CAMPAIGN
PermitSF
CAMPAIGN
PermitSF
Reforming City permitting processes
PermitSF is working to reform the City’s permitting process to make it customer-centric, fast, predictable, transparent and unified. We are driving meaningful reforms by making structural changes.Priority areas
Customer experience
- Customer-centric: Designed to meet the needs of San Francisco residents and businesses
- Fast, predictable, and transparent: A resident or entrepreneur should be able to easily obtain permits on their own, with visibility into requirements and completion
- One City: Permitting should seamlessly flow across departments
Government accountability
- Expand permit processing performance targets for each department and permit type
- Align staff performance metrics with transparent performance targets
Technology
- Create a consolidated permit application
- Allow any permit to be filed online
- Develop a public-facing permit tracking tool that allows customers to monitor their permit status in real time
Share your experience
We want to learn from your real-life examples and experiences. Share your story online or by email to PermitSF@sfgov.org.
First 100 day reforms
On May 20, 2025, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced the delivery of key pieces of his PermitSF plan, delivering on his Executive Directive to reform permitting:
- A legislative package features changes to reduce permit processing time, eliminate permits, and remove barriers to routine building maintenance
- Launched transparent performance targets for complex projects to ensure greater predictability and accountability
- Expanded service hours at the Permit Center to better meet customer demand
- Removed San Francisco Unified School District from the routing process, shaving up to 10 days off the building permit process for permits associated with new residential or commercial development
- Restaurant owners are no longer required to come into the Permit Center to seek permits for candles in their space, which will be treated like other operational permits that are inspected onsite
- A single webpage for permitting information at sf.gov/Permitting—the first step to having one online hub for permit information and application submission
- Merged customer service inquiries for San Francisco Public Works, the Department of Building Inspection (DBI), Planning, and the Fire Department, ensuring all customer communications receive timely and consistent responses
- Pilots for new solutions to enable dynamic centralized permit application intake
- A Request for Information (RFI) launched by the Mayor’s Office of Innovation for technology to deliver a public-facing permit tracking tool that provides applicants with real-time visibility into permit status and a centralized, integrated permitting system to enable seamless collaboration across all departments
Future reforms
Work continues during the first year of PermitSF and into the future. This includes:
- Create a consolidated permit application and allow for any permit to be filed online
- Develop a public-facing permit tracking tool that allows customers to monitor their permit status in real time
- Develop and recommend amendments to City Charter to consider merging key permitting functions into a single department
Ultimately, we hope that permitting in San Francisco is embedded with:
- Technology systems that are continually improved and modernized
- Performance metrics that are easy to access and transparent
- Public trust in a permitting system that works and is responsive to the evolving needs of the City
Building on our momentum
Over the past several years, San Francisco has advanced several initiatives to lower fees and speed up permitting. PermitSF will build on these milestones. These include:
2020 | San Franciscans pass Prop H and the Small Business Recovery Act (2021)
- Starting with the passage of Prop H, San Francisco allows more commercial projects to be processed within a shorter timeframe, in what’s known as “over-the-counter," when permits applications are processed immediately upon submission.
2021 | A new Permit Center opens
- In 2021, San Francisco opened a new building at 49 South Van Ness Avenue.
- It offers 23 distinct service areas through the Planning Department, Department of Building Inspection, Department of Public Health, Department of Public Works, among others.
- By centralizing services in one place, customers can move between permitting departments efficiently, resulting in a better experience and improved government function.
- At the Permit Center, the City serves an average of 191 customers per day and provides on average 531 services daily.
2021 | First Year Free launches
- San Francisco adopted the First Year Free program in 2021, which waives first-year permit, license and business registration fees for new and expanding businesses.
- This program has been expanded several times and is in place through June 30, 2025.
- Since the First Year Free program began, over 8,000 businesses have enrolled and over $4.5 million in permit and registration fees have been waived.
2022 | The City offers concierge business services
- San Francisco provides concierge services directly at the Permit Center to help applicants navigate permitting at any business stage.
2023 | The City adopts plan for meeting our housing needs for the next 8 years
- The Housing Element 2022 Update was adopted in January 2023. Its policies and programs express San Francisco’s collective vision for the future of housing.
2024 | Online permit application and "electronic plan review" process launches
- In 2024, San Francisco launched an online permit application and electronic plan review process for building permits, the first step of a multi-phased approach to creating a centralized and transparent permit portal for applicants to access.
2024 | San Franciscans vote for Business Tax Reform
- In November 2024, voters adopted Proposition M, which revised the San Francisco business tax structure.
- With the adoption of Prop M, the City is setting aside (beginning 2026) $10 million each year to waive 49 license fees for businesses.
- This is one of the most significant reform measures benefitting small businesses in the history of San Francisco to date.
- An estimated 88% of all restaurants will be exempt from business taxes.
- An estimated 50% of retailers who are currently paying gross receipts taxes will be exempt
About
PermitSF aims to drive meaningful reform through structural changes, making it easier, more cost-effective, transparent, and efficient for businesses and property owners to secure the permits they need for successful projects. For more details about PermitSF, read the full PermitSF Executive Directive.
Mayor Daniel Lurie tapped San Francisco Planning Department Director Rich Hillis to lead the multi-agency group bringing together key city departments to deliver integrated permit reform. Working directly with Chief of Housing and Economic Development Ned Segal, the leadership team also includes:
Patrick O’Riordan
Director of the Department of Building Inspection
Katy Tang
Executive Director of the Office of Small Business
Rebecca Villareal-Mayer
Director of the San Francisco Permit Center
Liz Watty
Director of Current Planning at the Planning Department
Contact the leadership team by emailing PermitSF@sfgov.org
Partner agencies
Contact information
PermitSF
PermitSF@sfgov.org