In 2025 the City of Los Angeles issued 6,621 building permits that created an accessory dwelling unit on a one- or two-family lot, and the median permit took 122 days from submission to issue. Re-roofs ran the other way: 99.7% of the 9,251 re-roof permits issued were express permits, which skip plan review.
These figures come from the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety’s permit records on the City’s open data portal, for one- and two-family homes, January 2020 through October 2026, for five common home projects. Updated November 2026.
What does the LADBS data show for 2025?
For four of the five projects, almost every permit was an express permit; ADU permits all went through plan check.
| Project | Permits issued in 2025 | Share issued as express permits | Median days from submission to issue, plan-check permits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Re-roof | 9,251 | 99.7% | Not reported: only 30 went through plan check |
| Window replacement | 2,311 | 88.4% | 23 days (267 permits) |
| Electrical panel or service upgrade | 7,923 | 98.9% | Not reported: only 88 went through plan check |
| Whole or partial repipe | 473 | 100% | None went through plan check |
| Accessory dwelling unit (ADU or junior ADU) | 6,621 | 0% | 122 days (6,621 permits) |
One- and two-family dwellings only. A median is reported only where at least 100 permits had both a submission date and an issue date.
How long does an ADU permit take in Los Angeles?
The median ADU permit issued in 2025 took 122 days from submission to issue, down from 178 days in 2021 and 2022. A quarter were issued within 61 days, and a quarter took 251 days or longer.
| Year issued | ADU permits | Median days | Middle half of permits | Issued within 60 days | Took more than 180 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 3,283 | 124 | 65 to 224 days | 22.7% | 33.4% |
| 2021 | 4,783 | 178 | 101 to 291 days | 12.9% | 49.2% |
| 2022 | 6,583 | 178 | 88 to 328 days | 16.3% | 49.4% |
| 2023 | 5,693 | 166 | 78 to 326 days | 19.7% | 46.4% |
| 2024 | 6,016 | 149 | 68 to 290 days | 22.2% | 41.9% |
| 2025 | 6,621 | 122 | 61 to 251 days | 24.8% | 35.1% |
| 2026, January to October | 5,030 | 128 | 66 to 246 days | 22.0% | 36.1% |
New ADU buildings take about twice as long as ADUs inside an existing building
LADBS files each ADU under one of three permit categories. In 2025 a new building took a median of 167 days, more than double the 78 days for work inside an existing building.
| LADBS permit category, 2025 | Permits | Median days | Issued within 60 days | Took more than 180 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New building | 2,109 | 167 | 12.0% | 45.7% |
| Addition to an existing building | 2,248 | 130 | 20.6% | 36.8% |
| Alteration or repair of an existing building | 2,264 | 78 | 40.8% | 23.7% |
Does the 60-day ADU rule mean a permit in 60 days?
No. California law gives the permitting agency 60 days to approve or deny a complete ADU application where a home already exists on the lot (Government Code section 66317). The LADBS record dates the day an application was submitted, not the day it was found complete, so the days above include time spent on plan corrections, resubmittals and fees. They describe the wait a homeowner sees, and they do not measure whether the City met the 60-day clock.
Why do most re-roof, panel and repipe permits show no wait?
Because they are express permits. LADBS describes express and e-permits as permits that may be issued the same day, with no plan review, and its records carry no submission date for them.
In 2025 that covered 99.7% of re-roof permits, 98.9% of panel and service upgrades, every repipe, and 88.4% of window replacements. A standard re-roof qualifies when the new covering is Class A or B and weighs less than 6 pounds per square foot; see Do I Need a Permit to Replace My Roof in Los Angeles? for the full rule.
How many permits does Los Angeles issue for each project?
| Year issued | Re-roof | Window replacement | Panel or service upgrade | Repipe | ADU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 7,247 | 2,414 | 8,942 | 510 | 3,283 |
| 2021 | 7,369 | 2,838 | 10,121 | 534 | 4,783 |
| 2022 | 8,438 | 2,673 | 9,426 | 451 | 6,583 |
| 2023 | 11,481 | 2,325 | 8,608 | 466 | 5,693 |
| 2024 | 11,099 | 2,377 | 7,628 | 534 | 6,016 |
| 2025 | 9,251 | 2,311 | 7,923 | 473 | 6,621 |
| 2026, January to October | 9,569 | 1,887 | 6,616 | 437 | 5,030 |
Re-roof permits for the first ten months of 2026 already exceed the full-year 2025 total of 9,251.
What month do Los Angeles homeowners re-roof?
October. From 2020 through 2025, 10.1% of the City’s 54,885 re-roof permits were issued in October, the highest of any month, and 6.6% in December, the lowest.
| Month issued | Re-roof permits, 2020 to 2025 | Share of the year |
|---|---|---|
| January | 4,314 | 7.9% |
| February | 4,266 | 7.8% |
| March | 4,479 | 8.2% |
| April | 4,711 | 8.6% |
| May | 4,720 | 8.6% |
| June | 4,426 | 8.1% |
| July | 4,377 | 8.0% |
| August | 4,843 | 8.8% |
| September | 5,057 | 9.2% |
| October | 5,564 | 10.1% |
| November | 4,485 | 8.2% |
| December | 3,643 | 6.6% |
Source and method
Source: Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety permit records, City of Los Angeles open data portal, retrieved November 10, 2026: Building Permits Issued from 2020 to Present, Electrical Permits Issued from 2020 to Present and Mechanical Permits Issued from 2020 to Present.
Scope: permits for one- and two-family dwellings issued January 1, 2020 to October 31, 2026. Supplemental permits, which amend an existing permit, are excluded. Each permit is assigned to a project by the rule below:
| Project | Dataset | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Re-roof | Building, alteration or repair | The work description says re-roof |
| Window replacement | Building, alteration or repair | The express window change-out description with one or more windows, or a description of window replacement; door-only change-outs excluded |
| Panel or service upgrade | Electrical | The description names a panel, service or meter with an upgrade, replacement or amp rating; jobs that also include solar, batteries or EV chargers excluded |
| Repipe | Plumbing | The description says repipe or repiping |
| ADU | Building | The permit record shows one or more accessory or junior accessory dwelling units added |
Days to issue are calendar days from the submission date to the issue date.
What does this data not show?
- Express permit timing. LADBS records carry no submission date for express permits.
- Applications still waiting. Only issued permits are counted. Applications still in review, or abandoned, are not, so the medians describe permits that reached issue.
- Other cities. Unincorporated Los Angeles County and separate cities such as Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank and Santa Monica run their own permit offices and are not included.
- Projects or units. The counts are permits. One permit can cover several jobs, such as a re-roof and new windows, and counts once in each.
- Description-based counts. Panel, window and repipe permits are counted from each permit’s written work description; a permit that does not describe the work in those terms is not counted.
- Cost or quality. Nothing here describes what a project costs or how it was built.
How to cite this data
Wise Choice Remodeling, “How Long Do Permits Take in Los Angeles? LADBS Permit Data, 2020 to 2026,” analysis of City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety open data, November 2026, https://wisechoiceremodel.com/los-angeles-permit-statistics/
For the rules behind each permit, see window replacement permits, electrical panel permits, what an ADU is and building an ADU without a permit. Related: ADU construction in Los Angeles.
