Help/Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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  • Additional help is available when logged on. Click the Log On menu above to logon, or check links below for more information about web accounts.
  • You can lookup information about permits and plans without logging on (see How to lookup permits and How to lookup plans).
  • To get a permit online or to request an inspection, you need to be logged on. (see How to get a new Permit)
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Fire/Flood Information

How to get help

  • Check this page for frequently asked questions
  • Some things can only be done when logged on. For those tasks, make sure you are still logged on. Your session may have expired.
  • For questions about a specific permit inspection result or plancheck entry, you can contact that Inspector or Reviewer directly. Logon with your web account. Go to the Permit or Plan Details page in question (see How to lookup permits and How to lookup plans). Click the name of the Inspector/Reviewer. The Contact page will prefill with your contact information and information about the inspection. You can type a specific question and use this page to relay that message to the Inspector/Reviewer.
  • For more general questions use the Contact Support link. There is a Contact Support link at the top of this page, at the top of your home page after logging on, and at the top of several other key pages throughout the site. Verify or enter your contact information and select a type of question to route your query to the most appropriate member of our staff.

Permits

How to calculate permit fees

  • From the Home page menu go to Permits>Permit Fees>PPRBD Fee Calculator.
  • Instructions are at the bottom of the page

How to lookup permits

  • By Permit Number -- From the Home page menu go to Permits>Find Permits>By Permit Number. Type the Permit # and hit the Enter key.
  • By Address -- From the Home page menu go to Permits>Find Permits>By Address. Enter the Address (the street name will auto-complete) and all matching permits will be displayed. Click the permit # link or double-click a row to view the details. (see About Permit Details)
  • By Date, Type, Jurisdiction, etc. -- See Permit/Plan Reports

About Permit Details

  • The Permit Details page displays all information about the permit. (see How to lookup permits)
  • The top of the page contains the basic identifying information about the permit: Permit #, Owner name, address (which is a link to other permits at the same address), County Parcel (which links to the Assessor website), Latitude/Longitude if available (which links to a search for nearby permits), Elevation if available, Project Description and Project Code (which is a link to an information page about our project codes).
  • Plan Image: For permits that have associated plan images, the Plan Image menu will be enabled and allow you to View or download. (see How to find Plan Images for more information on how to find images and which plan images you will have access to). Depending on the type of information you are looking for, you should also check the Permit Images further down the page.
  • Use the Map menu to lookup the permit's address on several different mapping sites.
  • Certificate of Occupancy: If a Certificate of Occupancy has been issued for this address, this is displayed to the right of the Plan Image and Map menus. Residential Certificates of Occupancy can be viewed online from the View link to the right of the Certificate of Occupancy date. Commercial Certificates of Occupancy will only show the CO #, date and if available a link to the original building permit attachment details including occupancy types.
  • Permit Attachments: This lists all Contractor and Homeowner attachments to the permit. Double-click an attachment row to view additional details about this attachment (or select a row by clicking it and click the Details menu above). The Department and status codes in the Permit attachments table are clickable links to an explanation of those codes. The Details menu will operate on the selected permit attachment, so select the desired attachment first by clicking it. It includes menu items to view the selected attachment details or the contractor's license information.
  • Inspection Requests: This will show any open inspection requests, including which contractor's work is being inspected, the inspection code to identify the inspection, when it was requested, what inspector is currently assigned to perform the inspection and what # that inspection is in the inspector's list for the day (if the inspection is scheduled for today). Inspections can be requested or canceled by phone, or online if signed in. (see How to request an Inspection online)
  • Contractors/Homeowners: When logged on as a Contractor or Homeowner and viewing one of your own permits, there are additional options available under the Permit Attachments and Inspection Requests menus:
    • Printouts/Receipts: Under the Permit Attachment's Details menu use Print Permit to view/print a Legal copy of the permit, Attachment Receipt to view the full receipt for this permit (and any other items paid for at the same time), Use Tax Receipt (if available) shows all the fees and use tax paid for this permit only, so can be used to separately document the payments for an individual permit when more than one permit was paid for on a single receipt. If there is more than one attachment for the permit, select the desired attachment by clicking it.
    • Inspection Notifications: Under the Permit Attachment's Details menu select Inspection Notification to update your notification options for this permit.
    • Inspector Status: Under the Inspection Requests Details menu is an option to view the status of the Inspector, if the inspection is scheduled for today. This will lookup how many inspections that inspector has today and what # inspection they are currently on.
    • Request/Cancel an Inspection: Using the Inspection menu you may request an inspection for later today, or for up to 30 days from now. (as long as this is done before the cutoff time in the morning). A dropdown list of valid inspection types to choose from is automatically filled based on the type of work being done for the permit and the types of licenses you possess. Once requested, it will be visible on the Recent Activity page and on Permit Details for this permit. The Request may be cancelled from the Permit Details page. (Inspection requests for the same day must be cancelled by 9am.) If there is a problem with the request, an error message will appear at the top of the page when you submit it. Otherwise, you will receive a success message and can click Back on the main menu to return to the previous page.
    • Upload an image or PDF to an inspection request (Contractors Only): At times, the inspector will allow you to upload an image or PDF to an inspection request. To do this,
      1. select your permit then select 'Upload Inspection Image or PDF' from the 'Inspection' menu under Inspection Request.
      2. Fill out the inspection request
      3. select the file(s) you would like to upload (Optionally enter comments)
      4. Then click 'Upload File(s) and Request Inspection'
      You will see a green confirmation on the top of the page. This feature is limited to 3 images.
  • Permit Notes. If available, any notes about the permit will be listed here.
  • Addtional Required Inspections. Some permits require additional inspections by agencies outside the Building Department, such as Zoning, Fire, Engineering, Health or Utilities. (see About Additional Required Inspections for a Permit)
  • Permit Images. Double-click an image row to view this document (or select a row by clicking it and click the Details menu above). For some types of projects, the plan image may be available here.
  • Inspection History is at the bottom of the page. Inspection results are ordered by department and date (most recent at the top within department). Inspections done by the Building Department will be listed first, and External Department inspections are listed in a separate table below that to make them easier to identify and find. The Inspection code and status are both clickable links to information about those codes. The Inspection code has a tooltip that identifies the code. When logged on, the Inspector name is a clickable link that can be used to contact the inspector and ask a question about a particular inspection result.
  • Printing Permit Details: You can use your browser's print menu to print this page. If the formatting of the printout does not look good, you can also try the Printer icon Print button to the right of the menu at the top of the page. This will reformat all the grids to be more printer friendly.

