Two ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS Permit, named in honor of the permit , a food fish, often called "round pompano ", found in waters from North Carolina to Brazil.

• The first Permit, (SS-178), was a Porpoise-class submarine, commissioned in 1937 and struck in 1956.

• The second Permit, (SSN-594), was a submarine of the Permit class (originally the "Thresher" class, until Thresher (SSN-593) was lost in 1963). Permit was commissioned in 1962 and struck in 1991.