How long will it take? We track what every Vancouver Island building department publishes about permit processing times, including Nanaimo’s live application queue: BC building permit wait times by city.
Searching for permit drawings, plans, or the online building permit application in Nanaimo? Here is the City portal path, what a complete drawing set looks like, why files bounce, Bylaw 7336 / the fee calculator, and the RDN boundary trap that wastes weeks.
First, the boundary check that trips up half the applicants: Nanaimo addresses stretch well past city limits. If your property is in Cedar, Lantzville, Extension, or the rural fringes, you're likely under the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) — a completely separate permit office with its own fees and queue. Confirm your jurisdiction before drawing a single plan, or type your address into our Permit Finder.
Is my project allowed? Zoning decides setbacks, height, lot coverage and whether a suite is allowed on your lot. Check it before you draw or apply for the permit: look up your address on the map, then read your zone in the bylaw.
Checked October 26, 2026 (City of Nanaimo): NanaimoMap · Zoning Bylaw No. 4500 (PDF)
The usual BC list applies: new construction, additions, structural changes, secondary suites, decks above grade thresholds, demolition, retaining walls, swimming pools, and plumbing alterations. Nanaimo’s published deck exemption (unattached, uncovered, not an entrance, and not more than two feet above grade within four feet of the edge) is covered step by step, with drawings, fees, code rules, inspections and two videos, in our Nanaimo deck permit and build guide, and compared with other cities in the deck building permit how-to (BC). Suite work has its own path — see secondary suite permit how-to (BC). Electrical and gas permits are provincial — those run through Technical Safety BC, not the city.
Nanaimo is one of the few Island cities that actually wants the whole building permit application online. Start at the City’s Online Building Permit Application page (Property Development → Building Permits). The City runs two online paths:
If you are not the registered owner, complete the Appointment of Agent form first, then attach the signed PDF to the application. The City is blunt about this: agents who skip it get stuck mid-sign.
For the standard online form, the published steps are:
Incomplete applications can lose their place in line or be forced into a new application. That is not marketing language — it is on the City’s own online-apply page. Treat “complete” as the whole job.
Nanaimo’s Plan Requirement Checklist and Residential Building Permit Application Guide are the source of truth. Plans are uploaded with the online application. Key rules the City publishes:
A typical residential set the City expects to see includes:
| Sheet / package | What reviewers look for |
|---|---|
| Site plan | Lot and building dimensions, setbacks, decks/cantilevers, driveway, easements/rights-of-way; suite exit path and dedicated parking if a secondary suite is involved. A BC Land Surveyor site/height plan is required for new freestanding residential structures (and often when you are tight to setbacks or height). |
| Foundation / floor / roof plans | Outside-face dimensions, openings, plumbing fixtures (including rough-ins), furnace/HWT/fireplace, exhaust to exterior, room names, ceiling heights, beams/joists/trusses with size/spacing/direction, point loads, smoke/CO alarm locations. |
| Elevations | All sides; grades (natural / finished), proposed heights vs. maximums from the surveyor plan, garage/main-floor elevations. |
| Cross-sections | Construction assemblies, heights, foundations, insulation — enough to prove BC Building Code compliance. |
| Structural details / engineering | Engineered beams, lateral bracing, and sealed drawings/Letters of Assurance when the Code or the Building Official requires them. |
Province-wide packaging rules, file naming, and the mistakes that get PDFs rejected before a human even opens them: how to submit building permit drawings in BC. Read that before you export your set — Nanaimo’s 25 MB-per-file cap and “no photos of plans” rule are exactly the class of traps that guide covers.
New single-family dwellings, duplexes, and new secondary suites in accessory buildings also need BC Housing Licensing & Consumer Services documents (licence / warranty or exemption). The City cannot supply those for you, so contact BC Housing early (1-800-407-7757 / licensinginfo@bchousing.org).
The City’s online page states it plainly: if the application is not 100% complete, it may not hold its spot and may be bumped to the bottom of the line — or you may have to submit again. On the Island that is how “four weeks” becomes “four months.” Common bounce reasons we see on Nanaimo-style residential files:
Partial applications and “pre-submission” drawing dumps are not accepted before a real permit application. Do not email Building Inspections a half-set hoping for a free preview — the published residential guide says partial / pre-submission documents will not be accepted that way.
Nanaimo sets permit fees under its Fees and Charges Bylaw 2021 No. 7336, based on construction value. For budgeting, many people still use “about 1% of project value” as a rough order of magnitude — then get the real number from the City’s own online permit fee calculator. The calculator is a rough main building-permit fee only; it does not include connection fees, plumbing fixture fees, sprinkler fees, Development Cost Charges (DCCs), school-site charges, or bonding.
From the City’s published residential application guide (which mirrors Bylaw 7336’s building-permit value table):
| Construction value (CV) | Building permit fee (published schedule) |
|---|---|
| Minimum + first $1,000 of CV | $105 |
| Each additional $1,000 from $1,000.01 – $100,000 | $10 per $1,000 |
| Each additional $1,000 above $100,000.01 | $7 per $1,000 |
Application fee: where estimated construction value exceeds $20,000, pay 10% of the estimated building-permit fee (minimum $175) after the online application is accepted. That deposit is credited to the permit if you proceed; it is retained if you abandon the file. Other published add-ons on the residential guide include plumbing fixture fees ($40 for the first 1–5 fixtures, $8 each after), access permit ($25), secondary suite authorization ($500), and a refundable bond on new residential construction ($750) — plus Engineering-set service connection fees and any DCCs that apply. Confirm every line against the current bylaw / calculator before you budget; schedules get amended.
