Navigating Complex Permits: A Guide to Specialized Construction Permits

All construction projects are unique in the same way that people are unique–each project has different needs and requirements. When managing construction projects, it’s essential to obtain the proper permits that fulfill that project's needs while also maintaining compliance with local regulations. 

Most projects require common permits such as zoning and construction permits. If you’re working on a more specialized project, they might require stricter requirements for permit applications. This could result in multiple layers of approval, and additional documentation, which can lead to a far longer process than the standard submission process. 

The good news is that advancements in technology and tools like building permit software help to simplify the permit application and management process. Building permit software can help automate many aspects of documentation, tracking, and communication which ultimately helps construction teams navigate the complex world of specialized permits more efficiently and accurately. In this article, we list a variety of different types of specialized permits, understanding their unique requirements, and how you can streamline construction projects that require these unique permits.

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Types of Complex Construction Permits

There are a variety of different types of construction permits. Depending on the municipality your project is located in, you may not have to submit one of these permits to complete your project. Always double check with your local government regulations to ensure that you’re compliant. 

Examples of Complex Construction Permits

• Demolition Permit: This type of permit is used for projects that require dismantling of a specific structure. These can be extremely dangerous projects, so they often require specific permits to ensure the project doesn’t affect any surrounding structures, waste is properly disposed of, and the team is using the correct safety protocols to ensure the safe demolition of a structure. 
• Electrical Permit: If installed incorrectly, electrical issues can be extremely dangerous. This is why it’s important for aall electrical installations andrepairs meet local requirements to prevent electrouction, electrical fires, and other dangerous system failures. 
• Plumbing Permit: Incorrect plumbing can lead too structural defects, water contamination, flooding, mold, and other issues that can make a structure inhospitable. Plumbing permits prevent this type of damage to the targeted building and its surrounding areas.
• HVAC Permit: HVAC systems help monitor the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems of a building. If not installed correctly, this can create poorly ventilated buildings which can become safety issues in the future. 
• Emergency Systems Permit: This permit is necessary for installing essential protection systems, such as sprinklers and alarms. These are especially important for larger buildings, such as multi-unit apartment buildings or larger business offices.
• Environmental Permit: These types of permits are designed to help protect natural environmental resources such as water resources or natural habitats. The guidelines for these permits help to minimize pollution, protect ecosystems, and can prevent your organization from receiving penalties and fines related to environmental harm.
• Structural Altercation Permit: When creating modifications to a building’s essential structural elements, like load bearing walls or foundations, this permit helps to ensure that changes are performed safely without affecting a building’s integrity.
• Hazardous Materials Removal Permit: If a project requires removal of hazardous materials, such as asbestos, it’s important to ensure that it is disposed of properly to protect workers, public citizens, and environmental contamination.

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Challenges in Obtaining Specialized Permits

Obtaining specialized permits is part of the entire construction process. Identifying what permits exactly you need can be hard to figure out if you don’t have the right resources or contacts. Here are a few other reasons why submitting specialized permits might be more challenging than a standard building permit:

• Complex Documentation Requirements: Certain complex permits require additional requirements and plans for approval. Consider a project that requires demolition–there may be far more requirements and plans to ensure that the process will be completed in a safe and secure manner.
• Varying Regulations Across Jurisdictions: Local regulations vary depdending on the jurisdiction, and this can make permitting more complicated if you straddle jurisdiction lines. Be sure to double check the regulations of the specific municipality your project is located in to ensure you have the right information and documentation for the necessary permits.
• Slow Manual Processes: For more complex processes, it may require the input from specialized departments, in addition to the regular permitting offices. This can cause delays, as the approval process may be slower than a standard permit to ensure manual approval from the necessary departments.
• Communication Gaps: More complex permits often requires collaboration from more specialists. If communication is not organized in a succinct manner, there may be a communication gap between one stakeholder and another. These gaps in communication can cause major delays to a permit submission process, potentially delaying your entire build.

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How Building Permit Software Helps Manage Specialized Permits

Knowing there are challenges with specialized permits, building permit software helps address those issues to ensure a smoother submission process. By implementing a building permit software like PermitFlow into your permit process, your team will often see the following benefits:

• A Centralized Source for Documentation: Building permit software helps to provide one central source of truth as it relates to one specific project or permit. This helps to reduce the risk of missing or incomplete information in the submission process.
• Real-Time Updates: Real-time updates help provide all stakeholders updates on the application as soon as it happens. This helps minimize the amount of time it takes to communicate with other stakeholders and ensures everyone has the same information. 
• Automatic Compliance Checks: Software that can automatically check for compliance with local and national regulations helps to reduce permit rejections and ensures that you only have to submit your application one time. 
• Streamlining Communication: With a centralized source for documentation, building permit software can also become a central source of truth for communication regarding a specific permit.

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Best Practices for Using Building Permit Software for Specialized Permits

Once you start to adopt building permit software into your workflow, there are a few best practices you can adopt to ensure an efficient and accurate building permit process. Here are a few strategies you can implement into your specialized permit workflow. 

Get Familiar with Local Regulations

Start to get familiar with local regulations in your specific municipality and the surrounding municipalities. This will help you get familiar with what you will need to submit a permit, what permits you might need, and what departments you need to contact for efficient processes. 

If you don’t have the bandwidth to get familiar with local regulations, you can also work with local permit expediters to help you with the permit submission process. These are individuals who know local regulations and can help connect with the right people to move the application forward.

Leverage Templates, Pre-Filled Forms, and Integrations

If your construction team is specialized in a specific type of project or location, leverage templates and pre-filled forms to help minimize the amount of time spent on repetitive tasks. If using building permit software, it could also help to set up automations and integrations with other common software in your workflow so you no longer have to manually send information from one to another. 

Ensure All Stakeholders are Connected

Establishing how your team will communicate is important. If one team member isn’t aligned, they may miss crucial information relating to your project updates. Establish one central source of truth, maintain a regular cadence for meetings, and appoint someone to manage meetings so everyone is on the same page.

Regularly Update and Maintain Data

It’s important that everyone on your team is up to date with the most accurate information as possible. Real-time updates via a building permit software is the easiest way to ensure everyone on your team has the most accurate information as soon as possible. Real-time updates are also automatic—it’s nobody’s responsibility to communicate this information, but everyone on the team will still receive the right information as soon as it’s ready.

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Submitting Complex Permits with PermitFlow

Building permit software offers a powerful solution to the challenges of specialized permits by streamlining the application process, automating compliance checks, and providing real-time updates on permit status. Using building permit software helps to enhance accuracy and reduce the likelihood of application rejections. In addition, building permit software like PermitFlow helps foster more collaboration with contractors, regulators, and other stakeholders. 

As technology continues to evolve, construction teams will find even more opportunities to streamline their workflows. Interested in learning how PermitFlow can help your team streamline the permit submission process? Talk to one of our permitting experts today to learn more about how you can create a more accurate submission process.