The Permit Process in Detail

For projects that require building permits, the permit process typically starts with the completion of the building permit application at the building department.

When submitting the building permit application, the processor collects the application and the appropriate application fees for the project. The application fee depends on the size, cost, and location of the project. Application details and fees vary. Consult your local municipal building department to find out about the specific fees for your area.

Once the processor has determined that the application is complete and has all the required documentation, they will log your submission and provide a receipt with a log or tracking number. They ensure that you have attached proper documentation. They do not review the documents. It is becoming more and more common to access and check your permit status online. If this feature is not available, you will need to call the number provided by the processor. Sometimes, individual reviewers are responsible for reviewing many projects per month and so they track the status of the project by logging review activities online.

Fire and Life Safety Review

The first step is usually the fire department for the life safety review. It is important to ensure safe egress in the event of fire. They review the drawings, specifications, and scope of work to ensure the design complies with applicable fire and life safety codes and also flag non-compliant items and issues in the project log.

Once the inspector completes the initial review, they notify the owner of any issues so they have an opportunity to make corrections. Sometimes, instead of the recommended corrections, you can negotiate with the department; however, they don’t generally tell you what you can do as much as what you can’t do. Often it takes an expert to find out what the inspector wants in order to negotiate a solution.

When the department is satisfied that the drawings comply with all applicable fire and life safety codes, the reviewer will approve their section of the building permit application and then forward the documents to the next department in line.

Structural Review

The structural department is generally next. They review the building structure to ensure that the designed structure meets all  applicable structural requirements for the area such as, live, dead, wind, snow, and earthquake shaking loads to ensure it will literally stand up to the pressures. The structural department can require engineering calculations and usually does in commercial projects. Some cities like Chicago actually require hand calculations from the engineer. The structural department reviews the drawings, specifications, and scope of work in a similar fashion as the fire department’s review. Once the structural department has approved and signed off on the structure, they pass it on to the next department.

Electrical Review

The electrical department reviews the project to ensure that all electrical items, as designed, are safe, protected, and compliant with all applicable building codes—they ensure the wiring plans are not a fire or people hazard. The electrical department reviews the documentation, corrections are addressed, approvals provided (as previously discussed for other departments), and the documents then are typically passed to the mechanical department for review.

Mechanical Review

The mechanical department reviews the project’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to ensure that it will provide proper heating, air conditioning, and building ventilation in compliance with all applicable building codes.

Plumbing Review

The plumbing department is usually last to review the project documents. The plumbing department reviews the project to ensure that the system will deliver clean, hot, and cold water and take dirty water away in separate pipes, in addition to other important requirements. They check to make sure the sinks and toilets are where they need to be, pipes ventilate, and there are no cross connections between the supply and the waste lines.

Administrative Review

Not all permit processes will follow the described procedure, and sometimes permits require conditional departmental approvals. Typically, the administrative department reviews the completed documents at the end of the process to record all reviewers’ approvals before issuing a permit.

Once all the required departments have performed their review and provided approval, the administrative department prepares the building permit for pick up. The building department requires you to visibly display the original permit on site, during the entire construction process, with a duplicate available at all times.

TIP: Finding out how long the permitting process takes in your town and planning accordingly, eliminates stress while processing.