San Francisco County · ADU permit data · Updated 2026-10-20
13.0months median, application to building permit, 2023–2025
That is 2.1 times the Bay Area median of 6.0 months. One in four applicants waited more than 22.7 months.
ADUs permitted in 2023–2025, 232 matched on parcel number. Includes time owners spent revising plans.
Source: California HCD Annual Progress Reports, filed by the City of San Francisco
Fast quarter, median and slow quarter, in months
San Francisco 7.1–22.7 mo
Bay Area 3.8–10.5 mo
Median Fast quarter to slow quarter
Median wait
Where San Francisco sits among 52 ranked cities
San Francisco Other ranked cities Bay Area 6.0
San Francisco
13.0months
median wait, 2023–2025
State law gives the city 60 days to act once an application is complete. Counted from first submission, this share of ADUs took longer. Ask for the completeness letter, which is due within 15 business days, and keep its date.
Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports, 2023–2025; Gov. Code 66317
San Francisco
98%
of matched ADUs
One applicant in four took longer than this. Plan on it if the city sends your plans back for another round of corrections.
Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports, 2023–2025, 75th percentile
San Francisco
22.7months
One applicant in four had a building permit within this time from first submission.
Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports, 2023–2025, 25th percentile
San Francisco
7.1months
Source: units by calendar year, as reported by the City of San Francisco to California HCD
San Francisco, units per year
ADU permits a year, 2023–2025 average
ADU permits a year per 1,000 houses, 109 places
San Francisco Other Bay Area places
San Francisco
227a year
ADU permits, 2023–2025 average
Of every home San Francisco permitted in 2023–2025, this share was an ADU.
Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports, 2023–2025
San Francisco
11%
Permits a year for every 1,000 detached houses, so small and large cities can be compared.
Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports; DOF housing estimates
San Francisco
3.4
rank 33 of 92
Yearly ADU permits in 2023–2025, down 34% from 2019–2021.
Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports
San Francisco
-34%
Median time from building permit to certificate of occupancy for ADUs finished in 2023–2025. Add it to the permit wait for a full timeline.
Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports, 2023–2025
San Francisco
18.5months
median of 379
One ADU in four took longer than this to reach a certificate of occupancy after the permit.
Source: HCD Annual Progress Reports, 2023–2025, 75th percentile
San Francisco
27.2months
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Source: Bay Area ADU Permit Clock 2026, our analysis of the California HCD Housing Element Annual Progress Reports (data.ca.gov) filed by the City of San Francisco, and DOF housing estimates. Wait times are matched on parcel number and include applicant revision time. The 60-day rule is in Government Code section 66317. How we measured it · See all 109 jurisdictions
For ADUs permitted in 2023–2025, the median time from application to building permit in San Francisco was 13.0 months (396 days), based on 232 permits we could match. A quarter took longer than 22.7 months.
San Francisco issued 680 ADU building permits in 2023–2025, about 227 a year. ADUs were 11% of all new homes permitted there.
The median time from building permit to certificate of occupancy was 18.5 months for ADUs completed in 2023–2025.