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 two to four 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 by UPS Ground anywhere from New York to Washington DC and Northern Virginia. 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 sheet size (ARCH A–E, ANSI A–E, ISO A-series, 30×42) in inches and mm, plus which size 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 — What a bid set contains, how many to print, and what it costs to reach every bidder. A 40-sheet set to 8 addresses is $617 delivered, tracked per box.
• 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.