Practical files you can download and use right away. They’re free, with no email sign-up and no account. Download, open, done.
These are the same kind of tools the guides on this site point you toward: a permit field guide, a renovation budget with a permit fee estimator, contractor paperwork, and an apprentice hour log. The spreadsheets open in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets (File → Import), LibreOffice and Apple Numbers. You type in the blue cells and the rest calculates.
An 18-page guide to getting a building permit in BC. Part 1 covers when you need a permit, what skipping one costs, and the process from first call to final inspection. Parts 2 to 4 profile 13 jurisdictions: Victoria, Saanich, Langford, Nanaimo, Duncan, the Cowichan Valley Regional District, Surrey, Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam, Kelowna, Kamloops and Abbotsford. Each profile has fees, typical timelines, a trap to avoid and office contacts.
Part 5 is a checklist: the documents most offices want, the standard inspection stages, and ten questions to ask a permit office before you apply. Every figure is flagged VERIFIED or ESTIMATE. Fees come from each municipality’s own bylaw or fee sheet and were re-checked on October 5, 2026, including Kelowna (Building Bylaw No. 7245), Kamloops (Fees and Charges Bylaw No. 44-14, Schedule C), Abbotsford (Bylaw 1532-2006, Schedule G), Richmond (Bylaw 8636), Coquitlam (Bylaw 5484, Schedule D, which can be read two ways) and Duncan (the City’s fee sheet). The Saanich worked example counts the application fee toward the permit fee (Bylaw 9529, Appendix A, s.2), and the Burnaby one credits it at issuance (Building Bylaw 13658, s.14(4)). Langford points to the City’s own calculator, and wait times show each city’s published figure with its source, or say not published. The Victoria section notes the City’s permit fee holiday (to January 29, 2027). Confirm fees with the office before you budget; our city guides link the official schedules.
Who it’s for: homeowners and small contractors planning a renovation, addition, suite or new build in one of the covered areas.
A spreadsheet with four tabs. Permit Estimator: enter your construction value and municipality to get the application fee, building permit fee and total. It covers Victoria, Saanich, Burnaby and Duncan, and shows the same project in all four side by side. Fee Schedules: the formulas behind the estimate, with the bylaw, source link and a confidence note for each municipality, plus a list of what the fee does not include (plumbing and electrical permits, deposits, DCCs).
Budget: planned versus actual for 22 renovation line items, with the permit fee pulled in automatically and a contingency line. It includes a switch for Victoria’s temporary permit fee holiday. Under the City’s Development Fee Waiver Bylaw No. 26-020, s.4, the Bylaw 17-113 Schedule A building permit fees (items a–f) are $0 for complete applications received after the bylaw’s adoption on January 29, 2026, up to and on its repeal date 12 months after adoption (s.3 and s.5; the City gives January 29, 2027, in its fee holiday notice). Verified on 2026-10-05: Bylaw 26-020 (PDF). Fee data was compiled in July 2026 and re-checked on October 5, 2026. Saanich’s application fee now counts toward the permit fee (Bylaw 9529, Appendix A, s.2). Burnaby’s is credited at issuance (Building Bylaw 13658, s.14(4)), with the 2026 rates; new rates start January 1, 2027 (Bylaw 14850). Duncan’s plan review fee is shown on top of the permit fee. Works in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Who it’s for: homeowners budgeting a renovation in those four municipalities. Anyone elsewhere in BC can still use the Budget tab, and our online permit fee estimator covers 14 municipalities.
Four ready-to-use business documents in one workbook: an Invoice, a Quote, a Deposit Receipt and a Change Order. Enter your business name, contact details, GST and PST numbers, payment terms and default deposit percentage once on the Settings tab, and they flow into every document. Line totals, subtotals, GST, PST, deposits applied and balance owing calculate automatically.
Each document has a PST on/off switch (off by default), and the Start Here tab explains in plain language how PST usually works on BC real-property contracts. It’s a template, not tax advice, and it points you to the BC Consumer Taxation Branch or your accountant. Works in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Who it’s for: independent trades and small renovation contractors in BC who want clean, consistent paperwork without buying software.
Your own record of apprenticeship hours, because in BC only your sponsor can submit hours to SkilledTradesBC. The Hour Log has 300 pay-period rows with supervisor, work performed, pay rate, and separate “submitted” and “confirmed in portal” columns. The Dashboard shows hours logged, submitted and confirmed, the gap between them, hours still to go, and gross pay recorded.
The Trade Reference tab lists required work-based training hours, levels and technical training for eight trades (electrician, plumber, carpenter, welder, millwright, refrigeration mechanic, sheet metal worker and automotive service technician). The Wage Ladder tab sets out term-by-term percentages drawn from major BC collective agreements, alongside WorkBC wage ranges. The file notes that BC has no province-wide apprentice wage scale.
Who it’s for: BC apprentices in any of those eight trades, especially anyone who changes employers, and people about to register who want to keep good records from day one.
Paying for training? See the free BC apprentice funding guide (EI in technical training, WorkBC supports, loans and tax credits).
A one-page printable for apprentices looking for a sponsor. Fill in your name, trade and availability, then hand it to an employer with your résumé. It lists the federal Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit (10% of wages, up to $2,000 a year), the BC training tax credits for employers with their end dates, the $10,000 Build Canada Apprenticeship Service incentive marked “when launched”, and what sponsoring actually involves.
Amounts checked October 8, 2026 on CRA, Province of BC, Canada.ca and SkilledTradesBC pages. Not tax advice.
Download (PDF · 1 page · 180 KB)
Web version: employer sheet
Tick-box checklists for each inspection stage (before you book, footings and excavation, framing, final), tied to BC Building Code 2024 Part 9, with Vancouver Building By-law notes and city inspection links. The fence checklist covers bylaw height, setbacks and pool-fence rules, because most fences need no building permit.
This checklist is a preparation aid, not a guarantee of passing inspection. Your inspector’s decision and the current code and bylaw govern.
Deck (PDF · 432 KB) Shed (PDF · 493 KB) Fence (PDF · 553 KB)
Do I need a permit? · BC permit fee estimator · How to register an apprenticeship · How to submit permit drawings