Building permits help to establish compliance of construction work with the minimum standards of safety established by the State Building Code to ensure public health and safety for everyone. A building permit is required before beginning most construction, demolition, modification and repair work. The Inspectional Services Department offers permitting processes tailored for a wide variety of projects, from home repairs to building demolition.

For more information on the permitting process, visit our Inspectional Services Department Permitting Process page. To apply for a new building permit or check the status of your pending permit application, go to our City of Boston Permits and Licenses Application page.

WHAT IS THE DATASET FOR?

This dataset includes information about building permits issued by the City of Boston from 2009 to the present. Permits that are being processed or have been denied, deleted, void or revoked are not included in the dataset.

WHAT PERMIT TYPES ARE PRESENT IN THE DATASET?

This dataset includes information about the following types of building permits:

• Short Form Building Permit
• Electrical Permit
• Plumbing Permit
• Gas Permit
• Electrical Low Voltage
• Long Form/Alteration Permit
• Electrical Fire Alarms
• Certificate of Occupancy
• Electrical Temporary Service
• Amendment to a Long Form
• Erect/New Construction
• Use of Premises
• Foundation Permit

For more information on these permits and their application process, visit our Building Permits information page.

WHAT DOES EACH PERMIT APPLICATION STATUS MEAN?

• Issued: indicates that the permit has been issued on date specified as issued_date.

• Open: indicates that the permit has been issued and is still valid for the applicant (i.e. not expired yet).

• Closed: indicates that the permit was successfully issued but is not valid anymore (i.e. has expired).

• Stop work: indicates the permit was successfully issued but it stopped working due to non-compliance or other issues before the expiration date.

This dataset includes information about building permits issued by the City of Chicago from 2006 to the present, excluding permits that have been voided or revoked after issuance. Most types of permits are issued subject to payment of the applicable permit fee. Work under a permit may not begin until the applicable permit fee is paid. For more information about building permits, see http://www.chicago.gov/permit.

The Department of Building and Safety issues permits for the construction, remodeling, and repair of buildings and structures in the City of Los Angeles. Permits are categorized into building permits, electrical permits, and mechanical permits (which include plumbing, HVAC systems, fire sprinklers, elevators, and pressure vessels). Depending on the complexity of a project, a permit may be issued the same day with Express Permit or e-Permit ("No Plan Check" category), or a permit may require that the plans be reviewed ("Plan Check" category) by a Building and Safety Plan Check personnel.

The City requires permits for commercial and residential development, such as new single-family homes, commercial construction, remodels, additions and related activity like trade (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) work. City review ensures that construction projects adhere to the City’s adopted Building Codes and the Unified Development Code to enhance the health and safety for you, your family and our community.

The datasets below are provided as-is as a record of building activity in San Antonio. For any additional information not contained below, or for information and documentation related to building activity, a request for information (“open records request”) is needed; please refer to the City of San Antonio Open Government Request site at https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/CE/Open-Records-Request to submit a request.

This dataset contains data on permits for residential construction collected in the Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey. Data is aggregated to the County level. Data is only for final permits, not preliminary permits. Final permit data is published in May of the following year. Annual data are available from 1980 through the most recent reporting year, and may also contain imputed values. This dataset is part of the State of the Cities Data Systems (SOCDS).

City of Austin Open Data Terms of Use https://data.austintexas.gov/stories/s/ranj-cccq Building, Electrical, Mechanical, and Plumbing Permits and Driveway/Sidewalk Permits issued by the City of Austin. Includes relevant details such as issue date, location, council district, expiration date, description of work, square footage, valuation, and units. This dataset is compliant with the Building & Land Development Specification (BLDS) data standard. Development Services DEPARTMENT DATA DISCLAIMER: The data provided are for informational use only and may differ from official DSD data. DSD’s database is continuously updated, so reports run at different times may produce different results. Care should be taken when comparing against other reports as different data collection methods and different data sources may have been used. The Development Services Department does not assume any liability for any decision made or action taken or not taken by the recipient in reliance upon any information or data provided.

Building Permits in the United States decreased to 1422 Thousand in April from 1481 Thousand in March of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Building Permits - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

This dataset includes all pending and approved permits related to buildings, as well as non-construction inspections permits. This dataset does not include plumbing, electrical, mechanical, right of way, grading or other types of permits. Improvements to this dataset include alignment with a national data standards called BLDS, including additional fields related to contractors.Update Frequency: DailyTime Period: 2000-PresentExclusions: Plumbing, electrical, mechanical, right-of-way, grading, and other specialized permits.

What is Building Permit Data?

Building Permit Data is a detailed repository of records related to the permits issued by local authorities for various construction-related projects. These permits are mandatory for any significant building activity, ensuring that all developments comply with local zoning laws, safety standards, and building codes.

