Book a time to come to the Permit Center

You must come to the Permit Center at 49 South Van Ness to submit your permit application. You must bring all your prepared forms and plans.

We will review your application, check your plans, and route your application to the required stations.

Permits that do not need appointments

You do not need an appointment for:

• OTC permits without plans
• Trades permits
• Street space and sidewalk OTC permits with SF Public Works Bureau of Street Management (BSM)

Come to the Permit Center to submit your application.

Appointments required for all other permits

Book your time to submit your OTC permit application with plans.

There are 3 ways to make an appointment:

• Join the same-day queue
• Schedule an appointment
• Email to join the waitlist

We open the same-day at 7:30 a.m on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday; at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday. We close it when it reaches capacity.

We will ask you for: 

• Your email and phone number
• Your project address
• An optional building permit number

We will text you when it is time to come to the Permit Center.

We will review your application, check your plans, and route your application to the required stations in person. 

If you already have an appointment scheduled, you can join the waitlist for an earlier appointment.

Email us to join the waitlist. Include:

• Your name, email and phone number
• Your project address
• An optional building permit number

We will email you within 3 business days with an earlier appointment time if one is available.

If you decline the new appointment, you can join the waitlist again.

If you accept the new appointment, we will cancel your original appointment for that project address.

You can also schedule a future appointment to route your permit application in-person.

We will ask you for: 

• Your email and phone number
• Your project address
• An optional building permit number