Seattle's permit pipeline, from application to completion
Every Seattle building permit moves through the same funnel — application, issuance, completion. This is where the whole pipeline stands right now, computed from public SDCI records.
What the funnel says
Of 14,917 Seattle permits with an application date in the dataset, 11,879 have been issued — an issue rate of 80%. Permits that do issue take a median of 44 days from application (average 76 days; the slowest decile takes 197 days or more).
After issuance, 43% of permits are marked complete, with a median of 143 days of construction time. Permits that never issue don't disappear from this funnel — they keep the applied count honest, which is why the issue rate is the number to watch.
Looking for ADU timelines?
Accessory dwelling unit permits have their own tracker with median application-to-issuance times, step-by-step duration breakdowns, and activity by year and neighborhood.
Pipeline funnel (all permits)
80% of applied permits reach issuance, and 43% of issued permits are marked complete.
Time in each stage
Median durations across 11,878 issued and 5,097 completed permits.
Median apply → issue by permit type
Raw numbers available as JSON at /api/pipeline.