Permitting software your jurisdiction can actually afford.
PermitDesk takes permit and license applications online, auto-classifies each one, checks it for missing documents, routes it to the right departments, calculates the fee, and tracks status to a decision. The lean alternative to enterprise platforms that cost millions and take years, built for small and mid-size cities and counties.
Built by JS Technology Solutions, a firm with hands-on experience delivering secure intake, routing, and document-validation systems inside demanding public-sector and enterprise billing environments.
From application to the right desk, without the paper shuffle.
The goal is a permit or license that moves the moment it is submitted, not one that sits in an inbox waiting for someone to sort it. Four steps, running continuously.
Intake
Applicants apply online through a public portal, or staff key in a walk-in. Every submission lands in one place, in a consistent format.
Classify & check
Each application is auto-classified by permit or license type and checked for completeness, so missing documents are caught before it ever reaches a reviewer.
Route
Complete applications are routed to the right departments for review in parallel, with the fee calculated and the file assembled for staff.
Track & decide
Status is visible to staff and applicants, inspections are scheduled, and a person makes the call. PermitDesk assists; it never approves on its own.
Not a picture of an idea. The working interface.
Staff live in two views: a permit-queue dashboard showing what is routed and what is waiting on documents, and an application view that hands them the file, the completeness check, and the fee.
August 2026 · Intake summary
Sample workspace| Permit / license type | Received | Complete | On-time | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building permits | 418 | 94% | 61 | |
| Business licenses | 306 | 88% | 72 | |
| Trade permits (elec/plumb) | 281 | 97% | 18 | |
| Sign permits | 142 | 95% | 14 | |
| Special event permits | 137 | 85% | 52 |
Application · Residential addition, 214 Oak Street
Missing documentProduct preview on sample data. Live screens are configured to your own permit types, fee schedules, and departments during setup.
The full permitting and licensing workload, handled.
Online application intake
A public portal accepts permit and license applications around the clock, in a consistent format, so nothing arrives as a loose email or a paper form to re-key.
Auto-classification & completeness
Each application is classified by type and checked for the documents it requires, so incomplete submissions are caught at the door instead of after a reviewer opens them.
Cross-department routing
Complete applications go to Building, Zoning, Fire, Public Works, and Health in parallel, each with the file and the checklist they need, no manual hand-offs.
Fee calculation
Fees are computed from your own fee schedules the moment an application is classified, so the amount is right and consistent, and never held up on a manual lookup.
Status tracking & notifications
Staff and applicants both see where an application stands, and the system sends updates as it moves, so the front counter stops fielding status calls.
Inspections scheduling
Once a permit is issued, inspections are requested and scheduled in the same system, so the record stays in one place from application to final sign-off.
Works with what you already run.
PermitDesk sits alongside your existing finance, GIS, and land-management systems and exchanges data through standard file-based transfers and APIs. Nothing gets ripped out, and you are never locked to one vendor's platform.
System-agnostic by design
Jurisdictions run different finance systems, different GIS, different records platforms. PermitDesk is built to meet each of them through file-based exchange and APIs, so a change of vendor never breaks your intake and routing.
Already on a specific stack? We confirm the exact data-exchange mapping during a short scoping call before anything goes live.
Explore the workload: Building permit intake · Business licensing · Plan review & document validation · Citizen self-service portal. Or read how to buy without an RFP and the technical docs.
Mature enough for a government IT-security review, from day one.
This is public-sector infrastructure that touches fees and public records, not a chatbot. It is built to clear the reviews a serious jurisdiction requires before anything goes live.
Resident-data protection
Designed to data-minimization and access-control standards appropriate to government records, collecting only what an application needs and no more.
Full audit trail
Every classification, routing decision, fee calculation, and human action is logged with its reason, so a permit can always be traced back to the record behind it.
Security-review ready
Vendor security assessment and IT risk-evaluation materials prepared up front, so procurement and InfoSec are not a surprise late in the process.
A fraction of an enterprise permitting rollout.
Published, flat, and small on purpose. Enterprise platforms price in the hundreds of thousands to millions, before the multi-year implementation. PermitDesk is priced to fit a real municipal budget, with an optional managed intake desk quoted separately so the platform price stays honest.
- Prove it on real applications
- Fixed scope, no commitment
- Expand or walk away
- Online intake + public portal
- Auto-classification & completeness
- Cross-department routing
- Fee calculation & status tracking
- Everything in Township
- Plan review & document validation
- Inspections scheduling
- Priority support
- Everything in City
- Unlimited departments & volume
- Security-review package
- Named implementation lead
Assumes 20 minutes of staff intake, routing, and status handling saved per application.
Two ways in. Neither requires you to run a year-long RFP.
Cooperative purchasing
Buy through a cooperative contract your jurisdiction already uses, so procurement is pre-competed. No new solicitation to write, no multi-year commitment to justify. Ask us which co-op vehicle fits your state.
Ask about co-op purchaseA scoped pilot
Prove it on a slice first: one permit or license type, in a fixed-scope 60-day engagement. Expand once the turnaround numbers are on your own dashboard.
Scope a pilotSee it run on applications like yours.
A short working demo with sample applications from your own permit and license mix. No slides, no commitment.
Request a demoStraight answers.
Does the AI approve permits?
No. PermitDesk classifies applications, checks them for completeness, routes them, calculates fees, and flags issues. Every approval decision stays with your staff. It is assistive and human-in-the-loop by design.
Do we have to replace our current systems?
No. PermitDesk sits alongside your finance, GIS, and land-management systems and exchanges data through standard file-based transfers and APIs. Nothing is ripped out.
How is this different from Accela or Tyler EnerGov?
Those are capable enterprise platforms priced and scoped for large agencies, with rollouts that run into the millions and the years. PermitDesk covers the core intake, routing, validation, fees, status, and inspections at a fraction of the cost, for jurisdictions those platforms price out.
Do we need to run an RFP?
Usually not. PermitDesk is available through cooperative purchasing contracts your jurisdiction may already use, so procurement is pre-competed. We point you to the right vehicle for your state.
How fast can we be live?
A scoped pilot runs in weeks, not quarters. We confirm your permit types, fee schedules, and data-exchange mappings, connect the systems, and start taking real applications.
What does the price actually include?
The subscription covers online intake, classification and completeness checks, routing, fee calculation, status tracking, and inspections scheduling. The optional managed intake desk, where our team runs first-line intake for you, is quoted separately so the platform price stays flat.