Using Permit Advisor

How Permit Advisor Works

Permit Advisor works out which permits a project is likely to need from its type, location, description, floor area and stories. It searches the city and county's .gov websites for that jurisdiction's requirements, then suggests each permit with the agency that issues it and the pages it used. Nothing is added to the project until you review the suggestions and choose.

A run takes about a minute. Permit Advisor is available for projects in the United States.

Run It When You Create a Project

The create project form has a Find permits with Permit Advisor box, ticked by default. Leave it ticked and Permit Advisor starts as soon as the project is created. You can keep working elsewhere in Permitful while it runs: the suggestions are waiting on the project page when you come back.

Untick the box if you already know the project's permits. On the free plan, unticking it also saves your one run for later.

Run It From the Project Page

Click Permit Advisor on the project page to run it on an existing project, for example after you've filled in the description. It leaves out permits the project already has, so you can run it again without getting duplicates.

Get Better Results

Permit Advisor can only suggest permits for work it knows about. In the project description, mention anything that needs its own permit, such as demolishing a structure, grading, removing trees or working in the street.

Reviewing the Suggestions

Each suggestion is marked by how sure Permit Advisor is that the project needs it:

• Required and Likely permits are added when you confirm, unless you remove them first. You can also edit a permit's details before adding it.
• Might apply permits depend on details Permit Advisor couldn't confirm, such as the site's zone or the final design. They're only added if you add them.
• Also check with the agency lists permits the project may need that Permitful doesn't have a permit type for yet. They can't be added, so check them with the agency.

Permit Advisor may make mistakes, so review every suggestion against its sources before relying on it. If a permit type you need is missing, let us know.

Runs and Your Plan

• The free plan includes one Permit Advisor run. The run stays used if you delete the project.
• Pro includes Permit Advisor on every project.
• If Permit Advisor or its search is unavailable, the run isn't used. You'll see a message, and you can try again later from the project page.