This data typically includes a wealth of information such as:

• Permit Types: Whether it’s a new construction, renovation, or demolition, the type of permit issued is recorded.
• Issuance Dates: The date when the permit was issued, providing a timeline of construction activities.
• Project Descriptions: Detailed descriptions of the construction or renovation work being undertaken.
• Contractor Information: Information about the contractors responsible for the work, offering insights into the key players in local development.
• Valuation Estimates: Estimated costs associated with the projects, crucial for understanding the scale and economic impact of the developments.

This granular level of detail makes building permit data an indispensable resource for various applications.

This data layer provides a comprehensive view of all permits within the jurisdiction. This layer is utilized by the City-County Inspections Department to monitor ongoing construction and development activities, ensuring compliance with local codes and regulations. Each permit is linked to a specific location, allowing inspectors and other officials to track the progress of projects, address any potential issues, and maintain up-to-date records. This data supports an essential service to residents and businesses across Durham, North Carolina.

SummaryThis data set shows building permits for the Baltimore metropolitan region. The data goes back to 2000 and is updated approximately once every two months. Expanded building permit data can be found at https://www.baltometro.org/community/data-maps/building-permit-data.DescriptionThe permits include any permit that is use code 40-48 (most new residential), 60-65 (mixed use), or is greater than or equal to $50,000. Historically, BMC receives the permits from participating jurisdictions and geocodes them. In recent years, some jurisdictions have started geocoding their own permits. When this is the case, BMC incorporates the geocoded points as given, and does not include them in its own geocoding process.Expanded building permit data can be found at https://www.baltometro.org/community/data-maps/building-permit-data.Layers:BPDS_Residential_New_ConstructionBPDS_Residential_AlterationsBPDS_Non_Residential_New_ConstructionBPDS_ Non_Residential _AlterationsBPDS_Mixed_Use_New_ConstructionThere is no layer for Mixed Use alterations; alterations to Mixed Use always get classified as Residential or Non-Residential.Field NamesField Name (alias)Descriptionpermit_no (County Permit ID)Original permit ID provided by the jurisdictionissue_dt (Date Permit Was Issued)Date the permit was issuedxcoord (X Coordinate)Longitude, in NAD 1983 decimal degreesycoord (Y Coordinate)Latitude, in NAD 1983 decimal degreessite_addr (Site Address)Address of the constructionzipcode (Site Zipcode)Zipcode of the constructionoffice (Office Number)This number corresponds to a jurisdiction and is used for BMC administrative recordspmt_use (Permit Use)Permit use code. A list of the values can be found at https://gis.baltometro.org/Application/BPDS/docs/BPDS_Permit_Use_Codes.pdfpmt_type (Permit Type)Permit type code. A list of the values can be found at https://gis.baltometro.org/Application/BPDS/docs/BPDS_Permit_Use_Codes.pdfdevelopment_name (Development Name / Subdivision)Subdivision name, if providedunit_count (Number of Units)Number of units, if provided. Only found in residential recordstenure (Tenure)If provided, indicates whether building is expected to be for rent or for sale after construction is complete. 1=For Rent, 2=For Saleamount (Amount)Estimated cost of constructionpmt_cat (Permit Category)Simplified classification of the pmt_use and pmt_type fieldsdescrip (Description)Description of construction, if providedJurisdiction (Jurisdiction)Jurisdiction (a county or city)Update CycleThe data is updated approximately once every three months.User NoteOver the years, building permit points were geocoded using a variety of software and reference data. The Baltimore Metropolitan Council made every effort to ensure accurate geocoding however there may be inaccuracies or inconsistencies in how the points were placed. For best results, the Baltimore Metropolitan Council recommends aggregating the building permit points to a larger geography (ex. Census tract, zip code) when analyzing the data.Data Access InstructionsTo download the data or access it via API, visit https://gisdata.baltometro.org/.Technical ContactFor questions or comments, contact Erin Bolton, GIS Coordinator, at ebolton@baltometro.org or 410-732-0500.

** NOTE: The data pipeline for this dataset has been switched to a new feed which should alleviate the previous problem of partial updates (you can still check agency counter to verify the completeness of the records published here). However, we are still working on restoring the owner_name field, so for now some owner names (beyond the redacted ones) may be missing. **

Overview

The City of Pittsburgh’s Permits, Licenses, and Inspections (PLI) Department regulates construction in Pittsburgh. This dataset contains records of permits issued by PLI from 2019-06-01 until the present. Permit records dating back to 2012 may be found in this historical datasets of PLI permits.

Motivation

These permit records are used to manage permitting data by City employees and can be used to understand when permits are issued, the nature of the work, where work is occurring, and the dollar value of the project.

Collection

The permit records in this dataset are drawn from the Computronix (CX) system which is used to manage these permits.

