Public records
Accela goes dark in December: Permit pause planned for ATL OPAL switch
Atlanta plans to suspend permit operations at 5 p.m. Dec. 10 and restore them at 8 a.m. Dec. 21, 2026. Instructions for active applications are still to come.
Anyone with a permit-dependent project in Atlanta should mark a December gap on the calendar: City Planning says permit operations will pause from 5 p.m. Dec. 10 until 8 a.m. Dec. 21, 2026, as the city transitions to ATL OPAL.[1]
Accela will be unavailable during the transition. Its replacement, ATL OPAL, is the city’s new online permitting and licensing system, scheduled to launch when permit operations resume Dec. 21.[1]
The interruption was included in City Planning’s Oct. 27 quarterly update to the City Council’s Community Development/Human Services Committee. The presentation reported completion of systems integration testing across 61 record-type scenarios over five weeks, with user acceptance testing listed as the next step.[2][3][4]
For applicants, the immediate task is to review permit-related deadlines and work planned during the pause—the preparation step the city recommends. Instructions for active applications are still to come, according to the transition page. City Planning directs users to check its ATL OPAL webpage for confirmed guidance and offers an email signup for transition and launch updates.[1]
Sources
4 official sources cited in this report. The bracketed numbers in the text link here.