Accela

Accela is a San Ramon, California-based government software company founded in 1999 and owned by Vista Equity Partners. The company provides cloud-based permitting, licensing, code enforcement, and inspections software to hundreds of cities, counties, and state agencies across the United States, helping governments digitize high-volume transactional services that residents and businesses interact with frequently.\n\nAccela's core platform, Civic Application Suite, manages the full lifecycle of building permits, business licenses, health inspections, planning applications, and code enforcement cases. The platform provides online citizen portals where applicants can submit, track, and pay for permits digitally, replacing paper-based counter workflows. Accela also offers mobile inspection tools that allow field staff to conduct and record inspections on-site without returning to the office.\n\nAccela targets local and state governments looking to modernize legacy permit management systems and expand digital service delivery. The company serves jurisdictions ranging from small cities to large state departments of transportation and health. It competes with OpenGov and Tyler Technologies' Enterprise Permitting & Licensing product. Accela differentiates through its deep specialization in permit and licensing workflows, its extensive library of pre-configured government agency templates, and its large partner ecosystem of system integrators.