There are four general classes of permits that are present in these data (building permits, mechanical permits, electrical permits, and “general” permits). Building permits pertain to new construction or construction updates to existing properties. Mechanical permits are obtained for installation or alterations to systems in a building such as HVAC, gas systems, boilers, etc. Electrical permits are required for new work or upgrades to electrical systems such as electrical panels, generators, or wiring. "General permits" is a miscellaneous class that contains the following permit types:

• LAND OPERATIONS PERMIT
• SIGN PERMIT
• OCCUPANT LOAD PLACARD PERMIT
• OCCUPANCY ONLY PERMIT
• SUPPRESSION SYSTEM PERMIT
• FIRE ALARM PERMIT
• DEMOLITION PERMIT
• STORM WATER PERMIT
• FLOOD PLAIN PERMIT
• PLAN REVIEW MEETING

More documentation on PLI permits can be found at https://pittsburghpa.gov/pli/pli-permits.

Mechanical, electrical, and building permits are far more prevalent in the dataset because general permits are divided into 10 sub-types.

The field ext_file_num represents the only UUID for each permit record.

Pre-processing

All string text (most fields) were converted to UPPERCASE data. The data are manually entered and often contain non-uniform formatting. While several solutions for cleaning the data exist, including allowing the user to clean the data after accessing it here, text were transformed to UPPERCASE to ensure the data were uniformly formatted in this case. Future improvements to this ETL pipeline may approach this problem with a more sophisticated technique.

We've redacted owner names for permits where the property appears to be currently owner-occupied.

Known Limitations/Biases

Plumbing permits are not included in this dataset, because the Allegheny County Health Department Plumbing Division is responsible for all plumbing permits in the City of Pittsburgh.

Other

Support for Health Equity datasets and tools provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) through their Health Equity Initiative.

Key information about US Building Permits

• United States Building Permits data was reported at 111,517.000 Unit in Jan 2025.
• This records a decrease from the previous number of 112,592.000 Unit for Dec 2024.
• US Building Permits data is updated monthly, averaging 112,592.000 Unit from Jan 1959 to Jan 2025, with 793 observations.
• The data reached an all-time high of 214,600.000 Unit in Jun 1972 and a record low of 36,280.000 Unit in Jan 2011.
• US Building Permits data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by CEIC Data.
• The data is categorized under World Trend Plus’s Global Economic Monitor – Table: Building Permits: Monthly.

The City of Saint Paul's Department of Safety and Inspections requires homeowners or licensed contractors to obtain a building permit before the following changes are made on one or two-family residences, multi-family residences, or buildings for commercial, industrial, or institutional use:Building a new structureAdding an addition to current structureRemodeling or repairing a structureFor more information about the requirements and the application process, please visit: https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/safety-inspections/building-and-construction/construction-permits-and-inspections/building-permits-inspections Note: We have identified an issue with the time-related data in our datasets. The times are displayed correctly as Central time when viewing the data in the City’s open information portal. Upon downloading or exporting the data, any date/time columns are converted to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This results in the times getting converted to of either 5 hours (during Daylight savings time) or 6 hours (for Standard time) ahead of our Central time.

To correct this issue, determine if it is Standard time or Daylight Savings time. Central Daylight Time (CDT) runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. Central Standard Time (CST) is the remainder of the year. If it is CDT, subtract 5 hours from UTC time and if it is CST, then subtract 6 hours. This issue comes from the ESRI platform and is unable to be modified at this time.

