Permit & Drawing Services near you

Ontario's guide to building permits tells homeowners to confirm, before hiring or paying anyone to prepare design plans for a permit application, that the person is registered with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing on the QuARTS public search registry. Registered designers hold a Building Code Identification Number (BCIN), and for a residential project the House qualification is the one to look for. Toronto's new-house application guide asks for a Schedule 1 designer information form from every designer except engineers and architects, whose own licences already answer for their qualifications.

In Quebec, the question turns on the architect. The provincial Architects Act sets size limits above which plans must be signed and sealed by an architect, as our architects page explains, and structural elements are sealed by an engineer when the work calls for one. Below those limits, technologists and drafting services prepare most residential permit sets. Each municipality decides which documents it wants with an application, so call the local permit office before drawing starts rather than after.

Every municipality publishes its own list, but Toronto's guide for a new house shows how much more than floor plans an examiner expects. An addition, a garage or a deck needs only part of it, and your own municipality's guide is the one that counts.

Start with zoning, not drawings. Toronto offers a zoning review before you apply that identifies which zoning and other applicable law requirements apply to a property, and its property information reports and building records can turn up earlier permits and drawings for the house. If the project needs a minor variance, the Committee of Adjustment has to grant it first: Ontario's guide states that a permit will not be issued until the zoning change or variance has been obtained.

Once a complete application is filed, a building code examiner reviews the drawings against the Ontario Building Code, including heating, ventilation and plumbing where they apply, and a zoning examiner confirms the project complies with the zoning bylaw and other applicable law. The Building Code sets review time frames for complete applications, and for a house it is 10 days. If the municipality refuses the application, it has to tell you why. The time frame only applies to a complete application, so a thorough, consistent set does more for your schedule than fast drafting.

After issue, the approved drawings become the reference for every inspection. Ontario's guide says the building official must carry out an inspection within two working days of being notified that a stage is ready, so keep the stamped set on site where the inspector and the trades can check it.

In Toronto, an application that doesn't comply receives a notice documenting why. Revised drawings go back through the city's online file submission hub as a single PDF, with revision bubbles marking each change so the examiner can find them quickly. Most deficiencies are avoidable with a careful review before the first submission.

A permit-only mandate suits a project whose layout is already settled, such as a deck, a straightforward basement unit or an addition with a clear footprint. Permit expediting, which some offices offer separately, concentrates on assembling forms, filing the application and following up with the municipality rather than on drawing. If you still need to work out the layout, the look or how the project fits your budget, start with our building design page. If your contractor needs more detail to price and build from, see our construction drawings page, since a permit set rarely holds everything a crew needs on site.