How long do building permits take in Pierce County

Project types with fewer than 20 qualifying permits are left out of this table entirely. These rows overlap, because a project counts under every type it contains, so one permit for apartments above ground floor shops is measured in both the multi family row and the retail row. Permits from September 1, 2025 through September 1, 2026.

Measured from a permit application date to its issuance date for construction permits, or its decision date for design review and land use permits. Only permits that build something are counted. Maintenance and minor alteration work such as roof replacements, tenant improvements and repairs is left out, because how quickly a city turns around a roof replacement says nothing about how long it takes to get a building approved. Permits with missing dates, permits reopened after an administrative closure, and permits open longer than 5 years are excluded as well. A figure is published only once at least 20 qualifying permits sit behind it, so a phase with a thin record shows nothing at all rather than a number built on a handful of permits. Every figure called typical on this page is the median, the middle permit once they are lined up shortest to longest, so a handful of unusually slow permits cannot drag it. These are the same permits shown elsewhere on BuildVue for Pierce County, so every number here traces back to a permit a visitor can look up. This page never compares Pierce County to another city. Different jurisdictions define application and issuance differently, and each one publishes a different mix of project sizes, so a shorter figure in one city would not mean its process is faster and a side by side ranking would not be a fair comparison.

See building permit data for nearby Puget Sound cities.

• Tacoma building permits
• Lakewood building permits
• Puyallup building permits
• Auburn building permits
• Federal Way building permits
• King County building permits