Most “delays” are incomplete applications. Cities want a complete electronic package — right checklist, unlocked PDFs, seals where required — before the review clock even starts.
In BC, building permits are municipal. There is no single provincial upload portal and no single PDF rulebook. What does travel across cities is the same failure mode: you hit submit, intake rejects the package as incomplete, and you lose weeks before anyone opens a red pen on the design.
This guide is about the package — checklists, what “complete” usually means, verified electronic rules where cities publish them, seals, Vancouver’s path, other Metro and Island portals, conceptual drawing minimums for common DIY jobs, mistakes, and FAQs. Confirm every requirement on your municipality’s live checklist before you upload.
Not sure you even need a permit? Start with do I need a building permit for this?, then find your office on the BC Permit Finder. Already know the city? Jump to our Vancouver, Victoria, Burnaby, or other city guides for fees and local traps.
Intake is not plan review. Staff first check whether the file is complete enough to accept. Missing site plan, wrong application type, locked PDFs, unsigned schedules, or “not for permit” stamps all bounce. Victoria’s eApplication language is blunt: only complete applications are accepted for review, and the acceptance date — not the day you first clicked upload — is the application date. Vancouver states incomplete packages are not accepted. Surrey’s digital guide says missing documents make the submission incomplete.
That means your “two-week review” never started. Download the exact checklist for your permit type and city, treat every checkbox as mandatory unless marked optional, and do not copy a “close enough” package from a neighbour’s old job.
Jurisdiction is not your mailing address and not “closest city hall.” Use the parcel’s actual municipality — our map helps when boundaries are messy. Then open that city’s building-permit page and grab the checklist that matches the scope: new house, addition, interior alteration, deck, suite, demolition, complex building. Victoria publishes separate single-family/duplex and complex checklists; Vancouver publishes project-specific forms; Burnaby publishes portal attachment lists by permit type.
Wrong checklist = wrong drawings. A deck package that omits setbacks, or a suite package that skips fire-separation and egress sheets, will not get “fixed in review.” It gets sent back.
Cities word it differently, but complete residential files almost always include some mix of:
Burnaby’s commercial drawing guidance (effective on the City’s published 2026 date) stresses designs that are substantially complete — no placeholders, no “to be determined later” construction disclaimers. That mindset applies to homeowner packages too: if a sheet is half blank because you have not decided the layout, you are not ready to submit.
Rules are city-specific. Cite the live page — do not copy a Metro Vancouver habit onto an Island job. Verified examples as of this update:
City of Vancouver (Electronic permit applications):
City of Surrey (Digital Submission Guide): separate PDF attachments per document type; no JPG/ZIP/download links as substitutes; do not lock editable forms staff need to complete; architectural drawings as one PDF; structural / other registered-professional sets as separate files; vector-based PDFs for digital plans; registered-professional drawing sets as a single PDF (not one file per page). Surrey also warns about digital-signature settings (for example, not using “Certify” in ways that lock the file — follow their current guide and your association’s tools).
City of Victoria (eApplication checklists on victoria.ca building permits): separate PDF files for each checklist item marked PDF; naming standard [yyyy-mm-dd][document title].pdf; plans to professional drafting standards; sheets stamped “not for permit” (or similar) are not acceptable. Site plans are typically metric (checklists cite 1:100 or 1:200); building plans often prefer ¼″ = 1′ with a published minimum (check the live checklist for your type).
If your city is not listed above, open its portal help page or application checklist and match their file rules. Guessing Vancouver’s stamp box onto a Kamloops USB drop is how packages bounce.
When a registered professional is required, a pasted image of a stamp or a scribbled PNG is not a digital seal. Vancouver’s electronic guidance and garage/checklist materials state that required professional drawings need a digital seal and digital signature consistent with the professional body’s endorsed process — and that an image of a signature or initials is not a digital signature.
Architects AIBC: follow AIBC’s current Practice Guideline on use of the architect’s seal and AIBC’s digital-seal setup path. AIBC identifies Notarius as the sanctioned digital-seal provider for Architects AIBC; the digital certificate is applied with the association-endorsed software workflow (ConsignO and compatible tools as AIBC describes). Start from aibc.ca practice resources — do not improvise a “looks sealed” PDF.
Engineers and Geoscientists BC: follow EGBC’s Authentication of Documents / digital authentication guidance and firm Permit to Practice rules. Cities that accept digitally authenticated engineering drawings expect the association-endorsed certificate workflow, not a scan of a wet stamp.
Homeowner-drawn Part 9 sheets without a professional may still be accepted for simple scopes in some cities — until the city decides the job needs engineering. When that happens, you stop and bring in the right professional; you do not forge a seal.
