PermitSF is San Francisco's first true online permitting portal. Built on OpenGov and launched February 13, 2026, it consolidates an initial five permit types as online-only — in-kind door replacement, in-kind window replacement, in-kind siding replacement, fire alarm permits, and sprinkler permits — meaning the in-person counter at 49 South Van Ness no longer accepts these applications. Special events permitting is being added to unify what historically required approval from four separate departments. Expansion to additional fire permits, residential remodels, and business signage is scheduled for later in 2026. This guide explains what's online today, what's scheduled to come online, what's still at the counter, how the portal interacts with the existing contractor instant-issuance system and Bluebeam Studio Electronic Plan Review, and the strategic decisions an architect or operator makes about which channel to use.
What PermitSF is (and what it isn't)
PermitSF is the customer-facing online permitting portal, built on OpenGov as the underlying software platform. It is not the city's only digital permitting channel — it operates alongside two other digital systems that pre-date its launch:
- The DBI Online Permitting & Tracking System — the contractor instant-issuance portal for licensed contractors pulling electrical, plumbing/mechanical, kitchen and bath remodel, re-roof, boiler, and SolarAPP+ residential solar permits. This system has been operational for years and continues to handle a large share of contractor-pulled trade permits.
- Bluebeam Studio Electronic Plan Review — the DBI plan-review system for In-House projects, in 100% Electronic Plan Review mode since January 1, 2024. Used for the larger, multi-agency projects that don't qualify for over-the-counter or instant-issuance pathways.
PermitSF is specifically the new customer-facing channel for non-contractor permits — homeowners, tenants, and small business owners who historically had to come to 49 South Van Ness in person. The launch on February 13, 2026 made certain in-kind permit types online-only, eliminating the counter-visit requirement for that scope.
What's online today (as of launch, February 13, 2026)
Five permit types are filed exclusively through PermitSF as of February 13, 2026. The Permit Center counter no longer accepts in-person applications for these:
- In-kind door replacement — like-for-like residential or commercial door swap where the new door matches the existing in size, location, and rated assembly. Photo samples and product cut-sheets are required as part of the online application.
- In-kind window replacement — like-for-like residential or commercial window swap with no change in window pattern, material, or operability visible from the public way. Wholesale window replacement on a Category A* historic property is not OTC-eligible and requires Administrative Certificate of Appropriateness or Minor Permit to Alter through Planning Preservation.
- In-kind exterior siding replacement — like-for-like siding swap. As with windows, finish-material changes visible from the public way may trigger Residential Design Guidelines review by Planning and push the project off OTC entirely.
- Fire alarm permits — administered through SFFD review with online submission via PermitSF.
- Sprinkler permits — fire-suppression system permits, also routed through SFFD.
Special events permitting is also being added to PermitSF, unifying what previously required approval from four separate departments. Practical adoption of the portal has been real: approximately 15% of all applications arrive after business hours, indicating active use of the online channel.
What's scheduled to come online later in 2026
Expansion to additional permit types is scheduled for later in 2026 under the PermitSF roadmap. Targeted additions include:
- Additional fire permits beyond fire alarms and sprinklers
- Residential remodels (a meaningful expansion — would shift a significant volume of residential alteration work online)
- Business signage (some of which is already exempt from any permit under the 2025 PermitSF signage package — painted business names and small window signs no longer require a permit or fee)
Verify current scope and timing with DBI's PermitSF team (PermitSF@sfgov.org) before assuming a specific permit type is — or isn't — available online. The expansion schedule has been moving and may not be evenly reflected across DBI communication channels.
