✓ The Decision — Prepare It Yourself or Get Help?
- Prepare your own package if: it's a simple, prescriptive Part 9 project on your own home (a deck, a shed, a standard detached garage), you can produce clear scaled drawings, and your municipality accepts owner-prepared drawings.
- Get a designer or engineer if: the project is structural beyond the code's prescriptive tables (a beam, a load-bearing wall removal, an engineered foundation), large or over three storeys, or the drawings are beyond what you can produce accurately.
- Confirm the checklist before you draw anything — the municipality's application checklist tells you the exact sheets, scales, and calculations they want.
- Never start work on the strength of a submitted application. The permit is issued, not applied for, before you build.
Once you know your project needs a permit, the next question is the one that actually slows people down: what goes in the application? A building permit submission is mostly drawings and a couple of calculations that prove two things — that your project fits the lot (zoning) and that it's built safely (the building code). Get the package complete the first time and small-building permits often turn around in a couple of weeks; get it wrong and you join the large share of applications that get sent back for missing pieces.
Do I Need a Permit? Codes & Authorities
The Core Documents
Most residential applications are built from the same short list. Names vary, but the intent is consistent across the country.
- Completed application form + fees. The municipality's form, owner and (if any) designer information, project description, and the permit fee. Many cities now require digital submission.
- Site plan. The whole lot to scale: property lines, existing and proposed structures, distances to each lot line (setbacks), and often the lot-coverage calculation. Frequently drawn on your survey or Real Property Report. This is the sheet that proves zoning compliance.
- Floor plan(s). Each level to scale, with dimensions, room uses, and the locations of doors, windows, and structural members.
- Elevations. The exterior from each affected side, showing heights, finishes, and openings — needed whenever you change the outside.
- Cross-section. A cut through the building showing how it's assembled — footings and foundation, wall and floor framing, roof, insulation, and air/vapour control.
- Structural details. Beam and lintel sizes, footing sizes, connection and guard details — taken from the code's prescriptive tables, or designed and stamped by an engineer where the project exceeds them.
- Supporting documents as applicable. A lot grading/drainage plan (common for additions), an energy-efficiency compliance summary, a heat-loss/HVAC layout, truss or floor-system drawings, and on rural lots a septic approval or entrance/culvert permit.
What It Looks Like by Project Type
| Project | Usually needs | Often adds |
|---|---|---|
| Deck | Site plan, plan view, cross-section (footings, ledger, guards/stairs) | Beam/joist span details; engineered detail if outside prescriptive tables |
| Detached garage / shed (permit-size) | Site plan with setbacks & coverage, floor plan, elevations, cross-section | Truss drawings; electrical permit (separate) |
| Addition | Site plan, floor plans, elevations, cross-section, structural details | Lot grading/drainage plan; energy summary; engineer for structural ties |
| Interior reno / basement | Floor plans (existing + proposed), structural details for any wall changes | Plumbing/HVAC layout; beam design + engineer stamp if removing load-bearing walls |
| Rural entrance / culvert | Site/location plan | Road authority entrance permit; MDS/setback checks; separate from the building permit |
For the size thresholds that decide whether each of these needs a permit at all, see Permits & Property Lines; for which code and authority governs in your province, see Building Permits & Codes in Canada.
Who Can Prepare the Drawings
This trips up homeowners who assume they can hire anyone — or no one:
- You, for your own home. Most provinces let a homeowner prepare and submit drawings for their own house, carrying responsibility for code compliance. The drawings still have to be clear, scaled, and complete — being allowed to draw them doesn't lower the bar for what's on the page.
- A qualified designer. In Ontario, drawings prepared for others for a fee generally must come from a registered designer (a BCIN holder) or a licensed architect/engineer, and show that qualification. The homeowner's own-home exemption is personal — it can't be borrowed by a paid preparer.
- An engineer or architect. A professional engineer is required for structural elements beyond prescriptive tables (beams, load-bearing removals, engineered foundations); an architect for buildings over 600 m² or three storeys. Most decks, garages, and small additions stay under these thresholds.
Because the requirements are so local, the highest-value step is simply confirming, up front, exactly what your municipality will ask for — the required permits, the applicable setbacks, and the document checklist. A focused feasibility review of those questions before you design can save weeks of back-and-forth. Rules on who may prepare drawings vary by province and change over time — confirm with your provincial authority and, for anything structural, an engineer.
Why Packages Get Sent Back
Incomplete applications are the leading cause of permit delays — a large share of first submissions get returned for missing documents. The usual culprits:
- Missing or unscaled drawings — sketches without dimensions or a stated scale.
- No setback dimensions or lot-coverage calculation on the site plan — the reviewer can't confirm zoning.
- Structural elements with no sizing or stamp where one is required.
- Forgotten supporting approvals — grading plan, septic sign-off, entrance permit, energy summary.
- Wrong submission format — paper where the city now requires digital, or vice versa.
✗ Deal-Breakers — Resolve Before You Apply
- The project doesn't fit the zoning. If setbacks or lot coverage don't work, no drawing fixes it — you need a minor variance (slow, uncertain) first. The site plan will expose this, so check it before you invest in drawings.
- Structural work with no engineer where one is required. Submitting unsized beams or an unsupported foundation just gets the package returned — and building it that way is a safety and liability problem.
- You don't know your true property lines. The site plan is only as good as the survey under it. Guessed lines risk both rejection and a misplaced structure.
- Treating the application as permission. Work started before the permit is issued can be ordered stopped, exposed for inspection, or removed.
The Safest Path Forward
- Get the municipality's application checklist — it lists the exact sheets, scales, and calculations they require for your project type.
- Confirm zoning first — setbacks, height, and lot coverage for your specific lot, before you design to them.
- Assemble the core package — site plan, floor plans, elevations, cross-section, and structural details, each to scale.
- Line up the supporting approvals — grading, septic, entrance/culvert, energy — that attach to your project.
- Get a professional for the parts that need one — an engineer for structural items, a registered designer where paid preparation requires it.
- Submit complete, in the format the city wants, and keep the issued permit and inspection records — they're resale assets.
Bottom Line
A building permit application is a small, predictable package: a site plan that proves the project fits the lot, drawings that show how it's built, and the calculations or approvals behind them. The thresholds and the exact checklist are local — so confirm what your municipality wants up front, assemble it complete, and you'll skip the most common reason permits stall. Start with whether you need one and which code applies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What documents do I need for a building permit in Canada?
Most residential applications need a completed form and fee, a scaled site plan showing setbacks and lot coverage, floor plans, exterior elevations, a cross-section, and structural details — plus supporting items like a grading plan, energy summary, or septic/entrance approval where they apply. The exact checklist is set by your municipality.
Can I draw my own plans for a building permit?
In most provinces a homeowner can prepare and submit drawings for their own home, taking responsibility for code compliance — but the drawings still must be clear, scaled, and complete. Drawings prepared for others for a fee typically must come from a registered designer or licensed professional (for example, a BCIN holder in Ontario).
Why do building permit applications get rejected?
Most often because they're incomplete: missing or unscaled drawings, no setback or lot-coverage information, structural elements with no sizing or required stamp, forgotten supporting approvals, or the wrong submission format. A large share of first submissions are returned for missing documents.
Do I need an engineer for a deck or garage permit?
Usually not, if the project stays within the building code's prescriptive span and footing tables. An engineer is required when you go beyond them — non-standard beams, load-bearing wall removals, or engineered foundations. Confirm with your building department, and consult an engineer for anything structural.