Need a commercial or residential permit? Check out Philly gov’s new navigator tool

Soon after introducing an interactive dashboard for political campaign finance data, the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Innovation and Technology (OIT) has launched a permit navigator pilot to make information about permits and licenses easier to access.

OIT’s SmartCityPHL team worked with the Department of Commerce, Department of Licenses and Inspections, and Department of Planning and Development to develop the tool to help Philadelphians find info about the City’s residential and commercial permit processes.

The navigator tool goes through questions relating to the permit needed and informs the user about types of permits, costs and applications.

See the permit navigator

The navigator covers residential permits for renovations in one- or two-family homes. Commercial use cases include offices, retail spaces, commercial services, and public, civic and institutional spaces.

“The City of Philadelphia saw the need to create a digital tool to make information for smaller residential and commercial projects more accessible and centrally available to public users,” Chief Information Officer Mark Wheeler in a statement.

The City has been working on this project since September 2021 as a response to business owners and home owners who had questions about permits and licenses.

“The goal is to empower users with the knowledge that they need to make informed decisions on both residential and commercial projects,” said Kelsey Hubbell, communications manager for OIT, via email. “The more equipped residents and businesses are with information the more access they have to opportunities.”

The City will host public feedback sessions over the next couple months to hear what Philadelphians think about the pilot, which will last until April 2023. The City is also accepting feedback at SmartCityPHL@phila.gov.

Sarah Huffman is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.