What's still at the counter at 49 South Van Ness
Everything not yet migrated to PermitSF and not handled through the contractor instant-issuance portal still requires an in-person counter visit at 49 South Van Ness, 2nd Floor. This includes most of what an architect handles day-to-day:
- Most residential additions, alterations, and remodels with plans (until the residential-remodel expansion goes live)
- Commercial tenant improvements not covered by contractor portals
- Architectural TI work — restaurant, retail, office
- Change-of-use applications (Planning-driven)
- Larger fire permits and complex hazardous-materials review
- Anything triggering Planning §311/§312 neighborhood notification
- Anything triggering Discretionary Review or historic preservation review
- Site Permit + Addenda applications and In-House Review
QLess virtual queueing manages the in-person flow at 49 South Van Ness — applicants register for queues at specific stations rather than standing in a physical line. The algorithm caps each plan checker's active queue at two customers to prevent reviewer burnout. Wait times can be checked online before traveling. Plan review queues close at 4:30 p.m.; payments are accepted until 5:00 p.m.
The contractor instant-issuance portal (separate from PermitSF)
Licensed contractors registered with DBI continue to use the DBI Online Permitting & Tracking System for trade permits — this is a separate channel from PermitSF and pre-dates it by years. Permits available for instant online issuance:
- Electrical permits (any class)
- Plumbing and mechanical permits
- Kitchen and bath remodel permits (added under the PermitSF mid-2025 expansion)
- Re-roof permits (no weight change, layered count within limits)
- Boiler permits
- SolarAPP+ residential solar permits — live since January 2023 in compliance with SB 379, the California Solar Permitting Platform mandate
A surcharge of up to 2.5% of permit fees applies to permits issued through the contractor portal. SolarAPP+ permits are capped per Government Code §66015 at $450 plus $15 per kW above 15 kW. The instant-issuance flow is fundamentally different from PermitSF or counter review — the contractor uploads the project information, the system validates against eligibility criteria, and the permit issues automatically without human plan review for qualifying scope.
Bluebeam Studio Electronic Plan Review for In-House projects
For projects that exceed Over-the-Counter eligibility and route to In-House Review, DBI conducts 100% Electronic Plan Review using Bluebeam Studio sessions — operational since January 1, 2024. The architectural significance of Bluebeam EPR isn't that it eliminates paper (that's true), it's that sister agencies can access the shared session simultaneously. SF Planning, SFFD, Public Works, SFPUC, and DPH can all mark up the same plan set in parallel rather than waiting for sequential routing. This has compressed In-House review timelines meaningfully since 2024.
The PPC (Permit Processing Center) handles addendum routing for Site Permits under Track 4. For projects going through the Parallel Processing Program — a specialized voluntary track for large housing projects allowing simultaneous Planning entitlement review and DBI building permit review — Bluebeam EPR is the underlying coordination platform.
Surcharges and fees on the online channel
Permits issued through the contractor online portal carry a surcharge of up to 2.5% of permit fees. PermitSF-issued permits carry similar online-processing surcharges. The trade-off analysis: for small permits, the surcharge is a few dollars; for larger permits, it can reach tens of dollars. Weighed against an in-person counter visit — which costs travel time, QLess wait, and the possibility of being asked to return after revisions — the surcharge is usually the better trade for most homeowners and small operators.
For licensed contractors using the instant-issuance portal at high volume, the cumulative surcharge cost is meaningful but typically outweighed by the time savings of avoiding the counter entirely on routine trade permits.
Performance under PermitSF
The PermitSF Executive Directive (signed by Mayor Lurie in February 2025) set department-level performance metrics tied to staff evaluation. Per the Mayor's Office and DBI reporting:
- SFFD wait times dropped by approximately 56% — average waits in 2025 around 14 minutes
- Approximately 15% of applications now arrive after business hours via online channels — real adoption signal
- First Year Free business license waiver enrolled 8,000+ businesses and waived more than $4.5 million through June 30, 2025
- OTC permits issued within 2 business days: 63% in FY24–FY25 (per the City Controller's FY25 Annual Performance Results report)
- OTC no-plans permits issued instantly online: 18% in FY25 (up from 14% in FY24)
- Inspections conducted within 2 business days of request: 93–94%
- AB 1114 first-review targets met: 94%
- Initial completeness checks within 15 days: approximately 100%
The Permit Performance Dashboard at sf.gov/PermitPerformance provides public transparency on department shot-clock performance — a useful resource for tracking whether a specific department is meeting its targets at the time of your project.
