Subject · France, administrative courts
Planning and building permits
In 2025, the French administrative courts issued 7,808 decisions on planning and building permits, that is 2.8% of the year's decisions (24% fewer than in 2024): 6,133 before the administrative tribunals, 1,214 before the administrative courts of appeal and 461 before the Conseil d'État. Before the administrative tribunals, 61% of the decisions dismiss the claim and the median time to judgment is 24 months.
- Decisions in 20257,808−24% over one year
- Share of administrative decisions2.8%out of 279,322 decisions in 2025
- Dismissed at first instance61%decisions with a stated outcome
- Median time at first instance24 monthsfrom filing to judgment
Decisions year by year
This chart follows, year by year, the number of decisions issued on planning and building permits at each level of the administrative courts, and the share they represent among all decisions. This volume measures judicial output and is not the same as the number of cases filed in the same year: a case may be decided months, or even years, after it was filed.
The number of decisions on planning and building permits went from 10,219 in 2023 to 7,808 in 2025. This subject accounts for 2.8% of all administrative court decisions in 2025 (4.1% in 2024). It accounts for 2.5% of the decisions of the administrative tribunals, 4.5% of the decisions of the courts of appeal and 6.1% of the decisions of the Conseil d'État.
- Administrative tribunals
- Administrative courts of appeal
- Conseil d'État
| Year | Administrative tribunals | Administrative courts of appeal | Conseil d'État | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 7,792 | 1,718 | 709 | 10,219 | 4.2% |
| 2024 | 7,959 | 1,614 | 711 | 10,284 | 4.1% |
| 2025 | 6,133 | 1,214 | 461 | 7,808 | 2.8% |
Series start in 2023, the first full year in which the administrative tribunals and courts of appeal published their decisions. Share: that of the subject among all decisions of the year.
The courts concerned
The table lists the courts that issued at least one decision on planning and building permits in 2025. For each of them it gives the number of decisions and the share the subject represents among all its decisions, then, where the number of decisions allows it, the dismissal rate and the median time to judgment. Each court links to its own page.
In 2025, 39 administrative tribunals, 9 administrative courts of appeal and the Conseil d'État issued at least one decision on planning and building permits. Among the administrative tribunals, the Tribunal administratif de Marseille (554 decisions), the Tribunal administratif de Grenoble (524) and the Tribunal administratif de Lyon (345) issued the largest numbers; together they account for 23% of the tribunals' decisions on this subject. Among the courts of appeal, the Cour administrative d'appel de Marseille issued the largest number (222). Among the administrative tribunals with at least 1,000 decisions in the year and 200 on this subject, the share of the subject in their caseload ranges from 1.3% for the Tribunal administratif de Cergy-Pontoise and the Tribunal administratif de Nantes to 14% for the Tribunal administratif de Bastia. 13 administrative tribunals issued at least 200 decisions on planning and building permits: the dismissal rate ranges from 31% to 72%; the median time ranges from 3 months to 35 months.
Share of caseload: share of the subject among all the decisions of the court. Dismissal rate not computed below 200 decisions of the court on the subject; median time: judgments only, excluding orders, not computed below 200 judgments. Below 200 decisions in the year, a court only has its number of decisions.
See also Justice in France: all courts
Time to judgment
Time to judgment is the time between the filing of the application and the judgment. It is summarised by the median: half of the cases are decided faster, the other half more slowly. For planning and building permits, times are shown for each court level, with the quartiles and the spread of judgments over bands of duration, provided the level has at least 200 judgments in the year.
In 2025, an administrative tribunal judgment on planning and building permits comes a median of 24 months after filing: a quarter of the cases are decided in less than 10 months, a quarter wait more than 32 months. This median was 23 months in 2024. This median time is above the median of all subjects before the administrative tribunals (7 months). Before the administrative courts of appeal, the median time is 20 months (as in 2024). Before the Conseil d'État, the median time is 7 months (as in 2024).
- Administrative tribunals24 monthsmedian time
- Administrative courts of appeal20 monthsmedian time
- Conseil d'État7 monthsmedian time
| Level | Judgments | First quartile | Median time | Third quartile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative tribunals | 5,194 | 9 months | 24 months | 32 months |
| Administrative courts of appeal | 1,092 | 13 months | 20 months | 25 months |
| Conseil d'État | 420 | 5 months | 7 months | 10 months |
See also Tribunal administratif de Marseille Tribunal administratif de Grenoble times for each court
Judgments only, excluding orders (summary proceedings), counted from the first application filed, in completed months. Time not computed for a court level below 200 judgments in the year.
Outcome of the cases
The outcome sums up what the decision does: the claim is dismissed, it is granted in whole or in part, or the case ends without the court having to rule on the merits. On appeal and in cassation, a dismissal leaves the contested decision in place, whether the appeal came from the individual or from the public body: the dismissal rate alone does not say who wins the case. For planning and building permits, the breakdown is given for each court level.
Before the administrative tribunals, 61% of the decisions on planning and building permits with a stated outcome dismiss the claim, against 57% for all subjects together, and the dismissal rate is unchanged compared with 2024. The contested act is annulled or the claim granted in 32% of the decisions; withdrawals and “no need to rule” decisions, which end the case without a ruling on the merits, account for 7%. The dismissal rate is 72% before the administrative courts of appeal and 82% before the Conseil d'État.
