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Arizona Permit Timeline Estimator
Estimate review time for a new-home permit in Yuma County and other Arizona jurisdictions, then add build time.
Submittal to permit in hand
63 days
About Dec 20, 2026 · move-in window Oct 19, 2027 to Feb 3, 2028
- Agency review time
- 49 days
- Your correction time
- 10 days
- Submittal to completion
- 419 days (13.8 months)
- Published overall time frame
- 35 business days for a single review. 40 business days when more than one review is needed.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Agency review | 49 days |
| Your correction time | 10 days |
| Extra reviews | 0 days |
| Issuance | 4 days |
| Build | 356 days |
Results link:
With the defaults (Yuma County, custom plan, 2 review cycles, 10-day turnaround, hired contractor), agency time is (5 + 15 + 15) business days times 1.4 = 49 days. You add 10 days and issuance adds 4, so it is about 63 days to permit. Building at 11.7 months adds about 356 days, for about 419 days in total (about 13.8 months). The completion window is about days 366 to 473. The same inputs give about 30 days to permit in the City of Yuma, 49 in Wellton, 74 in Phoenix, and 49 in Mesa.
How this is calculated
conv = {bd: 7/5, wd4: 7/4, cd: 1}[unit]
first, re = (plan_type == "standard" and a standard track exists) ? standard track : custom track
if expedited and the jurisdiction publishes expedited days: first, re = expedited track
agency_cal = (admin + first + (review_cycles - 1) * re) * conv
applicant_cal = (review_cycles - 1) * applicant_days
extras_cal = ((septic_review ? 15 : 0) + (zoning_review ? 45 : 0)) * 7/5
issue_cal = issuance_bd * 7/5
days_to_permit = agency_cal + applicant_cal + extras_cal + issue_cal
build_days = build_months * 30.44
co_early = days_to_permit + build_days * (1 - build_spread_pct/100)
co_late = days_to_permit + build_days * (1 + build_spread_pct/100)
total_days = days_to_permit + build_days
permit_date = submittal_date + days_to_permit
co_window = submittal_date + co_early through submittal_date + co_late
Business days (bd) convert at 7/5. Mesa's Monday-Thursday week (wd4) converts at 7/4. Phoenix calendar days stay as calendar days. Holidays are ignored.
Septic adds 15 business days and zoning adds 45 business days. Both adders are assumptions.
Where a jurisdiction has no published standard-plan track, the custom schedule is used.
Old schedules are labeled with their source year. Confirm those with the department.Default values and sources
| Default | Value | Status | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuma County, Yuma, Wellton, San Luis, Somerton | See jurisdiction table | Sourced | Land Development Coordination time frames, 2019 compilation | 2019 compilation of each jurisdiction's A.R.S. § 9-835 / § 11-1605 tables. City of Yuma's schedule inside it is revised 2017. Dated. Confirm with the department. |
| City of Yuma residential review | 5 work days, in general | Sourced | City of Yuma, Plan Review | Current city page. The detailed 1/5/5 schedule is the 2017 table. |
| Phoenix first-review average | 32 calendar days (Sept 2026) | Sourced | City of Phoenix plan review turnaround, September 2026 | Custom and standard plans: goal 30, average 32 calendar days. Plot plans: goal 5, average 4. Re-check quarterly. |
| Phoenix posted time frame | 10 admin + 60 substantive calendar days | Sourced | City of Phoenix license time frames (A.R.S. 9-835) | Substantive time covers the first review plus one subsequent review. The 28-day re-review used here is an assumption: 60 minus the 32-day average. |
| Pima County review | 5 / 3 business days | Sourced | Pima County review turnaround times | 5 business days up to 20,000 sq ft, 3 on re-review, 3 for sites off model plans. |
| Tucson residential new dwelling | 10 business days | Sourced | City of Tucson permit review lanes | Fast lane, 10 business days. Initialization up to 3. Re-review is not published, so it matches the first review (assumption). |
| Mesa residential review | 10 working days (Mon-Thu) | Sourced | City of Mesa residential construction | Same for later reviews. Expedited review is 5 days for a fee. |
| Chandler custom home | 20 working days per review | Sourced | City of Chandler development services time frames | Standard-plan permit is 10 working days. The week is not defined, so Monday-Friday is an assumption. |
| Gilbert single-family review | 12 / 8 working days | Sourced | Town of Gilbert project review time frames | Standardized plans are 3 / 3. The week is not defined, so Monday-Friday is an assumption. |
| Scottsdale residential review | 7 admin + 15 substantive business days | Sourced | City of Scottsdale residential plan review | Re-review is not published, so it matches the first substantive review (assumption). |
