Denver Building Permit Search & History Reports

Denver Community Planning & Development (CPD) issues all building permits within Denver city and county limits — the City and County of Denver is a consolidated municipality, so one agency covers everything. CPD's online permit portal (denvergov.org/permits) provides real-time application status, and the city's open data portal (opendata.denvergov.org) publishes the full Building Permits dataset with records going back over a decade. Denver's housing market has seen explosive residential construction since 2010 — ADU legalization under the 2023 ADU text amendment, the RiNo and Highland neighborhood build-outs, and the ongoing transit-oriented development around RTD light rail stations have all produced dense permit activity. CPD's permit types include new construction, additions and alterations, demolition, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection — all searchable via our live lookup. Jefferson County, Arapahoe County, and suburban cities (Aurora, Lakewood, Westminster) are separate jurisdictions outside CPD's scope.

Records available

What's included in a Denver permit search.

CPD-issued permits from Denver open data: residential remodels, ADUs, new construction, commercial upfits, mechanical, electrical, plumbing. Includes permit type, declared job valuation, contractor, and current status. Live Socrata lookup available.

Source: Denver Community Planning & Development (CPD) https://www.denvergov.org/permits

Permit type and scope of work Full description of the work covered by each permit
Issue date, final date, current status Track open vs. finaled vs. expired permits
Contractor name & license Where recorded — required for CO permits
Original PDF document (Premium tier) Certified copy from Denver Community Planning & Development (CPD)

Coverage limits

What this search does not include.

Jefferson, Arapahoe, Adams, or Douglas County (separate jurisdictions); suburban cities (Aurora, Lakewood, Westminster, Englewood); permits still in active plan review.

Outside Denver, CO jurisdiction Adjacent counties and municipalities use separate systems
Pending / in-review permits Not yet issued — not in the public records database
Unpermitted work Not in the records — flagged via history gaps, not direct data
Voided / expired (cleared) records Denver may clear old records from public view after a retention period

Common questions

Frequently asked about Denver permits.

Is Denver a city and county?

Yes — Denver is a consolidated city and county. CPD is the single permit authority for all of Denver, unlike most metros where city and county are separate jurisdictions.

How far back do Denver CPD records go?

The Denver open data portal has permit records from approximately 2010 onward for most permit types. Pre-2010 records may require a CPD records request.

Can unpermitted additions be detected in Denver?

Cross-reference CPD permit history with the Denver Assessor's property records. ADU conversions and basement finish work are the most common unpermitted patterns in Denver's older residential neighborhoods.

What changed with Denver ADU rules?

Denver's 2023 ADU text amendment legalized ADUs citywide in residential zones, removing the conditional use requirement. This triggered a wave of new ADU permit applications — our lookup reflects all ADU permit history.

Does Denver require contractor registration?

Yes — contractors must register with CPD. License numbers are recorded on permits and included in our results where available.

Denver Building Permit Search & History Reports

What's included in a Denver permit search.

What this search does not include.

Frequently asked about Denver permits.

Get permit data for Denver, CO.