How many building permits does Washington, DC issue a year?

About 46,138 a year in Washington, DC: 92,275 permits over 24 months, October 2024 through September 2026. 46,401 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025-Sep 2026), about the same as the 45,874 in the 12 months before.

Are building permits up or down in Washington, DC?

46,401 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025-Sep 2026), about the same as the 45,874 in the 12 months before. Plumbing permits grew most (12,970 to 13,850); solar permits fell most (4,124 to 3,080).

What is the busiest month for permits in Washington, DC?

October, counting every kind of work (111 against an average month of 100). February is the quietest (84). Each kind of work has its own season; the charts above show them.

Washington, DC Permit Statistics (2026): 92,275 Permits

By kind of work

Permits issued October 2024 through September 2026. Last 12 months is Oct 2025–Sep 2026; the 12 months before is Oct 2024–Sep 2025. Homes is the share issued as residential permits. Busiest month is the calendar month with the most permits on average.

Kind of work	Permits	Share	Last 12 mo	12 mo before	Change	Homes	Busiest month
Plumbing	26,820	29%	13,850	12,970	+7%	65%	April
Electrical	25,131	27%	12,534	12,597	−1%	63%	October
HVAC	9,905	11%	5,047	4,858	+4%	62%	July
Remodels & repairs	9,349	10%	4,895	4,454	+10%	100%	July
Solar	7,204	8%	3,080	4,124	−25%	84%	November
Roofing	1,826	2%	862	964	−11%	66%	October
Fences & walls	1,262	1%	654	608	+8%	90%	May
Demolition	814	under 1%	415	399	+4%	48%	March
Additions	629	under 1%	286	343	−17%	100%	April
Garages, sheds & shade structures	520	under 1%	258	262	−2%	100%	August
New homes	150	under 1%	71	79	−10%	100%	May
Other	8,528	9%	4,391	4,137	+6%	11%	June

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

Download this table (CSV)

By year

Permits issued in each calendar year of the window. Per year scales a part year to 12 months.

Year	Months	Permits	Per year
2024 (from October)	3	11,291	45,164
2025	12	47,257	47,257
2026 (through September)	9	33,727	44,969

Download this table (CSV)

By month

Permits issued each month, October 2024 through September 2026. The tallest bar is the busiest month on file.

The same numbers as a table

Month	Permits
Oct 2024	4,337
Nov 2024	3,416
Dec 2024	3,538
Jan 2025	3,424
Feb 2025	3,204
Mar 2025	3,798
Apr 2025	3,980
May 2025	4,103
Jun 2025	4,035
Jul 2025	4,017
Aug 2025	3,913
Sep 2025	4,109
Oct 2025	4,194
Nov 2025	4,388
Dec 2025	4,092
Jan 2026	3,757
Feb 2026	3,232
Mar 2026	3,712
Apr 2026	3,761
May 2026	3,669
Jun 2026	4,139
Jul 2026	4,050
Aug 2026	3,618
Sep 2026	3,789

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When each kind of work is filed

Permits by calendar month, 100 = an average month (the thin line), October 2024 through September 2026. Kinds of work do not all peak together. Each month is counted twice (once a year), so one unusual month still moves these numbers.

Plumbing

26,820 permits · busiest April, quietest December

Electrical

25,131 permits · busiest October, quietest February

HVAC

9,905 permits · busiest July, quietest November

Remodels & repairs

9,349 permits · busiest July, quietest January

Solar

7,204 permits · busiest November, quietest April

Roofing

1,826 permits · busiest October, quietest December

Fences & walls

1,262 permits · busiest May, quietest February

Demolition

814 permits · busiest March, quietest February

The same numbers as a table

Kind of work	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Plumbing	96	93	108	109	99	104	103	97	102	101	97	91
Electrical	97	82	96	98	101	108	96	94	98	116	109	104
HVAC	85	78	95	101	105	111	134	115	119	98	71	86
Remodels & repairs	77	77	101	113	114	111	116	111	110	109	81	81
Solar	95	64	65	55	81	88	78	74	81	160	187	171
Roofing	91	101	89	96	116	90	118	93	108	120	99	78
Fences & walls	83	70	91	115	131	114	113	112	118	94	84	74
Demolition	112	80	118	84	100	109	100	112	102	94	99	90

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Homes and everything else

How the city classed each permit. Other covers commercial buildings, signs, towers and similar work.

Permit class	Permits	Share	Last 12 mo
Homes (residential)	59,913	65%	29,812
Other	32,362	35%	16,589

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By ZIP code

The 10 ZIP codes with the most permits, counted at the property's ZIP code. A ZIP code can cross into a city that runs its own permit office; only the city's permits are counted.

ZIP code	Permits	Share	Top kind of work
20011	10,589	11%	Plumbing (3,213)
20002	10,483	11%	Plumbing (3,597)
20001	6,612	7%	Plumbing (1,956)
20020	6,362	7%	Electrical (1,900)
20019	6,199	7%	Electrical (1,994)
20016	5,165	6%	Plumbing (1,501)
20007	5,139	6%	Plumbing (1,521)
20003	4,987	5%	Plumbing (1,710)
20010	3,933	4%	Plumbing (1,438)
20009	3,913	4%	Plumbing (1,187)

All 22 ZIP codes with 250+ permits →

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How Washington, DC compares with other cities

From our cross-city data studies: the same measure, read the same way, for every city we cover.

Finished share of permits a year or more old, compared across cities. Permit completion rates by city →
Share of permits still open a year after they were issued, compared across cities. Permits still open after a year, by city →
Firms per city, how many are active and how many are new, across 53 cities. How many contractors each city has →
Busiest Oct, quietest Feb for permits here; see when each trade peaks in 50 cities. Busiest months for home projects, by city →

Nearby permit data

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

Arlington, VA Fairfax County, VA Montgomery County, MD Rockville, MD Prince George's County, MD Howard 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 permit statistics", https://contractorrecords.com/washington-dc/permit-statistics, data through September 2026, from the DC Department of Buildings building-permit records.

Link to a table: By kind of work · By year · By month · When each kind of work is filed · Homes and everything else · By ZIP code.

Download the tables (CSV): Permits by kind of work · Permits by year · Permits by month · Permits by calendar month (index) · Homes and other permits · Permits by ZIP code.

Common questions

How many building permits does Washington, DC issue a year?About 46,138 a year in Washington, DC: 92,275 permits over 24 months, October 2024 through September 2026. 46,401 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), about the same as the 45,874 in the 12 months before.
Are building permits up or down in Washington, DC?46,401 permits in the last 12 months (Oct 2025–Sep 2026), about the same as the 45,874 in the 12 months before. Plumbing permits grew most (12,970 to 13,850); solar permits fell most (4,124 to 3,080).
What is the busiest month for permits in Washington, DC?October, counting every kind of work (111 against an average month of 100). February is the quietest (84). Each kind of work has its own season; the charts above show them.
What share of Washington, DC permits are for homes?65%: 59,913 of the 92,275 permits issued October 2024 through September 2026 were residential permits.

Washington, DC permit data →Washington, DC plumbing permits →Washington, DC electrical permits →Washington, DC HVAC permits →Browse Washington, DC permits →