More jurisdictions are adopting permit approval SLAs. Here's what they look like by state and city.

How long does it take to get a building permit?

It depends on the state, the city, and the type of project.

In states with a legal deadline, most home permits must be reviewed within 10 to 30 business days after the application is complete. Florida allows 30 business days for most homes and 60 for larger buildings. North Carolina allows 15 business days for a first review. Texas allows 45 days. Utah allows 14 business days for houses.

In states without a deadline, the answer depends on the local department's workload. A simple project in a small town might take a week. A large commercial project in a busy city can take months.

Two things change the answer more than anything else: whether your application was complete when you submitted it, and how many rounds of corrections it needs. Use the map above to find the rule for your state or city.

What is a building permit review deadline (plan review SLA)?

A plan review service-level agreement (SLA) sets a deadline for reviewing building plans.

Some deadlines come from state laws. Florida, for example, gives departments 30 business days to decide on most residential permits. Others are goals set by the city, like Chicago's published review targets.

The difference matters. Some deadlines carry legal consequences when a department runs late. Others are goals that the city tracks and reports.

When does the permit review clock start?

Most review deadlines start when an application is complete, not when it first arrives.

Many states give departments 5 to 15 business days to identify missing information. If the department doesn't respond in time, some laws treat the application as complete and start the review clock.

That makes the first check important. Finding missing sheets or other information early helps reviewers avoid delays later.

Does the clock stop during corrections?

Usually. In many places, the clock pauses when a department sends comments back to the applicant. It starts again when the corrected plans arrive.

Some states set a shorter deadline for each new review. Florida, for example, gives departments less time for re-reviews and increases the fee reduction if they run late.

Rules vary, so check how your jurisdiction counts the days.

What happens if a building department misses the permit deadline?

It depends on the state or city. Four common outcomes are:

• Fee refunds. Florida and North Carolina can reduce permit fees by 10% for each business day a review runs late, subject to the rules for each permit type.
• Outside review. States including North Carolina, Texas, Arizona, and Georgia allow applicants to use qualified private reviewers in certain cases.
• Automatic approval. Some laws treat an application as approved if the government fails to act in time.
• Public reporting. Many cities publish their review targets and actual results without setting a legal penalty.

The map shows which rules apply and links to the original sources.

Do these deadlines apply to every permit type?

No. Many state laws focus on residential construction, especially single-family homes. Commercial buildings and larger residential projects may have longer deadlines or may not be covered at all.

Cities often set different review targets for different permit types.

Check the permit types covered by each rule before using its deadline.

Which states have the strictest building permit deadlines?

Measured by the penalty, not just the number of days:

• Florida cuts the permit fee 10% for every business day the department is late.
• North Carolina refunds 10% per day after 20 business days, and lets commercial applicants hire an outside reviewer after 45 days.
• Indiana gives 7 business days for residential plan review, with a private reviewer option and a fee refund.
• Utah gives 14 business days and lets the builder proceed on stamped plans if the city misses twice.
• Kansas and Pennsylvania treat residential permits as approved when the clock runs out.

Several other states have a deadline on paper but no penalty. The map shows those in a lighter blue.

What is a permit shot clock?

A permit shot clock is a legal deadline for a government to act on a permit application. The term comes from basketball. If the department does not decide before the clock runs out, something happens: a fee refund, automatic approval, or the applicant's right to hire an outside reviewer.

Georgia's 2026 development law, the Kansas Fast-Track Permits Act, Texas's 45-day rule, and Denver's 180-day order are all examples. The map shows which states and cities have one and what the penalty is.

What does "deemed approved" mean?

Deemed approved means the law treats an application as approved if the government fails to act on it in time. The applicant does not have to wait for a decision that never comes.

Kansas uses it for single-family homes after 60 days. Pennsylvania uses it for residential permits after 15 business days. West Virginia and Tennessee use it for development applications. Some states, like Michigan and New Jersey, do the opposite: silence counts as a denial, which lets the applicant appeal.

What is third-party or private provider plan review?

Some states let an applicant hire a licensed architect, engineer, or certified plan reviewer to check the plans instead of waiting for the building department. The department must then accept that review, usually within a few business days.

Florida calls this a "private provider" and allows it at any time. North Carolina, Texas, Arizona, Georgia, and Indiana have similar options, some of them only after the department misses its deadline. The applicant pays for the outside review.

What is California's Permit Streamlining Act?

The Permit Streamlining Act is a California law from 1977 that sets deadlines for land-use decisions like subdivisions and conditional use permits. A city has 30 days to say whether an application is complete and 60 to 180 days to decide, depending on environmental review.

It does not cover building permits. That gap is why California passed AB 2234 in 2022, which gives cities 15 business days to check a housing permit application for completeness and then 30 or 60 business days to review it. Both laws appear in the California popup on the map.

Does Chicago have a plan review deadline?

Not a legal one. Chicago's Cut the Tape order and Express Permit Program speed up simple permits, and the Department of Buildings publishes its average time to permit. But the city has not set a required number of days for standard plan review.

Illinois bills in the 2025–2026 session would set statewide deadlines of 15 to 30 business days and let applicants hire an outside reviewer when a town runs late.

How long is a building permit good for?

Most jurisdictions follow the model building codes, which say a permit expires if work does not start within 180 days of issuance, or if work stops for 180 days. Many cities let you ask for an extension before the permit expires.

This is a different clock from the review deadlines on this map. The review deadline is how long the department has to decide. The expiration is how long you have to use the permit once it is issued. Check your local code for the exact number.

Why do building permits take so long?

Three reasons show up again and again.

First, incomplete applications. If sheets are missing or the forms are wrong, the review cannot start, and many departments do not say so right away.

Second, reviews happen one at a time. Building, fire, planning, and engineering often look at the plans in sequence instead of together. Each handoff adds days.

Third, corrections. Every round of comments and resubmittals restarts part of the clock.

Most of the state laws on this map target all three. They start the clock only when the application is complete, they set a short window to flag missing items, and they count business days so departments can plan staffing.

My state is not on the map. Does that mean there is no deadline?

Not necessarily. We included rules we could confirm through public sources.

Some deadlines appear in state building codes rather than laws. Cities may also publish review targets without calling them SLAs.

If you know of a rule we missed, let us know. We'll check the source and update the map.

How do jurisdictions actually hit these deadlines?

Three things help jurisdictions keep reviews on schedule.

First, check applications for missing information before review begins. It's easier to fix an incomplete submittal at intake than after several disciplines have started reviewing it.

Second, let building, fire, planning, and engineering review the same plans at the same time. Passing plans from one discipline to the next adds time.

Third, track the time spent on each review. Managers need to know which reviews are falling behind while there's still time to act.

Good software makes these steps easier, but the process matters just as much.

How does e-PlanREVIEW help with a review deadline?

e-PlanREVIEW helps review teams manage three parts of the process.

Check plans at intake. AI tools can flag missing sheets and information before review begins.

Review together. Every discipline — building, fire, planning, engineering — can work on the same set of plans at the same time, with comments in one place.

Track each review. Managers can see how much time has passed, where reviews stand, and which ones need attention.

The goal is simple: fewer avoidable delays and better control over review times.

Book a demo to see how it works.