SummaryThis data set shows building permits for the Baltimore metropolitan region. The data goes back to 2000 and is updated approximately once every two months. Expanded building permit data can be found at https://www.baltometro.org/community/data-maps/building-permit-data.DescriptionThe permits include any permit that is use code 40-48 (most new residential), 60-65 (mixed use), or is greater than or equal to $50,000. Historically, BMC receives the permits from participating jurisdictions and geocodes them. In recent years, some jurisdictions have started geocoding their own permits. When this is the case, BMC incorporates the geocoded points as given, and does not include them in its own geocoding process.Expanded building permit data can be found at https://www.baltometro.org/community/data-maps/building-permit-data.Layers:BPDS_Residential_New_ConstructionBPDS_Residential_AlterationsBPDS_Non_Residential_New_ConstructionBPDS_ Non_Residential _AlterationsBPDS_Mixed_Use_New_ConstructionThere is no layer for Mixed Use alterations; alterations to Mixed Use always get classified as Residential or Non-Residential.Field NamesField Name (alias)Descriptionpermit_no (County Permit ID)Original permit ID provided by the jurisdictionissue_dt (Date Permit Was Issued)Date the permit was issuedxcoord (X Coordinate)Longitude, in NAD 1983 decimal degreesycoord (Y Coordinate)Latitude, in NAD 1983 decimal degreessite_addr (Site Address)Address of the constructionzipcode (Site Zipcode)Zipcode of the constructionoffice (Office Number)This number corresponds to a jurisdiction and is used for BMC administrative recordspmt_use (Permit Use)Permit use code. A list of the values can be found at https://gis.baltometro.org/Application/BPDS/docs/BPDS_Permit_Use_Codes.pdfpmt_type (Permit Type)Permit type code. A list of the values can be found at https://gis.baltometro.org/Application/BPDS/docs/BPDS_Permit_Use_Codes.pdfdevelopment_name (Development Name / Subdivision)Subdivision name, if providedunit_count (Number of Units)Number of units, if provided. Only found in residential recordstenure (Tenure)If provided, indicates whether building is expected to be for rent or for sale after construction is complete. 1=For Rent, 2=For Saleamount (Amount)Estimated cost of constructionpmt_cat (Permit Category)Simplified classification of the pmt_use and pmt_type fieldsdescrip (Description)Description of construction, if providedJurisdiction (Jurisdiction)Jurisdiction (a county or city)Update CycleThe data is updated approximately once every three months.User NoteOver the years, building permit points were geocoded using a variety of software and reference data. The Baltimore Metropolitan Council made every effort to ensure accurate geocoding however there may be inaccuracies or inconsistencies in how the points were placed. For best results, the Baltimore Metropolitan Council recommends aggregating the building permit points to a larger geography (ex. Census tract, zip code) when analyzing the data.Data Access InstructionsTo download the data or access it via API, visit https://gisdata.baltometro.org/.Technical ContactFor questions or comments, contact Erin Bolton, GIS Coordinator, at ebolton@baltometro.org or 410-732-0500.

Permits issued by the Department of Buildings in the City of Chicago from 2006 to the present. The dataset for each year contains more than 65,000 records/rows of data and cannot be viewed in full in Microsoft Excel. Therefore, when downloading the file, select CSV from the Export menu. Open the file in an ASCII text editor, such as Wordpad, to view and search. Data fields requiring description are detailed below. PERMIT TYPE: "New Construction and Renovation" includes new projects or rehabilitations of existing buildings; "Other Construction" includes items that require plans such as cell towers and cranes; "Easy Permit" includes minor repairs that require no plans; "Wrecking/Demolition" includes private demolition of buildings and other structures; "Electrical Wiring" includes major and minor electrical work both permanent and temporary; "Sign Permit" includes signs, canopies and awnings both on private property and over the public way; "Porch Permit" includes new porch construction and renovation (defunct permit type porches are now issued under "New Construction and Renovation" directly); "Reinstate Permit" includes original permit reinstatements; "Extension Permits" includes extension of original permit when construction has not started within six months of original permit issuance. WORK DESCRIPTION: The description of work being done on the issued permit, which is printed on the permit. PIN1 – PIN10: A maximum of ten assessor parcel index numbers belonging to the permitted property. PINs are provided by the customer seeking the permit since mid-2008 where required by the Cook County Assessor’s Office. CONTRACTOR INFORMATION: The contractor type, name, and contact information. Data includes up to 15 different contractors per permit if applicable.

Data Owner: Buildings.

Time Period: January 1, 2006 to present.

Frequency: Data is updated daily.

Related Applications: Building Data Warehouse (https://webapps.cityofchicago.org/buildingviolations/violations/searchaddresspage.html).

Monthly building permits issued by units in structure, 1990 through the present. Data updated monthly by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority and tracked in the following dashboard: https://www.chfa.org/about-us/ct-monthly-housing-market-dashboard/. CHFA has stopped maintaining the dashboard and associated datasets, and this dataset will no longer be updated as of 2022.

This data set contains building permit information. It contains data from the new 'Cityworks' system implemented in April 2023. The City of Charlottesville requires a permit prior to the commencement of any construction, alteration, movement, enlargement, replacement, demolition or change the use or occupancy of a building or structure.The data is maintained daily and updates will display the next business day.

The dataset contains locations and attributes of building construction and alteration permits applied for and approved by the District of Columbia Department of Buildings. These data are shared via an automated process where addresses are batch matched (geocoded) to the District's Master Address Repository. Users may find that some data points will contain 0,0 for X,Y coordinates resulting in inconsistent spatial locations. Addresses for these data points could not be automatically geocoded and will need to be manually geocoded to 'best fit' locations in DC.

Indonesia Construction Building Permit: Jakarta: Issued data was reported at 3,732.000 Unit in 2014. This records a decrease from the previous number of 14,969.000 Unit for 2013. Indonesia Construction Building Permit: Jakarta: Issued data is updated yearly, averaging 13,287.000 Unit from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2014, with 35 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 21,654.000 Unit in 2004 and a record low of 3,732.000 Unit in 2014. Indonesia Construction Building Permit: Jakarta: Issued data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Indonesia – Table ID.EC009: Construction Building Permit.