- Administrative tribunals
- Administrative courts of appeal
- Conseil d'État
- Dismissed
- Annulled or granted
- No need to rule
- Withdrawn
- Referred or transferred
- Suspension
| Outcome | Administrative tribunals | Administrative courts of appeal | Conseil d'État |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dismissed | 3,643 (61%) | 843 (72%) | 360 (82%) |
| Annulled or granted | 1,884 (32%) | 256 (22%) | 68 (16%) |
| No need to rule | 129 (2%) | 17 (1%) | 1 (<1%) |
| Withdrawn | 269 (5%) | 33 (3%) | 2 (<1%) |
| Referred or transferred | 2 (<1%) | 21 (2%) | 4 (1%) |
| Suspension | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (<1%) |
| Decisions with a stated outcome | 5,927 | 1,170 | 437 |
Decisions with a stated and classified outcome, excluding interim decisions (expert report, investigation). For each court level, the breakdown is given from 200 decisions in the year; below that, it is not shown.
The other subjects
The decisions of the administrative courts are divided here into 16 categories, one of which is “other matters”, according to the legal texts cited in each decision. The table gives the volume of the other categories in 2025; each row links to its page.
In 2025, the administrative courts issued 279,322 decisions, divided among 16 categories; planning and building permits accounts for 7,808 (2.8%). The categories with the most decisions, apart from “other matters”, are immigration (111,932), tax (11,968), housing (11,393) and social welfare (10,925). Among the subjects with at least 1,000 decisions before the administrative tribunals, the median time ranges from 3 months for immigration to 27 months for tax.
| Subject | Decisions 2025 | Share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Immigration | 111,932 | 40% | +9% |
| Tax | 11,968 | 4.3% | +2% |
| Housing | 11,393 | 4.1% | −22% |
| Social welfare | 10,925 | 3.9% | −5% |
| Civil service | 10,831 | 3.9% | −2% |
| Local authorities and public property | 5,234 | 1.9% | +24% |
| Driving licences | 4,809 | 1.7% | +15% |
| Employment law | 3,547 | 1.3% | +18% |
| Public health | 2,721 | 0.97% | +3% |
| Environment and agriculture | 2,333 | 0.84% | −22% |
| Education | 2,332 | 0.83% | −28% |
| Policing | 1,999 | 0.72% | 0% |
| Public procurement | 1,926 | 0.69% | +7% |
| Elections | 178 | 0.06% | −32% |
| Other matters | 89,386 | 32% | +39% |
Subject determined from the legal texts cited in each decision; “other matters” groups decisions without a characteristic text.
See also Justice in France
Understanding these figures
Building permits and local plans
This subject brings together disputes based on the Planning Code: building, development and demolition permits, prior declarations, planning certificates, local urban plans (PLU) and other planning documents. The contested decision is taken by a municipality, an intermunicipal body or the State.
Applicants, neighbours and associations
The claim may come from an applicant whose permit was refused, or from a neighbour, an association or a public body challenging a permit that was granted. The judge may annul the permit, annul it only in part or, where the defect can be corrected, give its holder the opportunity to regularise it.
Why the median
The median is preferred to the average: a few cases lasting several years are enough to inflate an average, while they barely move the median. Times are counted in completed months, from the filing of the application to the judgment; orders issued by a single judge, in particular in summary proceedings, are left out. For planning and building permits, it is 24 months before the administrative tribunals in 2025: half of the cases there are decided faster, half more slowly.
Outcome families
Outcomes are grouped into families. Dismissal covers claims found unfounded, inadmissible or brought before the wrong court. “Annulled or granted” brings together the decisions that find for the applicant in whole or in part: annulment of an act, amendment of a judgment, an injunction addressed to the public body. “No need to rule” means that the dispute lost its purpose during the proceedings, “withdrawn” that the applicant dropped the claim, and a referral sends the case to another court. For planning and building permits, the administrative tribunals dismissed 61% of the claims and annulled or granted 32% in 2025, among the decisions with a stated outcome.
Reading the figures with care
These figures describe past decisions. A decision is attached to a subject from the legal texts it cites: a case that touches several fields is counted in only one of them. The dismissal rate and the times depend first on the nature of the cases decided, so two subjects, like two courts that do not receive the same disputes, cannot be compared point by point. No statistic can predict the outcome of a particular case. Here, this subject accounts for 2.8% of the decisions of the administrative courts in 2025.
Frequently asked questions
How many administrative court decisions concern planning and building permits?
In 2025, the administrative courts published 7,808 decisions on planning and building permits, that is 2.8% of all decisions of the year (24% fewer than in 2024): 6,133 by the administrative tribunals; 1,214 by the courts of appeal; 461 by the Conseil d'État.
What share of cases on planning and building permits is dismissed by the administrative tribunals?
In 2025, 61% of the administrative tribunal decisions on planning and building permits with a stated outcome were dismissals, against 57% for all subjects together; 32% of the decisions annulled the contested act or granted the claim in whole or in part. Before the courts of appeal, the dismissal rate is 72%. Before the Conseil d'État, the dismissal rate is 82%.
How long does an administrative tribunal take to decide a case on planning and building permits?
In 2025, the median time from filing to judgment is 24 months before the administrative tribunals: a quarter of the cases are decided in less than 10 months and a quarter after more than 32 months. It is 20 months before the administrative courts of appeal. It is 7 months before the Conseil d'État. These times exclude orders.
Which courts issue the most decisions on planning and building permits?
Among the administrative tribunals, the Tribunal administratif de Marseille (554 decisions in 2025), the Tribunal administratif de Grenoble (524) and the Tribunal administratif de Lyon (345) issued the largest numbers. Among the courts of appeal, the Cour administrative d'appel de Marseille issued 222.