Vancouver runs building and development intake electronically. Apply through the City’s online permit system (the Public portal linked from Vancouver’s apply pages — commonly plposweb.vancouver.ca/Public). Incomplete packages are not accepted; fees are typically requested after intake, not the second you hit submit. Pull the project checklist from Vancouver’s forms, checklists, and bulletins page, format drawings to the electronic rules above, then upload drawings and documents in the separated structure the City asks for.
For fees, VBBL quirks, DCLs, decks, suites, and laneway traps, use our full Vancouver building permit guide — this page stays on the drawing package, not the invoice math.
These are conceptual — your city’s checklist wins. They are the sheets homeowners most often under-draw.
Deck. Site plan with property lines, house footprint, proposed deck, setbacks, height above grade if that triggers the permit, stairs and landings. Framing plan with joists, beams/posts, ledger notes, guards, footings. Many cities refuse a napkin sketch with “10×12 deck” and no dimensions.
Interior reno. Existing and proposed floor plans; walls to remove vs new; door/window sizes; plumbing locations if moving; smoke/CO where required; structural notes if you touch bearing walls (often means an engineer). A furniture layout is not a construction floor plan.
Secondary suite. Suite floor plan with rooms labelled, egress, fire separation, smoke/CO, suite entrance, ceiling heights where measured. Suites fail when the “suite” is a coloured blob with no fire or egress detail. Process map (zoning, Vancouver/Surrey paths, trades): secondary suite permit how-to. Confirm suite rules with the municipality — this is not Code advice.
Most houses, suites, decks and garages fall under Part 9 of the BC Building Code 2024: buildings of 3 storeys or less, up to 600 m², with residential or certain other uses (Division A, 1.3.3.3). Bigger buildings fall under Part 3, which always needs registered professionals and Letters of Assurance (Division C, 2.2.7.1).
On a Part 9 project, the Code requires a registered professional (an engineer or architect who seals drawings and signs Letters of Assurance) only for parts outside Part 9. Examples are beams with point loads, girder trusses, engineered products, soil or foundation conditions beyond Part 9, and retaining walls that support a foundation. The province also recommends professional design for other retaining walls over 1.2 m. For the rest, the Code doesn’t say who must draw the plans. The city sets the drawing standard.
Some cities set a drawing standard: Nanaimo asks for “designer-quality” plans, and Victoria accepts only plans “prepared to professional drafting standards”. Anywhere else, ask the city.
Checked October 26, 2026: BC Building Code 2024 (PDF) · Guide to Letters of Assurance (PDF) · Letters of Assurance (gov.bc.ca) · EGBC guidelines · AIBC: does your project need an architect? · Nanaimo plan requirement checklist (PDF) · Victoria checklist (PDF)
Identify the correct municipality, download that city’s checklist for your permit type, prepare drawings and documents to their electronic standards, then upload through their portal (or follow their counter / USB path if they still offer one). There is no single BC-wide upload site.
Something on the checklist was missing, unreadable, locked, misnamed, or not suitable for permit use. Fix the package and resubmit; the review clock usually starts only after acceptance.
It depends. Vancouver publishes unlocked PDFs, 300 MB max, vector preferred, discipline packaging, and a 2″×3″ stamp clearance. Surrey and Victoria publish their own separation and naming rules. Always use the city page, not a forum post.
When a registered professional is required for the drawings or Letters of Assurance, yes — use AIBC or EGBC endorsed digital authentication. A picture of a stamp is not enough for cities that require digital seals.
Sometimes for simple Part 9 homeowner work if the city accepts them. Once structure, complex fire separations, or Schedules are required, bring in the right registrant.
Vancouver: City electronic Public portal. Victoria: eApply via MyCity. Burnaby: My Permits Portal. Fee context is in our city guides.
No. Independent information only. Verify on the municipality’s website before you upload or pay.
This page is unofficial guidance for readers in British Columbia. It is not published by any municipality, the Province, AIBC, EGBC, or Technical Safety BC. It is not legal, engineering, architectural, or building-code advice. Drawing standards, portal steps, seal rules, checklists, and any fees change without notice. Verify every requirement with the authority having jurisdiction for your address before you prepare drawings, upload files, or spend money. No permit acceptance or approval is guaranteed.
Related: Do I need a permit? · Vancouver · Victoria · Burnaby · Surrey
This guide relies on the official pages below. Rules, fees and processes change, so check the authority before you apply or spend money.
Links checked September 25, 2026. Found an error or a broken link? Report it.