Is a permit check free?

Your first permit check each month is free and needs no account. After that, checks — and saving the project with the permit roadmap, the documents and the application prep — are covered by a paid plan.

Does this replace my building department?

No. GovCodex organizes and cites the rules your building department enforces. Permits are issued, reviewed and inspected by the local authority having jurisdiction.

Can I check a property without a digital parcel map?

Yes. GovCodex uses the property address and governing location to select zoning and permit answers, then gives you the responsible office and next steps. It never invents a parcel ID.

Permit Check

See What Your Project Needs Before You Spend a Dollar

Describe the project and the property. GovCodex identifies the governing authorities, selects the zoning and permit requirements, and gives you a plan for what to do next.

What are you planning?

Property address

Know your setbacks or building footprint? Add measurements

Leave unknown values blank. Distances are from the proposed structure to property lines, not the curb.

Front property-line distance (ft)Smaller interior side distance (ft)Other interior side distance (ft)Rear property-line distance (ft)Proposed height (ft)Lot width (ft)Total impervious area after construction (sq ft)District code from your zoning office or map (optional)Used for conditional guidance only when the district cannot be resolved; it never overrides an official district.

Check combined side yards

Both side distances are needed to check a combined minimum. Use the property lines designated on your survey or site plan.

Lot configurationMy survey or site plan identifies these yard lines and the ordinance measurement origin; any projections are accounted for.

Check remaining building coverage

Use a complete total from your site plan or measurements. A proposed addition alone does not establish total coverage.

Total building and structure footprint after the project (sq ft)

Have separate existing and added areas?

Leave total above blank to sum these areas. Count retained structures plus net added footprint, without overlaps.

Existing footprint retained (sq ft)Net added footprint (sq ft)

Zoning-lot area sourceThe record confirms this is the complete zoning lot for this project.The total includes principal and accessory buildings and structures, including classified porches/decks, and excludes driveways, walks and paved patios. No component classification is unresolved.

This coverage definition is used only where supported by the cited ordinance. Building coverage and impervious surface are checked separately.

Residential use for these checksZero-lot-line or common-lot-line development?

Dimensions — optional

Your first check each month is free. Data-backed coverage today: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Maryland.

Every result gets a private link you can return to. Creating an account attaches it to a project, where you can prepare the application, review your evidence, check submission readiness, and approve the package yourself.

READYAWAITING INPUT

ILLUSTRATION · NOT YOUR PARCEL

Enter a project and an address, then run the check.

What a Permit Check Resolves

01The property, not just a map pinGovCodex uses county parcel geometry when published and otherwise carries the address and governing location forward without inventing a parcel ID.

02Every authority in playZoning, building, sanitary and environmental review are often different offices. Each is resolved per regulatory function, not per city name.

03Rules met by geometryDistrict standards and overlays are measured against the footprint you described, so conflicts show up as distances rather than as warnings.

04A permit path you can followPermits are ordered with the reviewing authority, application documents and next step. Applicable ordinance citations appear alongside the requirements.

Permit Check Questions

A permit check uses the property address to identify the governing authorities, applies zoning district standards and overlays, measures your proposed structure against the buildable envelope, and returns the permits required in the order they are filed.

See What Your Project Needs Before You Spend a Dollar

What a Permit Check Resolves

Permit Check Questions

What is a permit check?–

Is a permit check free?+

Does this replace my building department?+

Can I check a property without a digital parcel map?+