Methodology
How we calculate closure rates and which permits we count for Washington, D.C..
What is a closure rate?
When a contractor pulls a building permit in Washington, D.C., 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
Washington, D.C.’s Department of Buildings publishes permits with a two-level taxonomy: permit_type_name (5 top-level categories) and permit_subtype_name (39 subtypes). We filter on the subtype level, grouped into four categories:
| Category | Included Subtypes |
|---|---|
| Building | ALTERATION AND REPAIR, ADDITION ALTERATION REPAIR, NEW BUILDING, FENCE, DECK, SHED, GARAGE, RETAINING WALL, AWNING, TENANT LAYOUT, SWIMMING POOL, SPECIAL BUILDING, CIVIL PLANS, FOUNDATION ONLY, SHEETING AND SHORING, MISCELLANEOUS, BUILDING |
| Electrical | ELECTRICAL, ELECTRICAL - GENERAL |
| Mechanical | MECHANICAL |
| Plumbing | PLUMBING AND GAS, PLUMBING, GAS FITTING |
Excluded permits
The following subtypes are excluded from closure rate calculations:
| Excluded Subtype | Reason |
|---|---|
| DEMOLITION, RAZE | Systemically low closure rates (2.5–9.7% in 2020 data) |
| SOLAR SYSTEM | Borderline closure rate (19.5%) — excluded to avoid skewing results |
| SIGN, SPECIAL SIGN | Not core construction work |
| HOME OCCUPATION | Administrative, not construction |
| SHOP DRAWING | Design review, not construction |
| BOILER | Specialty equipment, low volume |
| EXCAVATION ONLY | Site prep only |
| ELECTRICAL - HEAVY UP | Service upgrade, low closure |
| VARIANCE, CAPACITY PLACARD | Administrative |
| NA, EXPEDITED, PERMIT, ADDITION | Low sample or ambiguous |
No applicant data
Washington, D.C.’s open data does not reliably include contractor or applicant names (only ~52% filled, with noisy data). Because we cannot reliably attribute permits to the businesses that performed the work, the D.C. 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
Only permits with a recorded issue date are included. The application_status_name field determines whether a permit is counted as open or closed:
Counted as Closed
- COMPLETED
- RAZE FINAL APPROVED - CLO
Counted as Open
- PERMIT ISSUED
- PERMIT ISSUED - NO FEE
- PAYMENT PENDING
- EXPIRED
EXPIRED permits are counted as open because they represent work that was never completed — the permit lapsed without a final inspection. Permits with other statuses (CANCELED, WITHDRAWN, REVOKED, review statuses) are excluded entirely.
Data coverage
Data is ingested from 7 ArcGIS feature layers covering 2020–2026, with the 2025 layer as the primary source. Each layer represents one year of building permits from DC’s open data portal.
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., Building, Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing). 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 Permits in 2025 dataset (and 6 additional year layers covering 2020–2026) on DC Open Data. 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 DC Department of Buildings at .