What is a plan review and what does it involve?
A plan review is the process where building department staff examine your submitted construction plans to verify they comply with applicable building codes, zoning ordinances, and safety standards before a permit is issued.
What to do first
A plan review is the process where building department staff examine your submitted construction plans to verify they comply with applicable building codes, zoning ordinances, and safety standards before a permit is issued.
Printable checklist
- Make the site plan, floor plans, elevations, details, and specifications tell the same story.
- Clearly distinguish existing construction from proposed work.
- Show dimensions, materials, loads, assemblies, and equipment where they matter.
- Include calculations or professional seals when the authority or scope requires them.
- Answer every correction comment and point the reviewer to the revised location.
How this works in practice
Plan review is a critical step in the permit process where qualified reviewers examine your construction documents for code compliance.
What reviewers check
- Structural integrity: Foundation design, framing, load paths, and connections
- Fire safety: Required fire ratings, smoke detectors, sprinkler systems, egress
- Energy code compliance: Insulation values, window efficiency, HVAC sizing
- Zoning compliance: Setbacks, lot coverage, height limits, use restrictions
- Accessibility: ADA compliance for commercial or multi-family buildings
- Plumbing: Fixture counts, pipe sizing, venting, drainage
- Electrical: Service sizing, circuit layouts, grounding, GFCI/AFCI protection
- Mechanical: HVAC design, ventilation requirements, duct sizing
The review process
- Your plans are assigned to one or more reviewers depending on project complexity
- Each reviewer examines the plans against the applicable code sections
- If issues are found, you receive a correction sheet listing required changes
- You revise and resubmit your plans addressing each correction
- The reviewer checks the corrections and either approves or issues further corrections
- Once all departments approve, the permit is ready for issuance
Tips for passing plan review
- Include complete, detailed plans with dimensions, materials, and specifications
- Reference the specific code edition your jurisdiction enforces
- Include required energy calculations and structural calculations
- Clearly show existing conditions vs. new work on renovation plans
- Address site conditions like floodplain, slope, or soil type if applicable
What an application can look like
These examples show how a project scope typically turns into an application packet. The issuing authority decides the exact forms, documents, and reviews for a property.
Home addition
A one-story conditioned addition connected to an existing house.
Construct a 14 ft × 20 ft one-story conditioned rear addition containing a family room; extend the existing foundation, framing, electrical, HVAC, and roofing systems; no new plumbing fixtures.
Typical application material
- Survey or site plan with the proposed footprint
- Architectural floor plans and elevations
- Foundation, framing, and structural details
- Energy, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC information as applicable
Likely review touchpoints
- Zoning and site constraints before plan review
- Building, energy, and trade-code review
- Foundation, rough-in, framing, insulation, and final inspections
New single-family home
A new dwelling on a vacant or redevelopment parcel.
Construct a new two-story single-family dwelling with attached garage on a vacant residential parcel, including foundation, utilities, grading, structural, energy, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work.
Typical application material
- Survey, site plan, grading/drainage information, and utility plan
- Complete architectural and structural drawings
- Energy-code documentation and equipment schedules
- Trade plans, contractor credentials, and other jurisdiction-specific forms
Likely review touchpoints
- Land-use, zoning, and site review
- Full building and trade plan review
- Multiple construction inspections and occupancy closeout
Change of use / occupancy
Converting an existing space to a materially different use.
Convert an existing ground-floor retail tenant space to a small restaurant, including kitchen equipment, plumbing, ventilation, accessibility updates, occupant-load review, and life-safety modifications.
Typical application material
- Existing and proposed use and occupant-load information
- Floor plan showing exits, accessibility, and life-safety features
- Building-system changes needed for the new use
- Zoning or land-use application if the new use needs separate approval
Likely review touchpoints
- Zoning/use authorization
- Building, fire, accessibility, and systems review
- Final inspection and occupancy documentation where required
Median application-to-issue interval 22 days; median recorded fee $825.
Median application-to-issue interval 7 days in the loaded Chicago corpus.
Median application-to-issue interval 9 days; median recorded fee $2,006.28.
Active City of Chicago permits currently in the GovCodex Illinois permit corpus.
Snapshot checked September 28, 2026. GovCodex Illinois permit data currently reflects 842,269 active City of Chicago permit records loaded from the City of Chicago dataset, with issue dates from January 3, 2006 through July 24, 2026. Historical counts, elapsed time, and recorded fees describe observed permits only. They do not determine whether a permit is required, predict approval, or replace the issuing authority’s current rules and fee schedule.
What else to know
What reviewers are trying to verify
Plan review turns a proposed design into a set of code and land-use decisions before construction makes mistakes expensive. Review can cover structure, fire and life safety, energy, accessibility, zoning, drainage, and trade systems depending on the project.
Good drawings reduce review friction
Reviewers should be able to trace a requirement from the application scope to a plan view, detail, schedule, calculation, and inspection point. Missing dimensions and conflicting sheets create avoidable questions even when the underlying design is sound.
Check the actual project against the actual property.
Start with the address and scope. GovCodex will identify the relevant authority, requirements, and permit path for the project.
GovCodex
What is a plan review and what does it involve?
A plan review is the process where building department staff examine your submitted construction plans to verify they comply with applicable building codes, zoning ordinances, and safety standards before a permit is issued.
Plan-review checklist
- Make the site plan, floor plans, elevations, details, and specifications tell the same story.
- Clearly distinguish existing construction from proposed work.
- Show dimensions, materials, loads, assemblies, and equipment where they matter.
- Include calculations or professional seals when the authority or scope requires them.
- Answer every correction comment and point the reviewer to the revised location.
Requirements vary by property and jurisdiction. Verify the current issuing authority, permit path, fee schedule, and inspection requirements before starting work.
govcodex.com/answers/what-is-plan-review