Permit Speed Index
Building permit review timelines across 669 U.S. cities, compiled from 20+ years and 2,000+ jurisdictions of real commercial project data.
Compare Two Cities
Pick any two cities to compare their plan review timelines, expedited options, and case study results.
How Long Does Plan Review Take?
Distribution of first plan review turnaround times across all 669 cities.
Over half of U.S. cities (51%) complete first plan review in 14 business days or less. Only 11% take longer than 30 days.
Explore by State
Click a state to see all cities sorted by review time.
| City | Avg. Days | First Review | Expedited | Guide |
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The Hidden Delay Nobody Talks About
Published plan review timelines only measure the time a reviewer spends examining your drawings. What they don’t include is the intake queue — the gap between when you submit your permit application and when a plan reviewer actually opens your drawings.
In our experience across 2,000+ jurisdictions over 20 years, this intake queue adds 1 to 6 weeks to your actual timeline. In jurisdictions like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City, intake queues can exceed 8 weeks during peak construction seasons.
Typical intake queue addition to published timelines
This is why the same city can have a “10-day plan review” but take 8 weeks to get your permit approved. An experienced expediter manages the entire timeline — not just the review phase.
Case Study Highlights
Measurable time savings from PermitPlace’s 73 named case studies with real brands.
How We Built This Index
Field-verified commercial plan review timelines from PermitPlace’s two decades of permit expediting across the United States.
Data sourced from actual commercial permit projects across 2,000+ jurisdictions in 23 states. This index features the 669 cities with sufficient data.
Review times filtered to the 5–90 business day range to exclude outliers. Times represent first plan review turnaround for standard commercial projects.
Updated quarterly with new project data. Expedited review availability verified against current building department policies.
Need Permits Expedited?
PermitPlace has expedited building permits for brands like Target, Chili’s, Raising Cane’s, McDonald’s, and Coolsys across 2,000+ jurisdictions.
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