Permit paperwork accepted the first time.
$600 per filing, plus the agency's fees, or included in Full Office and Enterprise
Send what you have. Get the finished document.
You send
- The plan set and the architect or engineer on the job, or the permit number if it is already filed
- Access to your account on the department's permit portal, where it has one
- Your license numbers, whether the state, the city or the county issues them
- Current insurance certificates, general liability and workers' comp, naming the certificate holder the department asks for
- Scope of work and the job valuation, broken out by trade if the application asks
- The owner's name and email for the authorization, and the parcel number
You get
- The permit application prepared and filed, and the issued permit ready to post at the site
- Revisions filed when the scope or the drawings change, with any added fee worked out
- A required-items list per job: drawings, licenses, insurance and the owner's authorization, each with its status
- Plan-review comments sorted by who owns them, with the response letter and the resubmittal drafted
- A permit tracker per job: expiry dates, renewals and extensions due, inspections requested
- The final package: passed inspections, fees paid, and the certificate of occupancy or final sign-off requested
4 steps, one of them a person.
- Step 1
You send the job
The plan set, the architect or engineer on the job, access to your portal account and your insurance dates. If the application is already in, just the permit number.
- Step 2
Agents draft the filing
Scope, valuation, trades, license numbers and insurance dates go onto the department's application. Each field is checked against the drawings and the required-items list.
- Step 3A person checks this
A person checks every field
Scope, license numbers, insurance expiry and the owner's authorization are checked against the department's requirements before anything is submitted.
- Step 4
You sign, we file and chase
You sign, on paper or under your own login. We file, answer plan-review comments, watch the expiry dates, request inspections and ask for the final sign-off or certificate of occupancy.
The forms, the agencies, the deadlines.
- Building code
- Most US jurisdictions adopt the International Building Code or the International Residential Code, with local amendments. We work from the edition and the amendments your building department enforces.
- Permit application
- It usually needs the drawings, the contractor's license and insurance, and the owner's authorization. Contractor licensing is set by the state, the city or the county, depending on the trade and the place. It is filed through the department's online portal, by email or at the counter, whichever it uses. In New York City, for example, the portal is DOB NOW.
- Plan review
- Comments come back to be answered and resubmitted. Some departments call them objections or corrections. Every comment gets a written answer, and the resubmittal goes in as one set.
- Expiry and extensions
- Under the IBC model code, a permit becomes invalid if work does not start within 180 days of issuance, or is suspended or abandoned for 180 days. The building official can grant extensions. Local amendments can change this.
- Inspections and final sign-off
- Inspections are called in as each stage of work is ready, and each result is logged. The job closes with a final inspection and a certificate of occupancy or a final sign-off.
- Stop-work orders
- A stop-work order is lifted once the condition is corrected and the building department releases it, with any fines paid. It goes ahead of everything else on the desk.
Notes from the desk
Notes from the permit desk
Most filings stall for one of four reasons. The owner's authorization is missing, so the application sits at intake. The insurance certificate has lapsed, or it names the wrong certificate holder. The scope on the application does not match the drawings. A required attachment is missing, so the application comes back incomplete.
We check all four before a filing goes in, and the expiry dates on every open permit each week.
The expiry rule
Under the IBC model code, a permit becomes invalid if work does not start within 180 days of issuance, or is suspended or abandoned for 180 days. The building official can grant extensions, and local amendments can change the rule, so we work from the one your department enforces. A job that stalls for financing is on the same clock.
Insurance certificates and licenses expire too, and a lapsed one can hold up the permit. We track all three dates, and each renewal, extension request or new certificate goes in before its date.
When plan-review comments come back
Comments come back as a list, called objections or corrections in some places. We sort them three ways: drawings to the architect or engineer, paperwork to us, owner items to the owner. The resubmittal goes in once, with every comment answered, not in pieces, because each resubmittal starts another round of review. If the reviewer and the architect still disagree, we prepare the file for the department's next step, a meeting or an appeal.
When a stop-work order goes up
Send a photo of the order the day it is posted. It is lifted once the condition is corrected and the building department releases it, with any fine paid. If the reason is an expired permit, the renewal or a new application goes in first. We ask for the release once the fix is done and chase it. Nothing on site moves until the order is lifted, so this goes ahead of everything else on the desk.
On the page, like everything else.
One-off
$600
per filing, plus the agency's fees
Tracking only on Field Support. Up to 4 filings a month on Full Office, no limit on Enterprise.
Asked on the first call.
Who is the applicant?
The person your building department asks for, usually you or the owner. We prepare the application, the applicant signs, and we file and chase it. Drawing comments stay with your architect or engineer; we keep them moving.
The permit lapsed mid-job. What now?
Send the permit number and your current certificates. If your insurance lapsed, the new certificate goes to the department first. Then we file the renewal, or a new application if the department requires one. You get a note when work can restart.
Can you file with my building department?
Yes, if it takes filings through a portal or by email. We work from its own forms and fee schedule. If it only takes paper at the counter, we prepare the set and you or a runner hand it in. Same $600 per filing, plus the department's fees.
Usually handed over together.
Estimates
Takeoff, leveled quotes and a priced proposal on your letterhead, in two days.
RFIs and submittals
RFIs drafted, submittal registers built from the spec, every review chased to a stamp.
Closeout
O&M manuals, as-builts, warranties and the retainage request, bound and sent when the job is done.
Hand this one over.
Tell us about the job. Shahzeb calls within 12 hours. You get the first finished document in 2–7 days.
Prefer the phone? Call (718) 213-0230, Mon–Fri, 7:00 am – 5:00 pm ET.