Mayor Lurie Unveils PermitSF Portal, Speeding Up the Permitting Process to Drive Economic Recovery

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today unveiled the new PermitSF portal, marking a major milestone in advancing his vision for a fast, predictable, and transparent permitting process. The new PermitSF portal, launching tomorrow, will allow homeowners and business owners to obtain the permits they need more easily and faster than ever, beginning initially with five permit types. For these permits, San Franciscans will no longer need to visit the Permit Center in person—they will instead be able to log in, manage a permit, and make online payments from anywhere.

Following the establishment of PermitSF and a year of work to make permitting faster and more transparent, Mayor Lurie’s launch of a fully digital permitting system, spearheaded by the Mayor’s Office of Innovation, will continue the work to cut red tape for homeowners and business owners and drive San Francisco’s economic recovery. PermitSF kicked off an ongoing and multi-departmental effort to modernize the city's permitting process with common sense reforms—leading to the introduction of 20 ordinances, including common-sense reforms to remove burdens for homeowners to repair their decks and park in their driveway, or for businesses to set up cafe tables on the sidewalk and paint their own business name on their storefront. Most recently, the mayor announced plans to create a more coordinated and accountable permitting process by merging the Department of Building Inspection, the Planning Department, and the Permit Center.

“For a year, we’ve been getting rid of nonsense and bringing back common sense under PermitSF. With the launch of the PermitSF portal, we’re giving homeowners, small business owners, and event organizers a faster, more straightforward way to get the permits they need online, with fewer delays and more certainty,” said Mayor Lurie. “This launch builds on a year of reforms to modernize our permitting system—saving San Franciscans valuable time and money. In a city known for innovation, interacting with City Hall should feel just as modern, and PermitSF is an important step toward a fully digital permitting system and more responsive government.”

San Franciscans who are renovating homes, starting or growing businesses, or holding special events will all be able to use the new system, saving time and money. The five permit types available tomorrow in the fully digital PermitSF portal include permits for the replacement of doors, windows, or siding and for fire alarms, sprinklers, and other fire suppression.
The launch of the permits available in this digital permitting system will mean:

• No more visits to the Permit Center
• No need to print copies of plans
• Ability to login to manage a permit anytime, from anywhere
• One place to communicate quickly and easily with permit review staff and inspectors
• Online payments

The portal will also launch a special events intake process—where applicants will be able to submit their basic event details on PermitSF and then receive customized instructions about which permits they will need. This milestone marks the first step towards unifying special event permitting, which on city streets can commonly require approval from at least four departments. Currently, both instructions and processes are scattered across different websites, systems, and staff.

Permit applicants can continue to visit the Permit Center for in-person help with digital permitting or other permit types. Permit Center staff will also answer questions and provide rapid technical support to applicants applying from their homes or offices.  “This new process is a game changer,” said Ryan Filibert, California Fire Detection Lead Engineer. “I used to have to send my staff to the Permit Center to simply hold our place in line for permit review. Now, we can get back that time and save our business and our customers money.”

“The Fire Department is excited to implement PermitSF as we are working with other agencies to improve the customer experience through greater efficiency and transparency,” said Fire Marshal Chad Law, Assistant Deputy Chief of San Francisco Fire Department. “This digital system reduces administrative paper workload, giving our Fire Prevention team more time to focus on plan review and inspections that ensure fire and life safety across the city. By streamlining these processes, we can better protect our communities and support public safety every day.”

The city is rolling out the new portal in partnership with software provider OpenGov in phases, marking an important step toward a fully digital, citywide process. The number of permits available through the portal will continue to grow over time, with the goal of eventually making all permits accessible online.

The PermitSF initiative now shares real-time performance metrics and continually rolls out process improvements to speed up permit application review and issuance. The next phases of permits available in the portal will continue to focus on homeowners and small businesses—including residential remodels and business signage. The city will also continue expanding the system’s capacity for Fire Department and special event permits. Later, the city will integrate more complex permits, such as those needed for new development.

“For too long, getting a permit in San Francisco has meant navigating a maze of paperwork and departments often resulting in months of delays,” said District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill. “You shouldn’t have to take time off work or stand in line just to replace a window or plan a block party. The PermitSF Portal replaces that bureaucratic maze with a modern, transparent system that puts residents and small business owners first.”

“The launch of a fully digital permitting system is a major milestone for San Francisco,” said Elizabeth Watty, Director of Current Planning at San Francisco Planning and Director of PermitSF. “It represents not just a new piece of technology, but a reimagining of permitting processes that will simplify, clarify, and fundamentally improve how we build and maintain the city’s homes, small businesses, and infrastructure.”

“San Francisco is setting a new standard for major American cities. Dedicated staff, visionary leadership, and a collaborative Board have put the city on a path to modernization,” said Zac Bookman, Co-Founder and CEO of OpenGov. “The city is on a very positive trajectory, and we are proud to play a small part in such a bold initiative. Our partnership rests on a commitment to making customers successful and that’s how we build the trust together.”

The city will gather real-world data and user feedback to shape the continued development of the PermitSF portal, building on work already underway to map permitting processes, analyze how different permit types interact, and understand departmental workflow requirements—laying the groundwork for a strong, citywide system.