Permit GraphShortlistSan Francisco building permits since 2000

How long do roof deck permits take in San Francisco's Nob Hill neighborhood?

In the Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, only 4 roof deck permits filed from October 2025 through September 2026 have been issued, too few for a reliable figure. Only 2 of the permits filed from October 2023 through September 2024 have reached final sign-off, too few for a reliable figure.

From the city’s permit records, by the quarter each permit was filed. Data as of 8 October 2026. How to cite this · How this is calculated

How long until a permit is issued, and until final sign-off?

How long roof deck permits take in San Francisco's Nob HillneighborhoodMedian days from filing to permit issuedMedian days from issue to final sign-offToo recent to judge02004006008002017201820192020202120222023202420252026DaysSource: San Francisco Department of Building Inspection permit data via DataSF, analysis by Permit Graph(permitgraph.org), CC BY 4.0.permitgraph.org/neighborhoods/nob-hill/roof-deck · Data as of 8 October 2026By the quarter the permit was filed. A median counts only permits that finished the stage, so recent quarterslook faster than they will end up. Gaps: fewer than 5 permits.

This chart as an image (SVG), with its title, source and date, free to embed under CC BY 4.0.

At a glance

StagePermits filedPermits countedMedian daysCounted a year earlierMedian a year earlier
Filed to permit issuedOctober 2025 through September 20264 issuedunder 54 issuedunder 5
Permit issued to final sign-offOctober 2023 through September 20242 finishedunder 53 finishedunder 5

“Counted” is the permits the median was taken over: those filed in the window that have been issued, or that have reached final sign-off. The first stage covers the last four complete quarters, since most permits are issued within the year. The second covers the last four quarters that ended two or more years ago, so that most of their permits have had time to finish. Citywide, the median was 32 days to issue and 250 days from issue to final over the same quarters.

Every quarter since 2000

Quarter filedFiledIssuedMedian days to issueSlowest 10%Reached finalMedian days issue to finalSlowest 10%Never finaledSettled
2026-Q31100too recent
2026-Q23000too recent
2026-Q13300too recent
2025-Q33320too recent
2025-Q21100too recent
2024-Q21110yes
2023-Q41110yes
2023-Q24220yes
2022-Q41110yes
2022-Q34212yes
2022-Q21001yes
2022-Q12210yes
2021-Q41110yes
2021-Q31110yes
2021-Q11000yes
2020-Q42110yes
2019-Q45561366341yes
2019-Q31101yes
2019-Q21000yes
2019-Q12210yes
2018-Q42110yes
2018-Q23211yes
2018-Q12202yes
2017-Q44330yes
2017-Q32211yes
2017-Q11000yes
2016-Q42220yes
2016-Q31101yes
2016-Q22220yes
2016-Q12211yes
2015-Q41110yes
2015-Q31110yes
2015-Q14422yes
2014-Q43320yes
2014-Q3652118532yes
2014-Q21101yes
2013-Q32110yes
2013-Q22220yes
2013-Q12211yes
2012-Q41000yes
2012-Q35413yes
2012-Q12211yes
2011-Q41101yes
2011-Q32220yes
2011-Q21110yes
2010-Q41110yes
2010-Q13330yes
2009-Q31110yes
2009-Q2669382265092,9330yes
2009-Q11110yes
2008-Q41110yes
2008-Q32220yes
2008-Q22220yes
2008-Q11110yes
2007-Q35430yes
2007-Q21110yes
2006-Q41110yes
2006-Q12211yes
2005-Q42210yes
2005-Q31110yes
2005-Q21110yes
2004-Q41110yes
2004-Q31110yes
2004-Q11100yes
2003-Q21101yes
2002-Q41000yes
2002-Q31000yes
2002-Q21110yes
2000-Q42200yes

A blank median means fewer than 5 permits behind it: issued permits for the first stage, and for the second, finished permits whose final is dated after their issue (a permit never issued has no span). “Slowest 10%” is the 90th percentile: one permit in ten took at least this long. Download the table as CSV or JSON; both carry the source, license and data date.

What the numbers leave out

24 of the 134 roof deck permits filed since 2000 (18%) have no final sign-off 3 years after they were issued or, if never issued, filed. A median over finished permits understates the real wait: the permits that never finish are not in it. Inspection records are not yet included: “final sign-off” is the city’s own completion date on the permit.

Project types in San Francisco's Nob Hill neighborhood

Shown apart, with their own page here: kitchen remodel (3,967 filed, 2,708 finished; contractors); bathroom remodel (3,903 filed, 2,669 finished; contractors); stairs (623 filed, 413 finished; contractors); deck (165 filed, 107 finished; contractors); roof deck (134 filed, 76 finished; contractors). Other types: 16,235 permits. All permits in San Francisco's Nob Hill neighborhood

Nearby neighborhoods

Tenderloin, Chinatown, Russian Hill; all of San Francisco; every neighborhood compared.

How this is calculated

Approved means the city issued the permit: the permit’s issue date. The first stage counts days from the filing date to the issue date, over permits issued on or after they were filed. Final sign-off means the city’s own status for the permit is “complete”, with its completion date; this site does not yet read inspection records, so the inspection date is not a separate stage. The second stage counts days from the issue date to the completion date, over permits that have reached it.

Permits are grouped by the quarter they were filed. A quarter’s median counts only its permits that have finished the stage, so recent quarters look faster than they will end up: their slow permits have not finished yet. Quarters that ended two or more years ago are marked settled; the rest are shaded in the chart. The headline’s first stage uses the last four complete quarters; its second uses the last four settled quarters.

The median is the middle permit: half took less, half more. The slowest 10% is the 90th percentile. A median needs at least 5 permits behind it, or it is left out. A project type is shown apart within a neighborhood only when it has 30 or more finished permits there; the rest are “other types”.

Never finaled means no final sign-off three years after the permit was issued (or filed, if never issued), and not expired, cancelled, withdrawn, revoked, disapproved, denied or suspended (the site’s “expired or cancelled” outcome). About a quarter of permits citywide end this way; often the work was done and nobody called for the final inspection. These permits are in the counts and not in the medians.

A permit’s neighborhood is the Analysis Neighborhood the city writes on the permit record (the official set of 41). Permits with none are counted citywide only; the page says how many. “Nearby” neighborhoods are the three nearest by the center of their permits. The site reloads the city’s data every night; permits filed since 1 January 2000 are included. The placement of a permit, its dates and its status are the city’s; the grouping and the words are this site’s. How to read these records.