How to request an Inspection

  • You can request or cancel an inspection by phone, by calling the main number.
  • Click here for additional information about scheduling inspections.
  • You can request or cancel an inspection online, when logged on with a free web account.
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About Additional Required Inspections for a Permit

  • Some permits require additional inspections by agencies outside the Building Department, such as Zoning, Fire, Engineering, Health or Utilities.
  • Some of these inspections must be completed prior to to finaling the building permit or getting a Certificate of Occupancy.
  • To make this easier to keep track of (both for the person that pulled the permit and the inspectors), we maintain a dynamic list of required inspections for each permit, along with the current status. Which inspections are required is determined by the type of project, the Jurisdiction, and which outside departments approved the associated plan (if any).
  • When you are logged on and looking at one of your own permits, a list of Additional Required Inspections will be shown on Permit Details (if applicable). (see About Permit Details)
  • The required inspection list shows which external agency is requiring the inspection, an inspection code to identify the type of inspection (tooltip will display the name of the inspection, click the link to view all inspection codes) and the current status of the inspection. When the status is C, the inspection is complete and the row will highlight green.
  • Blocking vs. Non-Blocking: The Blocking? column identifies whether this external inspection will block the building permit from being finaled. If a Building final inspection is performed prior to all other required inspections being complete, we will automatically stop the permit from finalling and auto-generate an inspection comment that starts with "Additional Inspections Required:" and lists all the missing inspections. The building permit can be finaled (and the Certificate of Occupancy issued) prior to completing a non-Blocking inspection, but that inspection should still be completed when possible.

Permit/Plan Reports

  • Activity Charts -- From the Home page menu go to Permits>Activity Charts. Select the options for the types of permits you are looking for and click Go. Click one of the chart bars or double-click one of the cells in the table below the chart to view the corresponding list of permits. Click the permit # link or double-click a row to view the details.
  • Reports -- From the Home page menu go to Permits>Reports on Permits issued. Some reports are formatted for viewing or printing while others are in tab delimited format for reading into Excel or a database. Tab delimited reports are only available with a government or subscription account.

