400+ guides to official U.S. permit systems. Permits are kept by the city or county that issued them; if your city has no guide, try its county.
Building permit records are kept by the city, county, or other local authority that issued them—not by this website. Use these guides to identify the responsible jurisdiction, open its official system, and search with an address, parcel or assessor number, or permit number.
Already have a permit record? Paste its status lines into the Permit Status Decoder to see whether the work reached a final inspection and what to ask next. It is built on how 16 local offices label their records, and our count of 10,558 recent Seattle permits shows why it matters: about one in six issued home-remodel permits ended as Expired.
See what the records show across seven places, from typical permit times to how often permits end without a final, on our building permit data page.
Choose the permit question you need to solve
Search permit records by address
Prepare the street address and, when available, the parcel or assessor number. Then follow the official city or county search route.
Find city and county permit guides
Postal cities and permit jurisdictions do not always match. Start with the local guide that names the responsible authority and portal.
Check open permits before buying
Compare permit status with inspections, corrections, expiration, and completion records instead of relying on one status label.
Find older or archived permits
Older permit cards, plans, and inspection files may be in a legacy portal, archive, microfilm collection, or records-request system.
Understand status and inspections
Application, issued, expired, finaled, closed, and completed can describe different stages. Read the record fields together.
Are permits public records?
Access varies by jurisdiction, record age, document type, and local disclosure rules. Learn where a public search ends and a request begins.
Featured city and county guides
- Austin building permit search by address
- Pima County building permit search by address
- Miami-Dade building permit search by address
- Maricopa County building permit history search
- Hillsborough County building permit records search
How permit records are organized
| First question | Why it matters | What to save |
|---|---|---|
| Who issued the permit? | A mailing city, county name, and actual building jurisdiction can differ. | Agency name and official source URL |
| Which system holds the year? | Current and legacy systems may cover different periods and record types. | System name, stated coverage, and date checked |
| Which identifier matches? | Address formats change and one parcel can contain several structures. | Address, parcel/APN, permit number, and property identifier |
| What stage is shown? | An application, permit, inspection, and completion record are not interchangeable. | Exact status, dates, scope, inspections, and closeout evidence |
Current portal versus legacy archive
Begin with the source named by the responsible local authority. If the expected work is older than the portal’s published coverage—or the authority does not state a coverage date—check its legacy system, scanned permit cards, archives, and records-request instructions. A blank online result is limited to that search; it is not proof that no permit ever existed.
If you are unsure which government covers the property, the USA.gov directory of local governments can help identify the city or county website before you search.
What a permit record does not prove
- An issued permit does not by itself show that every required inspection passed.
- A finaled or closed record does not guarantee the building’s present condition.
- No online result does not prove that work was never permitted.
- A permit search does not replace a current inspection, agency confirmation, title review, or professional advice when one is needed.
Recently verified guides
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- Norfolk Short-Term Rental Rules and Violations: What 469 Complaints and 262 Permits ShowNorfolk STRs need a zoning permit and business license, and some a CUP. In 2024–25, 28.6% of 469 STR complaints led to a violation; 78.1% of violations were corrected, a median 28 days later.
- Virginia Beach Unpermitted Construction Complaints: What Happened to 1,422 ReportsHalf of Virginia Beach building-work complaints from 2023–25 were followed by a permit application on the same parcel within 12 months, a median 13 days after the complaint.
- NJ Demolition Permit to New House: How Long a Teardown Rebuild TakesOf 13,045 NJ home demolition permits from 2021–23, 35.2% were followed by a new house permit on the same lot, a median 51 days later; the CO came a median 461 days after demolition.
- Virginia Beach Building Permit Search: What 2023–24 Home Permits ShowSearch Virginia Beach building permits by address in OpenVB data. Most home alteration permits issue within a day, but 22% from 2023–24 are still Active.
About our source verification
Our editorial team prioritizes government pages and portals linked by the responsible agency. We record jurisdiction boundaries, supported search inputs, stated coverage, no-result recovery, and the date a route was reviewed. Systems change, so use the correction path if an official link or instruction is no longer current.
Read our Editorial Policy, learn about Building Permit History, or report an error or broken official link.