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Washington, DC building permits

Data through September 2026 · updated 19 Oct 2026

92,275 building permits were issued in Washington, DC from October 2024 to September 2026, about 46,138 a year. Plumbing permits lead with 26,820, then electrical (25,131) and HVAC (9,905). 65% were for homes. The city's file doesn't name contractors, so we can't rank, compare or profile firms here: these pages show what was built, where and when.

92,275permits issued
46,138a year
65%for homes
Sep 2026records through

What gets built here

Plumbing

26,820permits
13,850last 12 mo

Electrical

25,131permits
12,534last 12 mo

HVAC

9,905permits
5,047last 12 mo

Remodels & repairs

9,349permits
4,895last 12 mo

Solar

7,204permits
3,080last 12 mo

Roofing

1,826permits
862last 12 mo

Fences & walls

1,262permits
654last 12 mo

Demolition

814permits
415last 12 mo

Additions

629permits
286last 12 mo

Garages, sheds & shade structures

520permits
258last 12 mo

What this page can and can't show

  • ✓Permits the city issued, by kind of work, month and ZIP code.
  • Who did the work. The city's file doesn't name contractors, so we can't rank, compare or profile firms here.
  • Which permits were finished. The file carries no usable permit status, so it can't say which permits were finished.
  • What the job cost. The file carries no job value.
  • Street addresses or owners. We publish counts and permit rows without them.

Building, trade and post-card permits the DC Department of Buildings issues across the whole District of Columbia. Home occupation permits, elevator shop drawings, civil plans, variances and after-hours work permits are left out. Arlington, Alexandria and the Maryland suburbs run their own permit offices and are not in this file.

Guides for this kind of work

All guides →

Permits by kind of work

Permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, every kind of work with 100 or more. Last 12 months is Oct 2025–Sep 2026. Homes is the share issued as residential permits.

Kind of workPermitsShareLast 12 mo
Plumbing26,82029%13,850
Electrical25,13127%12,534
HVAC9,90511%5,047
Remodels & repairs9,34910%4,895
Solar7,2048%3,080
Roofing1,8262%862
Fences & walls1,2621%654
Demolition814under 1%415
Additions629under 1%286
Garages, sheds & shade structures520under 1%258
New homes150under 1%71
Other8,5289%4,391

Fewer than 100 permits, so no row: pools & spas (88), ADUs & casitas (49).

Download this table (CSV)

Washington, DC permit statistics →Washington, DC permits by ZIP code →Washington, DC building permit search: Scout, eRecords and archived permits →

Nearby permit data

Permit data for other places in Washington, DC. Each permit office keeps its own file, so the numbers are not added together.

Arlington, VAFairfax County, VAMontgomery County, MDRockville, MDPrince George's County, MDHoward County, MD

How these numbers are made

Source: DC Department of Buildings, Building Permits in 2009 to 2026 (DC GIS FEEDS/DCRA FeatureServer, Open Data DC), read 19 Oct 2026. We count permits issued October 2024 through September 2026; denied and withdrawn permits are left out. The file carries no usable permit status, so it can't say which permits were finished, so no finished share is shown.

Building, trade and post-card permits the DC Department of Buildings issues across the whole District of Columbia. Home occupation permits, elevator shop drawings, civil plans, variances and after-hours work permits are left out. Arlington, Alexandria and the Maryland suburbs run their own permit offices and are not in this file.

  • The District's permit file names no contractor (the applicant is usually the person who filed), so there are no contractor lists, rankings or firm pages for Washington.
  • The file has no declared job value, only the fees paid, so we show no costs.
  • The Department of Buildings seldom updates a permit's status once the work is done, and the file has no final dates, so we show no finished share and no time to final.
  • Electrical, plumbing and mechanical work is filed as separate supplemental or post-card permits, so one job can count several times.
  • Homes are permits on land zoned for houses, rowhouses and flats (the R and RF zones). Apartment, downtown and mixed-use zones count as other.
  • Home occupation permits, elevator shop drawings, civil plans, variances, sheeting and shoring, and after-hours, soil-boring, scaffolding and tent permits are left out.

Counts are permits, not jobs: one job can need several permits. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. Sources and definitions →

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Please credit Contractor Records and link to this page. Suggested citation:

Contractor Records, "Washington, DC building permits", https://contractorrecords.com/washington-dc/, data through September 2026, from the DC Department of Buildings building-permit records.

Link to a table: By kind of work · Browse the permits · Permits each month.

Download the tables (CSV): Permits by kind of work · Permits in the last 12 months.

Common questions

  • How many building permits does Washington, DC issue a year?About 46,138 a year in Washington, DC: 92,275 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026, 46,401 of them in the last 12 months. That counts the permits the city issued, homes and commercial, not denied or withdrawn applications.
  • Can I find a contractor's permits in Washington, DC?Not from this file: the city publishes its permits without the contractor's name, so we can't list or rank firms. Ask the contractor for the permit number of a past job.
  • What do people build most in Washington, DC?Plumbing: 26,820 of the 92,275 permits (29%), then electrical (25,131), HVAC (9,905), October 2024 through September 2026.
  • How do I look up a building permit in Washington, DC?Filter the permit list on this page by month, kind of work and ZIP code to see what was issued. For one property's permits, search the city's own records by address or permit number; we don't publish addresses. How to look up a permit in Washington, DC →
  • How many permits were issued in Washington, DC last month?3,789 in September 2026, the last full month on file; 46,401 over the last 12 months.

Browse the permits

Browse 92,275 permits

Every permit in the file issued October 2024 through September 2026, newest first. Pick a month, a kind of work or a ZIP code. Each row is one permit: no street address, no names.

The list loads as you reach it (92,275 permits).

IssuedKind of workCity permit typeZIP

Permits each month, the last 12 months

Permits issued each month and the kind of work with the most. A month opens its permits in the list above.

MonthPermitsTop kind of work
Sep 20263,789Plumbing (1,090)
Aug 20263,618Plumbing (1,115)
Jul 20264,050Plumbing (1,300)
Jun 20264,139Plumbing (1,273)
May 20263,669Plumbing (1,067)
Apr 20263,761Plumbing (1,126)
Mar 20263,712Plumbing (1,169)
Feb 20263,232Plumbing (1,063)
Jan 20263,757Plumbing (1,186)
Dec 20254,092Electrical (1,228)
Nov 20254,388Electrical (1,313)
Oct 20254,194Plumbing (1,164)

Download this table (CSV)