The permits open data never shows
4,917 Boston permits are stuck waiting on action
The City's published permit feed lists issued permits. It says nothing about applications that were denied, sent back for more information, or parked awaiting fees — the stages where a permit needs an owner, a contractor, or an expediter to do something. Verdwise tracks each permit's position inside Inspectional Services review, including every one of those stages.
The count above is live: permits sitting in an action-needed stage for more than 180 days. Across the full pipeline, 26,962 tracked permits have no row in the City's open data portal at all — because the published dataset only begins at issuance. Every one of those permits is visible, one at a time, in the City's own Permit Finder; it just cannot be assembled from the published data.
Data as of 2026-10-01 — re-checked against the City's system daily at 5:00 AM.
Where this data comes from
Verdwise reads each permit's live position from Boston Permit Finder (permitfinder.boston.gov), the City's own public lookup for its Inspectional Services permitting system, via the same public web service the Permit Finder site itself uses — checked permit number by permit number across the full sequence. The City separately publishes an “Approved Building Permits” dataset on data.boston.gov, but that dataset lists issued permits only.
A permit tagged not in open data has no row in that published dataset — typically because it was never issued: it was denied, refused, abandoned, is still in review, or is parked awaiting fees. The stage shown is the City's own record, not an inference.
Where they're stuck — the same permits, by stage
Each card counts permits that have been waiting in that stage for more than 180 days — the same basis as the headline above, so these cards add up to it. The second line on each card is the stage's full size counting every wait time, short waits included.
Counting every wait time, short waits included, these stages hold 8,554 permits in all.
Longest waiting in each stage — a sample
The absolute longest waits citywide are nearly all unpaid-fee applications from 2021 — most likely abandoned by their applicants — so this sample rotates through the longest-waiting permits in each action-needed stage instead of listing one stage fifteen times.
| Days waiting | Stage | Permit | Type | Address | Neighborhood |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,962 | Awaiting fee paymentLikely abandoned The application reached the fee-payment step, the fee was never paid, and the permit was never issued. The City has not voided the application — its system still lists it as awaiting payment. Next action: the applicant's. Not in open data | SF1201422 | Short Form Bldg Permit | 1006 MASSACHUSETTS AV | Roxbury |
| 1,854 | Waiting on Board of Appeal The permit is held for a Board of Appeal case and cannot move until the ZBA decides. Next action: the Board of Appeal's. Not in open data | ALT1225739 | Long Form/Alteration Permit | 167 HOMESTEAD ST | Dorchester |
| 1,835 | Conditions to satisfy Approval conditions remain to be satisfied before the permit can move. Next action: the applicant's. Not in open data | SF1245488 | Short Form Bldg Permit | 268 BREMEN ST | East Boston |
| 1,731 | More information requested (Planning & Zoning) Planning & Zoning asked the applicant for more information and is waiting on a response. Next action: the applicant's. Not in open data | ALT1237936 | Long Form/Alteration Permit | 293 STRATFORD ST | West Roxbury |
| 1,000 | More information requested ISD asked the applicant for more information and is waiting on a response. Next action: the applicant's. Not in open data | ALT1556240 | Long Form/Alteration Permit | 202 HARVARD AV | Allston |
| 990 | Refused ISD refused the application — the usual next step is an appeal to the Board of Appeal. Next action: the applicant's. Not in open data | ERT1221685 | Erect/New Construction | 485 HANOVER ST | Boston |
| 188 | Denied The application was denied. It moves only if the applicant revises and refiles, or appeals. Next action: the applicant's. Not in open data | E1651665 | Electrical Permit | 153 MILLET ST | Dorchester |
| 1,960 | Awaiting fee paymentLikely abandoned The application reached the fee-payment step, the fee was never paid, and the permit was never issued. The City has not voided the application — its system still lists it as awaiting payment. Next action: the applicant's. Not in open data | ALT1202437 | Long Form/Alteration Permit | 5 HOWARD AV | Dorchester |
| 1,827 | Conditions to satisfy Approval conditions remain to be satisfied before the permit can move. Next action: the applicant's. Not in open data | SF1228874 | Short Form Bldg Permit | 30 GLENHAM ST | West Roxbury |
| 1,822 | Waiting on Board of Appeal The permit is held for a Board of Appeal case and cannot move until the ZBA decides. Next action: the Board of Appeal's. Not in open data | ALT1249960 | Long Form/Alteration Permit | 562 WASHINGTON ST | Dorchester |
| 1,709 | More information requested (Planning & Zoning) Planning & Zoning asked the applicant for more information and is waiting on a response. Next action: the applicant's. Not in open data | ALT1230890 | Long Form/Alteration Permit | 250 HANOVER ST | Boston |
| 1,000 | More information requested ISD asked the applicant for more information and is waiting on a response. Next action: the applicant's. Not in open data | ALT1562444 | Long Form/Alteration Permit | 18 CATAWBA ST | Roxbury |
| 990 | Refused ISD refused the application — the usual next step is an appeal to the Board of Appeal. Next action: the applicant's. Not in open data | ALT1261560 | Long Form/Alteration Permit | 44 HARBOR VIEW ST | Dorchester |
| 188 | Denied The application was denied. It moves only if the applicant revises and refiles, or appeals. Next action: the applicant's. Not in open data | E1758463 | Electrical Permit | 18 ROXANA ST | Hyde Park |
| 1,952 | Awaiting fee paymentLikely abandoned The application reached the fee-payment step, the fee was never paid, and the permit was never issued. The City has not voided the application — its system still lists it as awaiting payment. Next action: the applicant's. Not in open data | SF1206124 | Short Form Bldg Permit | 521 ASHMONT ST | Dorchester |
15 of the 15 permits above do not appear in the City's open data portal — this list cannot be assembled from published data.
The full list lives in the product
Inside Verdwise you can filter every stuck permit by stage, neighborhood, and time waiting, open the full review history behind each one, and pull the complete parcel record — zoning, appeal history, violations, and overlays — for any address on this list. Or just ask: “which permits near me are stuck, and why?”
Stage positions come from the City of Boston's own permit-review system and are refreshed on an automated schedule; each permit's stage date is as recorded by Inspectional Services. Verdwise reports what is on record — a stuck permit is a fact about a stage, not a judgment about anyone involved. See data freshness for sync dates and caveats.