Tracking building permits in Denver, Colorado, means following a project through several review paths and, often, several City departments. Denver Community Planning and Development reviews and inspects building projects for compliance with the Denver Building and Fire Code and the zoning code, and the Denver Permitting Office, created in 2025, coordinates review across departments.
Understanding Denver's Permit Process
Applications, payments, and inspection scheduling run through E-permits, and the public Building Permit Status page shows where a permit stands without an account. The review path is set by project type and valuation: Main and Intermediate Commercial, Residential, the walk-through Express paths for small projects, and Quick Permits for trades with no plan review.
Denver publishes target review times for each path in business days, and a review times dashboard updated daily. Since 2025, an executive order caps City review time at 180 calendar days per development application, tracked on a public dashboard, and affordable housing has a 90-day path to approval.
Challenges for Architects in Denver
Managing permits in Denver presents a few challenges that are specific to the city:
- Multi-department review: Projects can be reviewed by up to seven City departments, which is why the Permitting Office and the 180-day cap were introduced
- Resubmittal standards: Incomplete resubmittals are turned away, and responses must be signed and sealed by the architect or engineer of record
- Site Development Plans first: Larger projects cannot submit for building review until the Site Development Plan is approved through the project coordinator