If your permit is already issued and the plans change, Nanaimo requires a building permit revision: you apply online with revised drawings, the City contacts you to pay the revision fee, and inspections are suspended until the revision is completed and the fee is paid. The real cost has three parts:
The $50 City fee is usually the smallest part. The bigger costs are the redraw, the engineer, and the days lost while inspections are on hold, so settle the design before you apply.
Nanaimo needs a building permit to build a new suite or to upgrade an existing one. Paying utility charges for a suite does not make it legal: only a suite built under a building permit counts as authorized. One suite is allowed per dwelling, so a basement suite rules out a carriage house (City of Nanaimo: Secondary Suite Permit).
Who can draw the plans. The City asks for “designer-quality” drawings. Its checklist says that if you can’t prepare them yourself, a list of local designers and drafters is available at the Development Service Counter or on nanaimo.ca. So an owner may draw them if they meet the standard (Plan Requirement Checklist).
Drawings for a suite or basement conversion. The checklist asks for:
Plans are drawn at 1/4″ = 1′ (1:50) on at least 11″×17″ sheets, not on graph paper. Upload them as clean PDFs with no watermarks, each file under 25 MB.
Online portal. Applications are online only. The applicant fills in and signs the form, uploads files one at a time, and each other owner or agent then gets an email to sign. If someone other than the owner applies, the Appointment of Agent form comes first (Online Building Permit Application).
Fees. See How Nanaimo charges above. It covers the application fee when the work is valued over $20,000 and the $500 secondary suite authorization fee. Building Inspections: 250-755-4429, building.inspections@nanaimo.ca.
Nanaimo does not publish a standard processing time. Instead it publishes a live application queue: how many applications are waiting by permit type and the filing date of the next file up for review. On September 25, 2026 there were 6 single-family residential applications waiting, and the next one up had been filed on August 17, 2026 (City of Nanaimo: pending building permits). The City notes staff cannot give specific dates for individual files. We track that list monthly in BC building permit wait times by city. Call Building Inspections for the current picture on your file type.
Single-family applicants can ask about the City’s published accelerated review option (a surcharge under Bylaw 7336, subject to staff availability) — useful when you have a complete set and a hard start date, useless when drawings are still mushy.
Removing a tree for your project? Our BC tree-cutting permit checker shows when Nanaimo's tree bylaw needs a permit, with fees and official links.
| Purpose | Contact |
|---|---|
| Building Inspections / permit questions | 250-755-4429 · building.inspections@nanaimo.ca |
| Hours | 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. weekdays (excluding statutory holidays) |
| Counter | Service & Resource Centre, 411 Dunsmuir St, Nanaimo |
| Online apply | nanaimo.ca → Online Building Permit Application |
| Fee calculator | Permit Fee Calculator (Bylaw 7336) |
| MyCity account (eApply) | mycity.nanaimo.ca |
Need someone to draw the plans? See who draws permit plans in Nanaimo: when you need a designer or engineer, how to check a firm, and local firms we checked.
Yes. Residential and commercial building permits are applied for online through the City’s Online Building Permit Application page. Some types (demolition, accessory non-dwelling, commercial new construction, small-scale multi-unit housing) use eApply with a MyCity account; other types use the standard online signing / upload form on the same page.
At minimum: scaled site plan, foundation/floor/roof plans, elevations, and cross-sections that match the City’s Plan Requirement Checklist — plus a BCLS site/height survey for new freestanding residential structures. Upload clean PDFs under 25 MB each. Details and packaging tips: how to submit building permit drawings in BC.
Usually missing agent paperwork, missing owner signatures, photo-quality plans, no survey when required, missing BC Housing docs on new dwellings/suites, or a construction value / fee package that does not match the work. Incomplete files can lose their queue position.
Fees follow Bylaw 7336 from construction value ($105 for the first $1,000, then $10 / $7 per thousand in the published bands). Use the City’s fee calculator for the main permit line, then add plumbing, connections, suite authorization, bonds, and DCCs as applicable. For a project-specific total, run the calculator and confirm with Building Inspections.
You are probably in the RDN (Cedar, Lantzville, Extension, and other rural pockets). Different forms, different fees, different queue. Confirm with the Permit Finder or the RDN building department before you redraw for the wrong office.
Often yes. Use the deck exemption rules carefully — most elevated or attached decks still need a permit (deck how-to). Suites need a proper building permit path and may trigger the secondary suite authorization fee and BC Housing paperwork (suite how-to). For the full Nanaimo suite walkthrough, see our Nanaimo secondary suite permit guide.
How long will it take? We track what every Vancouver Island building department publishes about permit processing times, including Nanaimo’s live application queue: BC building permit wait times by city.
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 28, 2026. Found an error or a broken link? Report it.