Methodology
How we calculate closure rates and which permits we count for Seattle.
What is a closure rate?
When a contractor pulls a building permit in Seattle, 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
Seattle’s Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) tracks five permit type categories. We include the two that represent physical construction work:
| Permit Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Building | Addition/Alteration, New Construction, Tenant Improvement, and related subtypes |
| Demolition | Demolition and Deconstruction |
Excluded permits
The following permit types are excluded from closure rate calculations:
| Excluded Type | Reason |
|---|---|
| ECA and Shoreline Exemption / Street Improvement Exception Request | Administrative reviews, not construction — none have an issued date |
| Roof | Systemically low closure rate (~42%) |
| Grading | Small volume, systemically low closure rate (~51%) |
Permits without an issued date are also excluded — these represent applications that have not yet been issued and are still in review.
No applicant data
Seattle’s open data includes a contractor company name field, but it is only filled for about 15% of permits. Because the data is too sparse to reliably attribute permits, the Seattle 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
Seattle permits use a StatusCurrent field. We map these statuses to either “Open” or “Closed”:
Counted as Closed
- Completed
- Closed
- Inspections Completed
- Approved to Occupy
Counted as Open
- Issued
- Expired
- Active
- Phase Issued
Expired permits are counted as Open because the work was never completed — the permit lapsed without final inspection. Permits with statuses like Application Accepted, In Review, Cancelled, or Withdrawn are excluded entirely.
Deduplication
Each row in the Seattle dataset has a unique permit number — no deduplication is needed.
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, Demolition). 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 dataset on Seattle 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 Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections at .