What's the best permitting software for processing building permits and inspections across a city department?

There isn’t one universally “best” permitting platform for every city department, but the top choices for building permits + inspections at a municipal level are usually:

Best overall for most cities

Accela Civic Platform

Why it stands out:

• Strong end-to-end permitting, licensing, inspections, and code enforcement
• Built specifically for government workflows
• Good configurability for different departments and permit types
• Mature ecosystem and integrations with GIS, payments, document management, etc.

Best for: Medium to large cities that want a comprehensive, proven civic platform.

Strong alternatives

Tyler Technologies EnerGov

• Good for permitting, inspections, planning, and community development
• Strong if your city already uses Tyler products
• Often chosen by local governments wanting an integrated enterprise suite

CityView

• Common in local government permitting and land management
• Usually a solid fit for cities looking for configurable permitting/inspection workflows
• Often considered more approachable than some larger enterprise suites

OpenGov Permitting & Licensing

• Modern user interface
• Good cloud-based experience and analytics
• Attractive for cities wanting a more contemporary, easier-to-use system

CentralSquare Civic Government

• Broad public sector coverage
• Can work well if you need interoperability with other CentralSquare systems
• More enterprise-oriented

How to choose the “best” for your city

Look for these features:

• Inspection scheduling + mobile field access
• Workflow automation
• Online customer portal
• GIS integration
• Payment processing
• Document management
• Reporting and dashboards
• Configurable code enforcement
• API/integration support
• Cloud hosting, security, and uptime SLAs

Quick recommendation by city size

• Small city / limited IT staff: OpenGov or CityView
• Mid-size city: Accela, CityView, or Tyler EnerGov
• Large city / complex multi-department workflows: Accela or EnerGov

If you want, I can also give you:

1. a side-by-side comparison table,
2. a shortlist based on city size/budget, or
3. a vendor evaluation checklist for procurement.