Building permits in Seattle
Every permit we hold for Seattle, what gets built, and how long the city actually takes to issue one.
How long a permit takes in Seattle
Measured from the application date to the issue date on 2,755 permits that carry both. The city publishes both dates and joins neither.
The slowest few run to years — a permit left dormant rather than a queue — so the median and the 90th percentile are the honest summary, not the average.
How long each kind of permit takes
The city-wide figure hides the spread — building runs 55 days here while grading runs 97 days. Slowest first.
| Permit type | Typical | 9 in 10 within | Fastest | Permits measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grading | 97 days | 311 days | 2 days | 13 |
| Demolition | 81 days | 418 days | same day | 216 |
| Building | 55 days | 262 days | same day | 2,526 |
Types with fewer than eight measurable permits are left out: a median over three permits is an anecdote, not a typical duration.
What gets permitted in Seattle
Permit types as the city classifies them.
| Value | permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Building | 2,527 | 84.2% |
| Roof | 244 | 8.1% |
| Demolition | 216 | 7.2% |
| Grading | 13 | 0.4% |
Where those permits stand
| Value | permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Issued | 2,553 | 85.1% |
| Completed | 414 | 13.8% |
| Inspections Completed | 11 | 0.4% |
| Withdrawn | 9 | 0.3% |
| Ready for Issuance | 9 | 0.3% |
| Phase Issued | 4 | 0.1% |
Recently issued
- 1 8382 Loyal WAY NW 2026-09-04
- 2 2822 NW 92ND ST 2026-09-04
- 3 3239 NE 91ST ST 2026-09-04
- 4 316 NE 53RD ST 2026-09-04
- 5 6025 Beach DR SW 2026-09-04
- 6 1512 3RD AVE W 2026-09-04
- 7 2307 45TH AVE SW 2026-09-04
- 8 3400 PHINNEY AVE N 2026-09-04
Look up an address
Search Seattle permits by address, contractor or permit number, or compare against every city we cover.
Permit records come from Seattle’s own open-data publication. The city’s record is authoritative and we link it on every permit page.