Guides › Project types · Updated September 10, 2026

Permit set printing: what building departments actually require

A permit set is the drawings a building department reviews before issuing a construction permit. It’s the one print job where the format is dictated by someone else — and where getting it wrong means a rejected submission and another week on the calendar.

What’s in a permit set

Typically the full construction document set (or the subset the jurisdiction requires): site plan, floor plans, elevations, sections, structural sheets, MEP where applicable, energy compliance forms, plus specifications or a code-compliance summary. Some jurisdictions accept a reduced “permit subset”; most want the CD set.

Copies

Jurisdiction (typical)	Hard copies	Digital
NJ municipalities (UCC)	2, sometimes 3	PDF often required or accepted
NYC Department of Buildings	Largely digital (DOB NOW); hard copies for some filings and for the site	PDF via DOB NOW
Philadelphia L&I	Digital via eCLIPSE for most permits; hard copies for certain reviews	PDF
Suburban PA / DE / MD townships	2–3	Varies
Long Island (Nassau / Suffolk towns)	2–3	Varies by town

These are patterns, not rules. Call the office or check their submission checklist. If they say “two sets,” print three — one for the site.

Size

Whatever size the drawings were issued at. Residential is often ARCH C or ARCH D; commercial ARCH D or ARCH E. Never downsize a permit set to save paper — reviewers scale off it. If a jurisdiction has a maximum sheet size (some do, for filing reasons), that’s a conversation for the architect before the set is drawn, not at the print counter.

Paper and color

20# bond, black-and-white is the default and what reviewers expect. Color only where it carries information (zoning overlays, some site plans, fire-separation diagrams). Full-color sets look nice and cost three times as much for no review benefit.

Stamps and seals

Three situations:

1. Digital seal accepted. The design professional applies a digital seal to the PDF. We print it; the printed seal is valid. Most common now.
2. Wet stamp required. Print the sets unstamped (or with the digital seal), the professional wet-stamps and signs each hard copy, then submit. Plan a day for this.
3. Both. Digital on the PDF, wet on the hard copies. Same workflow as #2.

We can’t stamp on a professional’s behalf. What we can do is ship the sets to the architect’s office for stamping, then the architect hand-carries or ships to the municipality.

Folding

Folded to 8.5 × 11 with the title block showing is the common request for hand-carried submissions — it fits the office’s file and the reviewer’s desk. Some offices prefer flat or rolled. Ask. If you don’t know, fold.

Timing

The typical sequence: drawings finished → PDF exported → printed → stamped → submitted. Print is the fastest step if you plan it. Order by noon ET, we ship same day, next business day to NJ/NY/PA/DE/MD by UPS Ground. For a Friday submission, order Wednesday and you’ve got a full day for the stamp.

Pre-submission checklist

• Copy count confirmed with the specific office (not “the county”)
• Sheet size matches the issued drawings; PDF page size verified
• All sheets present — check the sheet index against the PDF page count
• Seals: digital applied, or wet-stamp workflow scheduled
• Folded or flat per the office’s preference
• One extra set printed for the job site
• Submission fees, forms, and the application itself — separate from the drawings, easy to forget

NJ-specific notes

New Jersey’s Uniform Construction Code is administered locally. Shore municipalities (Cape May, Atlantic, Ocean counties) vary on copy count and folding, and several have flood-zone submission requirements that add sheets (elevation certificates, V-zone details). Confirm with the construction official’s office. More on printing for NJ →

NYC and Philadelphia notes

NYC DOB is digital-first through DOB NOW, but hard copies are still required on-site and for certain filings; LPC and some BSA submissions have their own format rules. Philadelphia L&I runs eCLIPSE for digital submission with hard-copy requirements for specific review types. NY → · PA →

This guide is informational. The building department’s published checklist and the design professional of record are the authorities on what a specific submission requires.

Frequently asked questions

How many copies of a permit set do I need?

Most NJ municipalities under the Uniform Construction Code ask for two hard copies plus a digital PDF; some require three. NYC DOB and Philadelphia L&I are largely digital-first with hard copies required for certain filings. Always confirm with the specific office — it's a two-minute call that prevents a return trip.

Does a permit set need a wet stamp?

It depends on the jurisdiction and the year. Many now accept a digital seal on the PDF; some still require a wet-ink stamp and signature on each hard copy. If wet stamps are required, print the sets, have the design professional stamp them, then submit — we can't apply a stamp on the professional's behalf.

What paper should a permit set be on?

20# bond, black-and-white. Reviewers expect it, it photocopies cleanly, and the set will be handled for a few weeks then archived. 24# is a fine upgrade but rarely required.

Should permit sets be folded or rolled?

Ask the office. Many prefer folded to 8.5 × 11 with the title block out so they fit a file; some want them flat or rolled. If they don't say, folded is the safer default for hand-carried submissions.

Related guides

• Blueprint sheet sizes (ARCH / ANSI / ISO) — Every architectural and engineering sheet size — ARCH A–E, ANSI A–E, ISO A-series, 30x42 — in inches and mm, plus which to use for permit, bid, and civil sets.
• How to fold blueprints — Step-by-step accordion fold for ARCH D to 8.5×11 with the title block out, the half-fold, when to roll instead, and what building departments and job sites expect.
• Bid set printing & distribution — A practical guide to printing and distributing bid sets: set counts, what goes in, paper choice, addenda, multi-address shipping, and how to budget a 12-sub distribution.
• Construction document phases (SD / DD / CD) — SD, DD, CD, permit, bid, conformed, field, and as-built sets — what each is, who it's for, how many copies, and what paper. A printing-side map of the project lifecycle.