Methodology
How we calculate closure rates and which permits we count for Atlanta.
What is a closure rate?
When a contractor pulls a building permit in Atlanta, an inspector needs to verify the work was completed correctly before the permit can be closed. A closure rate measures the percentage of an applicant’s permits that have been properly closed:
The 365-day eligibility rule
A contractor who pulled a permit last month hasn’t had time to complete the work yet. To avoid penalizing recent activity, we only count permits issued more than 365 days ago when calculating closure rates.
Permits issued within the last year still appear in the data but are dimmed in the table and not factored into the rate.
Included permits
Atlanta’s Department of City Planning publishes building permits with a TypeCombo field combining work category and type. We include 17 types representing physical construction work, grouped into three categories:
| Category | Included Types |
|---|---|
| Residential | Residential New, Addition, Alteration, Pool, Misc. Structural, Conversion, Express |
| Commercial | Commercial Alteration, New, Addition, Conversion, Misc. Structural, Pool |
| Multi-Family | Multi Family New, Alteration, Addition, Conversion |
Excluded permits
The following permit types are excluded from closure rate calculations:
| Excluded Type | Reason |
|---|---|
| All Demolition types | Systemically near-zero closure rates (0.6–6.3%) |
| Temporary Power, Online Application, Open Record Request, Building Complaint | Administrative, not construction |
| Miscellaneous (non-structural) | Near-zero closure rates, non-structural work |
| Land Development, Subdivision | Entitlements, not construction |
| Noise/Events/Sidewalk/Arborist/Airport/Licenses | Not construction work |
Permits with a status of “Under Review (not issued)” or “Unknown” are also excluded — these represent pre-issuance applications that have not yet been approved for construction.
No applicant data
Atlanta’s open data does not include a contractor or applicant name field. Because we cannot attribute permits to the businesses that performed the work, the Atlanta leaderboard ranks addresses rather than applicants.
The minimum threshold for the address leaderboard is 3 rated permits (instead of 20 for applicant leaderboards).
Status mapping
Atlanta permits use a statusP field. We map two values to our open/closed system:
Counted as Closed
- Project Closed
Counted as Open
- Issued/Approved for Construction
Permits with other statuses (Under Review, Terminated, Unknown) are excluded entirely.
Data coverage
Data is ingested from two ArcGIS layers: Layer 0 (~36K geocoded records) and Table 1 (~3.5K non-geocoded records with the same schema). Combined, the dataset covers approximately 39,600 permits, actively updated through 2026.
Leaderboard criteria
The leaderboard applies two additional filters:
- Minimum 20 rated permits — avoids surfacing statistically insignificant data.
- Active in the last 3 years — prevents the list from being populated by defunct companies.
The leaderboard can be filtered by permit type (e.g., Residential, Commercial, Multi-Family). When filtered, both thresholds apply only to permits of the selected type.
Median comparison
On applicant detail pages, each closure rate is compared to the median closure rate across all leaderboard-eligible applicants in the same category. This gives context — a 50% closure rate means something different in a category where the median is 40% versus one where it’s 80%.
Medians are calculated from the same pool of applicants who meet the 20-permit minimum threshold.
Data source
Data comes from the Building Permit feature service published by the City of Atlanta Department of City Planning. Two layers are ingested: Layer 0 (geocoded permits) and Table 1 (non-geocoded permits). The dataset is refreshed nightly.
Limitations
This site shows permit closure data. It does not evaluate the quality of anyone’s work. There are legitimate reasons a permit may remain open:
- Client non-cooperation — the property owner may fail to schedule the final inspection or grant access.
- Administrative backlog — work may be inspected and approved but not yet updated in the system.
- Project delays — financing, design changes, supply chain issues, or other factors outside the applicant’s control.
- Multi-phase projects — large commercial projects may legitimately take years to complete.
- Permit holder vs. contractor — the applicant may be a GC, architect, or owner — not necessarily the person scheduling the inspection.
If you believe there are inaccuracies in the underlying permit data, contact the City of Atlanta Department of City Planning at .