New Orleans Building Permit Lookup

Building permits in New Orleans are public records. Every renovation, addition and structural change that went through the proper process left a filing with New Orleans Department of Safety & Permits, and the gaps in that record are often more revealing than the filings themselves.

We pull directly from New Orleans Department of Safety & Permits, whose published records begin in 2001 and now run to 463,157 permits. That includes building work alongside the trade permits — electrical, mechanical and plumbing — that carry most of a house's renovation history. You can verify any permit at the source.

Work started without a permit, or started under one that was never closed out, can surface at the worst possible moment: during an appraisal, at closing, or when you make an insurance claim. A permit that shows as open or expired years after the work finished is the signal worth chasing.

Across New Orleans's whole record, 214,372 permits closed out properly, 174,994 are still open, and 0 expired without ever being finaled. Note that this city publishes almost no expired permits at all, which suggests its records do not track expiry. Read the absence as unknown rather than as an all-clear.