| Glendale custom home | 15 / 13 business days | Sourced | City of Glendale plan review targets, effective Jan 29, 2018 | 2018 source, not on the city site. Confirm with the department. Intake is 1 business day. Expedited review is half time at a 300% fee. |
| Posted time-frame statute | Cities and counties must post frames | Sourced | A.R.S. § 9-835 and § 11-1605 | County statute: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/11/01605.htm |
| Permit to completion | 11.7 / 14.3 / 7.4 months | Sourced | Census Survey of Construction via NAHB, 2025 | Hired contractor 11.7 months, owner-built 14.3, built for sale 7.4. Mountain division average 9.1 months across types. |
| Your turnaround per correction | 10 calendar days | Editable assumption | No public source verified | Time for your designer to answer comments and resubmit. |
| Approval to permit in hand | 3 business days | Editable assumption | No public source verified | Pay fees and turn in contractor documents. |
| Septic or environmental review | 15 business days | Editable assumption | No public source verified | Added only when the toggle is on. |
| Variance or zoning approval | 45 business days | Editable assumption | No single statewide figure verified | Set from published variance frames of 35 business days (San Luis) and 45 (Somerton) in the 2019 compilation. Added only when the toggle is on. |
| Build-time uncertainty | 15% either way | Editable assumption | No public source verified | Width of the completion window. |
| Planned submittal date | The day you open the page | Editable assumption | No public source verified | Used only to show calendar dates. |
Sources last verified: 2026-10-18. Re-verify every source at least yearly.
Jurisdiction time frames
Business days convert to calendar days at 7/5. Mesa's Monday-Thursday week converts at 7/4. Phoenix figures are already calendar days. Schedules from 2017, 2018, or 2019 are labeled with that source year. Confirm them with the department. Phoenix publishes monthly, so re-check its figures quarterly.
| Jurisdiction | Source year | Unit | Admin | First review | Re-review | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuma County (unincorporated) | 2019 | Business days | 5 | 15 | 15 | 2019 compilation of the county time-frame table. Confirm with the department. |
| City of Yuma | 2017 | Business days | 1 | 5 | 5 | 2017 schedule, reprinted in a 2019 compilation. The city page still says residential reviews are generally 5 work days. Confirm with the department. |
| Town of Wellton | 2019 | Business days | 5 | 10 | 10 | 2019 compilation. Confirm with the department. |
| City of San Luis | 2019 | Business days | 1 | 5 | 5 | 2019 compilation. Confirm with the department. |
| City of Somerton | 2019 | Business days | 1 | 5 | 5 | 2019 compilation. Confirm with the department. |
| City of Phoenix | 2026 | Calendar days | 0 | 32 | 28 | September 2026 report: custom and standard plans averaged 32 calendar days (goal 30). The 28-day re-review is an assumption: the 60-day substantive frame minus that 32-day average. |
| Pima County (unincorporated) | Current page | Business days | 0 | 5 | 3 | Posted turnaround: 5 business days up to 20,000 sq ft, 3 business days on re-review. |
| City of Tucson | Current page | Business days | 3 | 10 | 10 | Residential new dwelling is on the fast lane at 10 business days. Initialization can take up to 3. Re-review is not published, so it is set equal to the first review. |
| City of Mesa | Current page | Mon-Thu | 0 | 10 | 10 | 10 working days on a Monday-Thursday week, including later reviews. Expedited review is 5 days for an extra fee. |
| City of Chandler | Current page | Business days | 0 | 20 | 20 | Custom home is 20 working days per review. The city does not define the week, so this tool counts Monday-Friday. That week length is an assumption. |
| Town of Gilbert | Current page | Business days | 0 | 12 | 8 | Single-family custom or standard is 12 and 8 working days. The town does not define the week, so this tool counts Monday-Friday. That week length is an assumption. |
| City of Scottsdale | Current page | Business days | 7 | 15 | 15 | Single-family admin review is 7 business days and substantive review is 15. Re-review is not published, so it is set equal to the first review. |
| City of Glendale | 2018 | Business days | 1 | 15 | 13 | 2018 target turnaround, not hosted on the city site. Confirm with the department. Expedited review is half time at a 300% fee. |
How the timeline is built
What this estimator measures
Getting a new house permitted and built in Arizona has two clocks. The permit clock runs from the day you submit plans until the permit is in your hand. The build clock runs from permit to final inspection and certificate of occupancy. This tool estimates both, so you can plan rent, rate locks, and lot carry costs around a realistic date instead of a hopeful one.