How to get a new Permit

  • By Phone: Over the counter permits can be obtained over the phone by calling the main Building Department number.
  • Online: Contractors can get most types of over the counter permits online, when logged on with their free web account. Homeowners can get some types of permits online when logged on, but other types will need to be issued over the phone or in person.
  • In Person: Over the counter permits can be obtained in person from our main office.
  • From an Approved Plan: Most construction projects (either new or remodel) require a plan review prior to issuing the permit (the exceptions are Reroof, Stucco, Siding, Glazing, Woodstove). See Residential Plan Check or Commercial Plan Check.
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Plans

How to lookup plans

  • By Plan Number -- From the Home page menu go to Plan Review>Find Plans>By Plan Number. Type the Plan # and hit the Enter key.
  • By Address -- From the Home page menu go to Plan Review>Find Plans>By Address. Enter the Address (the street name will auto-complete) and all matching plans will be displayed. Click the plan # link or double-click a row to view the details. (see About Plan Details)
  • By Date, Type, Jurisdiction, etc. -- See Permit/Plan Reports

About Plan Details

  • The Plan Details page displays all information about the plan. (see How to lookup plans)
  • The top of the page contains the basic identifying information about the plan: Plan #, Owner name, address (which is a link to other plans at the same address), County Parcel (which links to the Assessor website), Project Description, Project Code and Submit Date.
  • Next is the Plan Image and map menu. For plans that have associated plan images (this is usually done after the plan is approved when the permit is issued), the Plan Image menu will be enabled and allow you to View or download. (see How to find Plan Images) The Map menu provides links to this address at several different mapping websites. The current location of the plan is displayed here.
  • Next is a list of all the Required plancheck departments (with current status) on the left and all the Log Entries (plancheck results) on the right. When logged on, the Inspector or Reviewer is a clickable link that allows you to contact the plan reviewer about this plan/specific review.

How to find Plan Images

  • Note: Plan images can be accessed either online or by by coming to our office (there is a public computer for this purpose). If you come to our office, you can freely lookup any plan image and pay for a copy of that PDF file or pay to print individual pages. Below are the instructions for finding the plan images online.
  • Plan images are available for many construction permits and will show the original building plans.
  • When searching permits or plans by address (see How to lookup permits and How to lookup plans), the list of search results will contain an Image column. Those permits/plans with a plan image will have the text "PDF" in that image column. There is a Plan Image menu on both the search list page and the permit and plan details pages that provides access to the plan image.
  • Click the top level of the Plan Image menu to view the plan in your browser. You can also specifically select to either View or Download the image. View will open the image in your browser (and from there you can save it). Download will prompt you for a save location on your computer.
  • Depending on the type of information you are looking for, you should also check the Permit Images for the permit. On the Permit Details page, scroll down to look for a list of permit images that may include sketches, site plans, soils reports and more.
  • When attempting to view most plan images, you will be prompted to logon or create an account first. You may also need to sign up for a subscription account to get access to the plan image.
  • Using the methods above, you should verify that we have the particular plan images you are looking for and that they are not freely available prior to signing up for a subscription.

Plan Image Availability

  • The likely availability and quality of plan images for a particular project depends on the date that project was permited.
  • 2012 - Present: Almost all plan images from this period will be available. Plans were either scanned directly from the approved paper plans to PDF files, or (if reviewed electronically) may be the PDF versions of the plans directly from the design software (such as AutoCAD).
  • 2000-2012: Most plan images from this period will be available. Plans from this period were scanned directly from the approved paper plans to PDF files.
  • 1983-1999: Some plan images from this period will be available, more for the recent years than the earlier years. Plans from this period were scanned to microfilm. The PDF versions were scanned from the original microfilm, so the quality of the images varies.
  • 1966-1983: Some plan images from this period will be available, associated with the Permit Card. When searching an address, if there are matching Permit Cards (pre-1983 permits), there will be a link to them at the top of the search results page.
  • Pre 1966: This website is unlikely to have any information about this project since it was from before the creation of this Building Department (see History of PPRBD). You can check the County Assessor Property Search page for information about this address, but they will not have a plan image either.

How to submit plans for review

  • While logged into your web account, click the 'Plans' menu, then click 'Electronic Plans'. This page will show you the status of your electronic plans. Additionally, click 'New Plan' to start submitting a new electronic plan.
  • The plan review page contains links to our currently adopted Building Code, information about submitting plans, and Guidelines and Handouts for both Commercial and Residential projects.

Subscriptions

  • Contractors, Homeowners and other business users can get access to tab delimited reports and online plan images by adding a monthly subsciption to their free web account.
  • Information on what features a free web account already includes and what additional features are included with a subscription: About Web Accounts
  • To sign up for a subscription, first create a free web account. After logging on either click the "Find out about Subscriptions" link or go to Profile>Subscribe on the menu.
  • To end the Subscription, just don't renew it and it will be allowed to expire. If you have auto-billing setup, go to Manage Payment Accounts on the My Account menu to turn off this option and allow the subscription to expire (see How to update/remove a saved payment account when logged on).