old have been closed out. The quickest quarter of firms usually finish in 6.7 months, the slowest quarter in 15.5 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Somerville's file.
9 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Somerville HVAC & sheet metal contractors →
The usual windows, doors & siding permit in Somerville takes 461 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (547 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 51.4% of windows, doors & siding permits a year or more old have been closed out. The wait for approval before issue is not in Somerville's file.
The usual solar permit in Somerville takes 91 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (324 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). 77.4% of solar 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 3 months. The wait for approval before issue is not in Somerville's file.
8 firms with enough permits to measure, each firm's usual months to finish, weighted by its permits. Compare Somerville solar contractors →
The usual deck & porch permit in Somerville takes 208 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (205 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). The wait for approval before issue is not in Somerville's file.
The Somerville record carries no completion date for new home permits, so we can't count days. 36.4% of new home permits a year or more old have been closed out. That is from 187 permits, October 2023 through September 2026. The wait for approval before issue is not in Somerville's file.
The usual addition permit in Somerville takes 472 days from issue to the city's final inspection or closeout (114 permits, October 2023 through September 2026). The wait for approval before issue is not in Somerville's file.
Source: City of Somerville permit applications (issued permits only). 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 Somerville →
Other cities: Nashville Orlando New York City Chicago Austin Raleigh Cincinnati Cleveland Pittsburgh Miami Minneapolis St. Louis Denver San Diego Colorado Springs Honolulu Albuquerque Boulder Greensboro Saint Paul Arlington, VA Scottsdale Henderson Cambridge Cary Mesa Naperville Bellevue Cape Coral Provo Palo Alto Bellingham Bend Ames Denton Sugar Land Burlington, VT Seattle San Francisco Medford Anaheim Elk Grove Wilmington, NC Bismarck Tyler, TX Columbus, OH Wheaton, IL San Diego County (unincorporated) Marin County (unincorporated) Sacramento County (unincorporated) Citrus Heights, CA Waco, TX