Plans Review Requirements

All building plan reviews will be submitted digitally through the Dplans site. We will no longer accept paper plans. (Commercial and New Residential)                                                                                                                                                                                                                
All building plan reviews will require a plan review fee at the time of building plan application submittal.  The amount of the plan review fee will be subtracted from the cost of the building permit fee at the time of permit issuance.  If the building permit application exceeds six months with no activity, the building permit application will be voided, and the plan review fee will not be refunded.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
A completed and signed building permit application.  Complete means no line left unaddressed or TBD (To Be Determined).  Applications must contain a proper addresses and/or suite number.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
All building plan reviews will require the appropriate residential or commercial checklist.  The checklists are available on our website under applications.                                                                                                                                                                                                                
The designated Lien Agent form is required at time of building plan submittal. (if project requires one)                                                                    
An executed contract, letter of intent, or a cost breakdown is required at time of building plan submittal. (not require for residential new construction)                                                                                                                                                                                                              
Affidavit of Worker’s Compensation form is required at time of building plan submittal. (if project requires one)                                                        
Approved site plan number or written verification that no site plan is needed. (commercial)                                                                                      
Scaled plot plan sealed by a NC registered surveyor if there is addition to or change of footprint on parcel. (residential)                                        
If the above mentioned requirements are not included with the submittal package, the submittal will be rejected and a new submittal will be required.  An email notifying that the submittal was rejected will be sent.

Plan Requirements
All plan submittals will require the construction set of drawings to be separated by trade.  Building, Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, and Fire plans will now be required to be submitted as individual files.  Due to the ever increasing size of construction plans, this will provide improved customer service through faster review and enhanced focus on the scope of work by discipline.

File size
All forms and construction drawings shall be in the PDF format.  Please flatten the layers to reduce the size of the PDF.  All PDF files should be 200 MB or less while maintaining legibility.  Files larger than 200 MB cannot be processed, and will result in a disapproved application and re-review fee.

Notes
Each building permit application needs to include the plans that pertains only to the particular building corresponding to the application for permit.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
Approved Site plan drawings are not required to be submitted for building permit plans review; but if submitted, they need to either bear the Planning Department’s approval stamp or be stamped “For Reference Only”.  This does not apply to residential.

Stocking Permits and Partial Occupancy Permits
Commercial contractors can now apply online for Stocking Permits and Partial Occupancy Permits through the Dplans website. The procedure is the same as submitting digital plans. In the drop down menu, please select either Stocking Permit or Partial Occupancy Permit. Online submittal is only for contractors with established accounts with the Inspections Department.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
Protection/Security on submitting Digital Plans
When submitting digital plans, PLEASE be sure to remove any protection from the plans (in the PDF format). Plans examiners must be able to digitally stamp and insert watermarks on all pages of the document. Also, when the plans examiner requests corrections (new pages) for plans that were disapproved, the plans examiner must be able to insert the corrected pages into the digital plans. Digital plans submitted with protection cannot be processed for issuance.

Commercial Checklist - Click Here                                                                                                                                                                             
Commercial Submittal Instructions - Click Here                                                                                                                                                         
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