Department of Building Inspection Customer Communication

Dear Customers,

In advance of our January 1st transition to 100% Electronic Plan Review (EPR) for In-House Review Projects, the Department of Building Inspection (DBI) has published new webpages to provide better, more comprehensive permit application guidance.

Our In-House Review Step-by-Step page now walks you through the entire process from securing City Planning zoning approval to pre-application and other potential requirements to submitting your application, responding to comments, and obtaining your permit.

There are links to the relevant forms and new or revised pages detailing plan set requirements for Full Permits, application and addenda requirements for Site Permits, and a dedicated page for Fire Only permits.

We’ve also modernized how applications, plans and supporting documents are submitted. Instead of emailing us or bringing paperwork to the Permit Center, everything will be uploaded through this online form. If you have questions or need help submitting a permit application online, you can contact us at: SFplanreview@sfgov.org.

Once we receive your application, we’ll send you an acknowledgement email, followed shortly by a confirmation email with a permit application number, so you can check your application status in real time using the online Permit Tracking System (PTS).

We’ll then check your submission to confirm it is complete and that all the required documentation has been provided. When we are done checking your submission, we’ll email you a letter indicating that your application is complete and accepted, or that additional information is required before the application will be accepted for plan review. This is an improved and more formal, online version of the Pre-Plan Check process that we’ve had in place since July 2022. We hope you find it useful.

Plan check comments will be made in the Bluebeam Revu software. You can access and respond to these comments either directly within the software or via email. Additional information and resources about EPR and Bluebeam are available here.

Using the PTS enhancements we implemented last July, you can follow your project’s plan review in real time. You can see the most recent activity by the staff plan checker, the architect, engineer or contractor, and see the result of the plan review at each permitting station. PTS also shows whether the review is awaiting action from the City or from you and your design professional.

You can also see if comments have been issued on your project, the nature of those comments, whether the project was revised and submitted for a City recheck, what permitting station is conducting the recheck and how many review cycles (also known as rechecks) have occurred.

Taken together, these changes represent another step forward for improving San Francisco’s construction permitting process. We believe these improvements will provide more transparency and guidance, save you time, reduce your costs, and produce a better overall experience.

This was a truly collaborative effort by all the City permitting departments. A big thanks to our partners and colleagues in the Permit Center, Digital Services, City Planning, Public Works, the SF Public Utilities Commission, SF Fire, Public Health, and the Office of Community Infrastructure and Investment.

We want to know what you think about the new pages and process. Please send any comments or feedback to dbi.communications@sfgov.org or join us for DBI’s next Public Advisory Forum on January 24 where we’ll also be soliciting your perspective on these changes.

Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership.

SOURCE: https://www.sf.gov/news/department-building-inspection-customer-communication-20