Insights
How long does Seattle permit plan review take?
Based on 2,177 permits with recorded SDCI plan-review timing. "Plan review" is the time spent in review cycles before a permit is issued.
2,177
Permits analyzed
59 days
Median review
75 days
Average review
161 days
90th percentile
1.0
Avg review cycles
Half of permits clear review in 59 days or less, but the slowest 10% take 161+ days — the gap is where projects stall.
Distribution of plan-review time
0–30 days
560 · 26%
31–60 days
545 · 25%
61–90 days
347 · 16%
91–180 days
590 · 27%
181–365 days
135 · 6%
365+ days
0 · 0%
Average review time by permit type
residential
85 days · 1,584 permits
commercial
47 days · 554 permits
industrial
108 days · 30 permits
land
44 days · 9 permits
Review cycles per permit
0 cycles
2,555
1 cycle
900
2 cycles
1,078
3 cycles
528
4 cycles
128
5 cycles
35
6 cycles
6
7 cycles
4
8 cycles
1
Each correction cycle adds a round-trip with reviewers. Permits sit out for corrections about 22 days on average.
Slowest neighborhoods by average review time
Neighborhoods with at least 3 reviewed permits, ranked by longest average review.
Meadowbrook
141 days · 22 permits
Seward Park
126 days · 19 permits
Crown Hill
107 days · 35 permits
Lake City
104 days · 24 permits
View Ridge
102 days · 11 permits
Madrona
98 days · 15 permits
Roosevelt
98 days · 19 permits
Rainier Valley
97 days · 27 permits
Greenwood
97 days · 60 permits
Northgate
95 days · 35 permits
Central District
94 days · 44 permits
Haller Lake
89 days · 15 permits
Average review time by review level
Full +
58 days · 1,245 permits
Unknown
96 days · 375 permits
Full C
92 days · 281 permits
Dependent Building
130 days · 220 permits
Full
37 days · 56 permits
Raw numbers available as JSON at /api/plan-review.