The permit isn’t slow. The rounds are.
Most permits aren’t issued on the first submittal. The cities’ own numbers show the time goes into rounds: a set goes in, comments come back, the drawings are fixed and it goes in again, often a month a round. Here is what 17 cities publish, and how a small firm takes rounds out before the city sees the set.
Seattle’s 2026 study found a median 3.7 correction cycles on middle housing, each about a month. San Francisco: a median 3 rounds, and 16% of housing permits needed 5 or more.
San Diego: about 44% of applications complete on first submittal, against a 90% goal. San Jose: 90% of ADU applications sent back for missing information. Bellevue: 78% missing a document.
Denver, Austin, Los Angeles and Honolulu now screen applications with AI, and Seattle has tested it. A set that will be machine-screened at intake is worth checking first.
New York’s Buildings Department says filings sit with the applicant about three times as long as with the city. Answering comments fast is the part a firm controls.
| What the city’s own numbers show | AI on the city’s side | |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle (SDCI) | Median 3.7 correction cycles and 2.6 intake cycles on middle housing, each cycle about a month (2026 city study). Single-family additions: 64 days in city hands at the 75th percentile, against a 30-day goal. | Tested an AI pre-screen in 2026; recommended an opt-in pilot for completeness only |
| Bellevue | 78% of sampled residential permits were missing at least one required document on first submission. | AI assistant used by city staff; a public version planned |
| San Francisco (DBI) | Housing permits: median 280 days to issue and a median 3 review rounds; 16% took 5 or more (Jan 2024 to Aug 2025, Board of Supervisors analyst). | None found |
| Los Angeles (LADBS) | Regular plan check “normally” 15 to 30 business days, per the city’s FAQ; no citywide median published. Palisades fire rebuilds averaged 49 days to permit. | Voluntary AI pre-check for Palisades fire rebuilds only |
| San Diego | About 44% of applications complete on first submittal (FY2026), against a 90% goal. Housing permits: median 134 days to issue (2025). | Proposed for intake and code checks (June 2026) |
| San Jose | The city says 90% of ADU applications are sent back for missing information. | AI pre-check pilot for ADUs, tested by staff |
| New York (DOB) | Filing to approval averaged 20.3 days (FY2025), with 100,023 resubmission reviews against 153,551 first reviews. The city says the applicant holds a filing about three times as long as DOB does. | None found |
| Chicago | Standard plan review renovations: median 87 days to issue, against 26 for self-certified (2025, from city open data). Past 3 review cycles, the architect meets the plan examiners. | None found |
| Houston | In the 30-day residential pilot, 68% and then 55% of projects were approved within two review cycles (2025). | None at the city; Harris County funded AI permitting |
| Austin | Median application to issue in 2025: 66 days for new homes, 70 for additions and remodels (from city open data). | Optional AI zoning pre-check for new 1 to 3 unit homes, advisory |
| Dallas | Initial review averages 2 days for homes and 12 for new commercial; 313 applications sat 45 days or more waiting on the applicant (FY2026 to January). | None found |
| Boston (ISD) | A normal permit review takes about 30 days; Fast Track takes 7, for office renovations only. | Asked vendors for AI pre-check tools (2025) |
| Denver | About 30% of reviews approved on the first round, against a goal of 80% (2026 reporting). | AI-guided plan review rolling out to applicants since April 2026 |
| Phoenix | New homes averaged 32 days against a 30-day goal (September 2026). | None found; architects can self-certify some projects |
| Portland | First-review goals of 7 to 20 days by project type; actual times on the city dashboard. | Only for booking appointments |
| Miami-Dade | Residential plans 15 days under review against a 9-day target (Q2 FY2026). Florida now gives applicants 10 business days to answer corrections. | None found at the county |
| Washington, DC | Over 80% of permits cleared zoning in two or fewer cycles; 97% of first reviews on time (FY2025). | None; automation folded into wider IT work |
From each city’s published reports, dashboards and open data, state law, or named news reporting, gathered November 2026. Figures cover different permit types and periods, so read them city by city, not as a ranking.
What the numbers say
Each review is often quick. The days pile up between rounds: a comment letter, a week or two of redrafting, a resubmittal, a new place in the queue. Seattle’s own study put it plainly: covering part of a cycle saves some time, but the larger savings come from removing whole review cycles. The fastest permit is the one that goes in complete and comes back with fewer comments.
What a firm can control
Three things. Submit a complete set: every required sheet, calculation and form, checked against the city’s own checklist. Draft to what this city’s reviewers ask for, not to a generic set. And answer comments quickly and cleanly: each change clouded, each comment answered with the sheet it’s on, one letter per discipline where the city reviews by discipline.
The state shot clocks
Several states now put deadlines on the city. In California, a city has 15 business days to decide a post-entitlement application is complete and then 30 business days to act on most small housing projects, and since 2026 small residential projects can use a private plan checker if the city hasn’t acted within 30 business days; ADUs and SB 9 lots are deemed approved after 60 days. Texas gives a city 45 days on a building permit and lets a qualified third party review once the city is past its deadline. The clocks run on the city’s side, so a complete set is how a firm makes them count.
How Pretiva helps
Pretiva drafts the set in your own Revit and pre-checks every sheet against the jurisdiction’s adopted codes and checklist, item by item, with the rule each item comes from. When comments come back, it sorts them, drafts each change on the sheet with a revision cloud and drafts the response letter for your team to check. A resubmittal round is $199 with no subscription; plans start at $159 a month. Built for small firms, ready for firms of any size, and priced well below a drafter or an outsourcing firm for a whole set.
What we don’t promise
Fewer rounds is the goal, and a complete set is the surest way to it. But no city credits a pre-check the applicant chose, and the city’s reviewer decides. Your team reviews every sheet, and a licensed architect stamps when the set needs one.
Questions
How many correction rounds does a permit usually take?
Where cities publish it, two to four. Seattle’s 2026 study found a median 3.7 correction cycles on middle housing, and San Francisco a median 3 review rounds on housing. Denver says about 30% of reviews are approved on the first round.
Why do so many permit applications get sent back?
Most often because something is missing. San Diego counts about 44% of applications complete on first submittal; San Jose says 90% of ADU applications go back for missing information; Bellevue found 78% of sampled residential permits missing a document.
Does a city accept an AI pre-check?
Not one the applicant chooses, as of November 2026. A few cities run their own AI screening (Honolulu gives priority review to applications that pass its own screen), but a private pre-check is a way to submit complete, not a city approval.
Which cities use AI to review permits?
Denver, Austin, Los Angeles (for fire rebuilds) and Honolulu offer AI screening to applicants; Seattle tested it; San Jose and Bellevue use it inside the city; San Diego and Boston are looking at it. Most cities in this guide don’t use it yet.
Who stamps the set?
Your team reviews every sheet, and a licensed architect stamps when the set needs one. Pretiva never stamps, signs or issues anything.
Try it for a month.
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Questions? Email support@pretiva.io or book a demo.