Where the review numbers come from
Arizona law requires cities (A.R.S. § 9-835) and counties (A.R.S. § 11-1605) to publish how long each kind of permit review takes, split into an administrative (completeness) review and a substantive (technical) review. We collected those tables for unincorporated Yuma County, the City of Yuma, Wellton, San Luis, Somerton, and the larger cities: Phoenix, Tucson, Pima County, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Scottsdale, and Glendale. Each row in the table links to its source. Some are recent monthly reports. Others are older posted schedules, flagged by the year on the source.
Departments count time differently. Most count business days, Phoenix reports calendar days, and Mesa counts a Monday-Thursday working week. The tool converts everything to calendar days so the jurisdictions can be compared directly.
The part you control: correction rounds
Few custom-home plan sets are approved on the first pass. Each correction round adds the agency's re-review time plus the days your designer takes to respond. In fast jurisdictions, your own turnaround can take longer than the agency's review. Complete submittals, a designer who answers comments within a week, and a standard plan where one is available are the biggest ways to shorten the permit clock.
Extra reviews on rural lots
Rural lots in Yuma County often need more than a building review: septic or environmental programs, flood control, and sometimes a well permit. A variance or zoning approval can add more than a month, because it involves public notice. Turn these on if they apply. The added days are placeholders, so ask the department for current figures.
The build clock
Census data shows homes built by hired contractors took about 11.7 months from permit authorization to completion in 2025. Owner-built homes took about 14.3 months, and homes built for sale about 7.4. The 15% window reflects weather, trade availability, and inspection scheduling.
Connect it to your budget
Time costs money. Enter the months to permit as the pre-build period in the Lot Carry Cost Calculator, and the total months as the waiting period in the Build vs Buy Calculator, so property tax, interest, and rent are counted for the full stretch.
Use it as a planning range
Published review times are targets, and departments note they can slip when workloads are heavy. Call the building department before you set dates with contractors or lenders. Phoenix publishes monthly, so re-check its figures quarterly.
You can estimate what the house will cost, price the months you'll be waiting, or add the wait to build vs buy. Related writing: Arizona permitting guides.
Questions
How long does it take to get a building permit for a new home in Yuma County?
For unincorporated Yuma County, the county's posted schedule allows 35 business days for a residential permit with a single review cycle. That's 5 days of administrative review and 15 of substantive review, plus a second round of 5 and 10 days. With one correction round and 10 days for your own changes, this tool estimates about 63 calendar days from submittal to permit in hand.
How long does City of Yuma plan review take for a house?
The City of Yuma says residential plan reviews generally take 5 work days. Its posted schedule for a new residential building is 1 day for completeness, 5 for the first review, and 5 for a second review if needed, 11 business days in all. With one correction round, the tool estimates about a month from submittal to permit.
How long does Phoenix take to review new single-family home plans?
Phoenix's September 2026 report shows an average of 32 calendar days for the first review of custom and standard new-home plans, against a 30-day goal. Its posted state-law time frame is 10 administrative days plus 60 substantive days. Homes built from an already-approved standard plan go through plot-plan review, which averaged 4 days.
How long does it take to build a house after the permit is issued?
Census data for 2025 shows about 11.7 months from permit authorization to completion for homes built by a hired contractor. Owner-built homes took about 14.3 months, and homes built for sale about 7.4 months. The Mountain region, which includes Arizona, averaged 9.1 months across all home types.
Are published permit review times firm deadlines?
No. They're targets or maximum time frames, and in many departments the review clock pauses while they wait on your corrections. Phoenix and Pima County both note that turnaround times can vary with workload. Confirm current times with the department before you schedule.
Educational estimate only. Review times come from schedules each jurisdiction has published, some of which are several years old. Confirm current times with the building department. Nothing here promises any approval or date.