Building permit intake that checks itself before it hits your desk
Building permits are the highest-volume, highest-friction line in most permitting offices. PermitDesk takes the application online, auto-classifies it, checks it against the document checklist for that permit type, calculates the fee, and routes it to Building and Zoning, so reviewers open complete files instead of chasing missing plans.
What building-permit offices struggle with
A residential addition, a deck, a panel upgrade, a new commercial build, each needs a different set of documents, and each arrives incomplete about as often as not. Staff spend their day triaging PDFs, emailing applicants for a missing site plan or an unsigned form, and hand-routing files to the departments that have to weigh in. The plans that are actually ready wait in the same pile as the ones that are not.
How PermitDesk handles it
On submission, PermitDesk classifies the application to a building-permit type and runs the completeness check for that type: application form, site plan, plot plan, contractor license, stamped structural drawings where valuation crosses your threshold, and whatever else your office requires. Complete applications are priced from your fee schedule and routed to Building and Zoning in parallel, with structural or fire review added automatically when your rules call for it. Incomplete ones are held with a specific list of what is missing, sent straight to the applicant.
Where the AI helps, and where it does not
The classification, the completeness result, the fee, and the routing are all proposals. A plans examiner confirms the type, can waive or require a checklist item, and makes the approval decision. PermitDesk removes the sorting and the missing-document chase; it never issues or denies a permit on its own.
File-based, no rip-and-replace
You keep your finance, GIS, and records systems exactly as they are. PermitDesk adds the public portal, the intake queue, and the exchange of fees and issued permits back to your systems over standard file transfer or API. Full technical detail is in the technical guide.
Common questions
Can it handle different document requirements per permit type?
Yes. Each building-permit type carries its own required-document and required-field checklist, configured during setup, so a deck and a commercial build are checked against different lists.
Does it decide whether a permit is approved?
No. It classifies, checks completeness, prices, and routes. Your plans examiners and reviewers make every approval decision, and every override is logged.
What about valuation-based reviews or fees?
Routing rules and fee schedules can key on valuation, square footage, or other parameters, so a project over a threshold automatically picks up structural review and the correct fee.
See building permit intake run on sample applications
A short working demo on sample data shaped like your own permit types and departments.
Request a demo