Tag: licenses and inspections
Philadelphia’s New Building Codes
Way back in January, a few wise sages warned of the Changing of the Building Codes: they said “the City of Philadelphia’s new building codes will go live in July 2025,” referenced this document, and promised to “examine the 2025 code changes in depth as we get closer to July.” These same visionaries stayed quiet…
The Philadelphia Commercial Activity License
The Philadelphia Commercial Activity License (CAL) is the first requirement for conducting any business in Philadelphia, but not the last. When a client asks us to help with a CAL, the project might dip into other Philly licenses or drown in local tax records. Once you have all your business information in order, getting a…
Top 5 Philly Code Changes in 2025
Happy New-ish Year! As Philadelphia slowly emerges from the eggnog fog into the harsh winter light, it’s time to discuss what’s on everyone’s mind: the Eagle’s depressing passing attack, which could doom the league’s most talented roster and best defense. [Note: after we posted this article, they scored 55 points in the NFC Championship game.…
Philadelphia Property Certificates
It happens all the time: someone comes to us because the City of Philadelphia told them to get new permits just to keep their property the way it was. Say, for example, someone purchased a triplex, but when they applied for a rental license – trying to follow the rules! – the Department of Licenses…
Permit Expirations
We’ve heard a lot from our clients about permit expirations recently: Contractors, property owners, and even homeowners working on small renovation projects have found their construction and zoning permits out of date: marked “expired” and closed in the City of Philadelphia’s online portal. Everyone wants to know why their permits are expiring, and how to…
Update on Philly Airbnb rules
Permit Philly returns to the Philadelphia Airbnb License to tell you what’s changed since the license was introduced in 2023.
Philadelphia Outdoor Dining Rules
An overview of the new Philadelphia outdoor dining rules taking effect on January 9th, 2023.
The Philadelphia Excavation License
Excavation work in Philadelphia is about to get a lot more difficult. Of course the days are long gone when you could just stick a shovel in the ground and start building a house: the City requires plans, approval from the Water and Streets Departments, and a wheelbarrow of paperwork before it will permit new…
Outdoor Seating Permits for Restaurants During Coronavirus Restrictions
NOTE: This post was initially written in June 2020. This information is now mostly out of date — check out our later blog post from January 2023 for the latest changes to outdoor dining laws. The biggest moments in life sear our memories: weddings, holidays, cross-country moves. In much the same way I’ll remember my…
Coronavirus and Philadelphia Permits (Update)
Greetings from Permit Philly’s top secret quarantine lair! We are furiously washing our hands and really getting deep into Netflix’s recommended list of Intense Movies Featuring a Strong Female Lead. (It’s mostly Salt. Don’t judge.) We hope you and yours are safe, but also hope we can use some of this newly free time to…
