Building permit drawings: a checklist for DIY builders

Every jurisdiction decides its own submittal requirements. Most building departments publish a checklist for common project types, like a new house, an addition, a garage or a solar system. Look on their website, or call and ask for it by name.

While you have them on the phone, ask a few more questions. The answers shape everything you draw:

• Which building code and edition they use, and any local amendments
• Whether they want paper sets or a PDF upload, and on what paper size
• Whether any part of your project must be prepared or stamped by a licensed professional
• Which other departments review it, such as zoning, the health department for septic and wells, or the fire marshal
• What design values apply where you are, such as wind speed, snow load, seismic category and frost depth

Write down who you talked to and when. If you get a different answer later, you’ll be glad you did.

Here are the drawings most residential projects need, roughly in the order they appear in a plan set. Small projects need fewer. Your department’s list wins.

1. Site plan

A bird’s-eye view of the lot: property lines with dimensions, a north arrow and scale, existing and proposed buildings, setbacks to each property line, easements, the driveway, utilities, septic or well, and drainage. It shows the project fits the zoning rules. See how to draw a site plan.

2. Floor plans

One for each level, fully dimensioned. Label every room, show doors and windows (often with a door and window schedule), stairs, and fixed equipment like the water heater and furnace. Reviewers check room sizes, egress windows, stair dimensions and smoke alarm locations here.

3. Exterior elevations

Each side of the building, showing heights, roof pitch, windows and doors, finish materials, and the finished grade. They show the building height, which zoning often limits.

4. Building sections and a wall section

A cut through the building shows how it goes together: footing, foundation, floor, walls, roof, ceiling heights and insulation. A wall section is a larger-scale detail of one wall from footing to roof, with every layer labeled. Reviewers use these to understand how the building is built.

5. Foundation plan

Footing and foundation wall sizes, slab thickness, reinforcing, anchor bolts or hold-downs, and any piers or posts. It often includes a footing detail keyed to the section.

6. Framing and roof plans

Floor and roof framing: joist and rafter sizes, spacing and direction, beams and headers, and trusses if you’re using them. Truss projects usually add the manufacturer’s truss drawings. A roof plan shows the slopes, ridges, valleys and overhangs.

7. Electrical plan

Receptacles, switches, lights, panels and dedicated circuits, plus smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Solar projects add a one-line diagram. See electrical plans.

8. Plumbing and mechanical plans, where applicable

Some jurisdictions want fixture locations and a riser diagram, or duct and equipment layouts. Many accept notes on the floor plan for simple residential work. Ask.

9. Energy code forms

Most places have adopted an energy code. You may need forms or notes showing insulation levels, window ratings and how the building meets the code.

10. Structural calculations and an engineer’s stamp, where required

If part of the design goes beyond what the code lets you build from its standard tables, or your jurisdiction requires it, a licensed engineer designs that part and stamps it. See when you need an engineer’s stamp.

Clear, consistent sheets get reviewed faster. Whatever your project, check that every sheet has:

• A title block with the project name, address, owner, sheet title, sheet number and date
• A scale on every drawing, and a north arrow on every plan
• Enough dimensions to build from, without making the reviewer measure
• Text that’s readable when printed at the size you submit
• Sheet numbers and detail references that match across the set
• General notes, including the code edition and any design values your department asks for

Common scales are 1/4 inch to the foot for floor plans and elevations, larger scales for details, and whatever fits the lot for a site plan. Small projects often fit on Tabloid (11 by 17 inch) paper. Larger ones use Arch D (24 by 36 inch). Ask what your department accepts.

Plan review comments are normal, especially on a first submittal. They often come from the same few problems:

• Missing dimensions or setbacks, so the reviewer can’t confirm the project fits
• Sheets that don’t agree with each other, like a window on the floor plan that isn’t on the elevation
• Missing construction information, like the wall assembly, header sizes or foundation details
• Scans or photos that are hard to read at the submitted size
• Missing engineering or a stamp on the parts that need one

When comments come back, answer them one at a time. Make each change, note where you made it, and keep your revision dates up to date so the reviewer can find what changed.

AI CAD PRO is free software for drawing these sheets with an AI assistant. You describe what you want, and the assistant draws and revises floor plans, site plans, electrical plans, solar plans, elevations, sections and one-line diagrams, with notes, dimensions, hatching, leaders and detail references. Every line stays editable by hand.

The Resolution center lists missing information and plan warnings, with a recommendation and where to find what’s missing. Drafting checks catch overlapping annotations, missing electrical data, broken sheet references and overflowing notes. Print preview matches the PDF, and you can export a coordinated sheet set on Letter, Tabloid or Arch D paper.

It doesn’t supply complete structural, mechanical, plumbing or other engineering calculations, and its checks aren’t a code-compliance review. No software can promise a permit. Your local permitting office decides.