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Email templates · Government office

Email to ask a government office about the status of a permit

You applied for a permit or license, such as a building permit for a renovation, a business license, a sign permit, or a special event permit, and the promised review time has passed with no word. Permit applications go through review by one or more departments, and one missing item or one reviewer's comment can stall the whole thing without anyone telling you. An email to the permit office asks for the status in a way that gets routed to the right reviewer and creates a record that you asked. It also lets you ask the one question that matters: is there anything they are waiting on from you?

Before you send

  • The application or permit number, the property address or business name it is for, and the date you submitted it. These are the first three things any clerk will ask.
  • The type of permit and what the office said the review time would be, so you can point to that.
  • Anything you have already sent in response to comments, and the date. Uploads to online portals sometimes never get attached.
  • Your contractor's or architect's name if they filed on your behalf; the office may only talk to the applicant of record.
  • A polite tone. Reviewers decide how quickly your file comes back to the top.
Subject Status of permit application #[application number], [address] 
Hi [permit office or reviewer name],

I'm checking on the status of my [type of permit] application, number [application number], for [property address or business name], submitted on [date].

When I applied, I was told to expect a review within [number] business days, and that date has passed. Could you let me know:

- Where the application currently is in review, and which department has it
- Whether there are any outstanding comments or missing items I need to respond to
- A realistic date by which I can expect a decision

[I submitted corrections in response to the comments on date and want to confirm they were received.] [My contractor, name, filed the application; I'm the property owner and am happy to be the contact.]

I'd like to [start the work / open for business] by [date], so anything I can do to keep this moving, I'll do promptly.

Thank you,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • The useful reply names the department holding the file and the item they need. "It's in review" with no detail means you should ask specifically what the next step is and who is responsible for it.
  • If there are outstanding comments, respond to every one in a single resubmission; each partial response usually restarts the review clock.
  • If a week passes with no reply, call the office and reference your email, then follow up in writing with what you were told. Many offices also show status in an online portal; check it before each follow-up.
  • If the file is stuck for weeks with no reason, ask for the permit supervisor, and if that fails, your city council member's or county commissioner's office can often get a straight answer.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Find out what is holding up my permit 
Hi StandIn,

Please find out where my permit application stands and what it will take to get it approved.

The office: [city or county department name and contact, if I have one].
The permit: [type, application number, property address or business name].
Submitted on: [date], and I was told to expect [number] days.
What I've sent since: [corrections or documents with dates, or "nothing"].
Who filed it: [me / contractor or architect name].
When I need it: [date].

Get the status and the list of anything outstanding, ask how to resolve each item, keep following up until there is a decision, and tell me the moment something needs my action.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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