Which channel for which project — a decision framework
The four channels at a glance:
- PermitSF online portal — for the five online-only permit types (in-kind doors/windows/siding/fire alarms/sprinklers) and special events. Mandatory for the five types since February 13, 2026.
- Contractor instant-issuance — for licensed contractors pulling electrical, plumbing/mechanical, kitchen and bath remodel, re-roof, boiler, and SolarAPP+ residential solar permits. 2.5% surcharge; permit issues automatically for qualifying scope.
- In-person OTC at 49 South Van Ness — for everything else that qualifies for the OTC track (the procedural one-hour-per-station test). Plan review queues close at 4:30 p.m.; check QLess wait times before traveling.
- In-House Review (Bluebeam EPR) — for projects exceeding OTC eligibility. Parallel inter-agency markup since January 2024. Used for the larger, more complex applications.
The strategic question for an architect or operator: which of these channels does your scope qualify for, and which one minimizes total time-to-permit? For most small projects, the answer is whichever channel the project type maps to. For projects that could potentially route to multiple channels (e.g., a kitchen remodel that the contractor could pull via instant-issuance vs. the owner filing through PermitSF or the counter), the contractor route is usually fastest, with the counter route as fallback for non-qualifying scope.
When the portal doesn't work — fallback paths
Online portals occasionally have downtime, validation issues, or unsupported edge cases. For PermitSF, the customer support contact is PermitSF@sfgov.org. For the contractor instant-issuance system, DBI staff at 49 South Van Ness can assist with workflow questions, and the system itself routes contractors to the counter when scope falls outside instant-issuance eligibility. The Permit Center fallback is always available for permit types not yet migrated online — and for migrated types where the online flow fails for a specific project, contact DBI before assuming you can simply walk in.
The OpenGov platform and procurement context
PermitSF runs on OpenGov as the underlying software platform. OpenGov is the vendor selected for SF's portal infrastructure under the PermitSF Executive Directive. The procurement process was led by the Chief of Housing and Economic Development and was the subject of public discussion in 2024 — confirm current operational status and any policy updates with DBI before discussing the procurement publicly in client-facing contexts.
Where PermitSF fits in the broader SF reform landscape
PermitSF is one piece of an unusually large permitting-reform program that ran through 2024–2026:
- Housing for All Executive Directive (Mayor Breed, February 2023) — overarching framework for delivering RHNA units
- Housing Stimulus and Fee Reform Plan (September 2023) — inclusionary rate cuts, 33% temporary impact-fee reduction through November 1, 2026, 2% annual escalation cap
- 100 Small Business Planning Reforms (Mayor Breed, December 2023) — over 100 amendments easing small-business restrictions citywide
- DBI 100% Electronic Plan Review (January 1, 2024) — retirement of paper for in-house review
- AB 2234 / AB 1114 / AB 281 (effective January 1, 2024) — post-entitlement shot clocks, including the SF-specific AB 1114 extension to historically discretionary permits
- SB 423 (San Francisco subject as of June 28, 2024) — first-in-state ministerial coverage for code-complying mixed-income projects
- PermitSF Executive Directive (Mayor Lurie, February 2025) — the umbrella under which the OpenGov portal launched and the Permit Performance Dashboard was delivered
- First Legislative Package (signed mid-2025) — privacy exemptions, sidewalk activation flexibility, nightlife support
- Second Legislative Package / "dumb rules" (late 2025) — ADU alignment, signage fee elimination, basement units in NC corridors, temporary pop-up retail up to three years
- January 1, 2026 — adoption of 2025 California Codes and 2025 SF amendments with no grace period; Planning fees re-based to construction-cost basis
- February 13, 2026 — PermitSF portal launch