Getting a permit in the District involves numerous steps, which may include getting approvals or services from agencies besides DOB. Here is some information to review early in the planning process:
- DOB's Building Permit Fee Schedule: Shows the costs associated with permitting a project.
- DOB's Plan Review and Permitting Timelines: Gives insight on the start-to-finish anticipated review time for a plan review and permitting process.
- Permitting Checklists for ProjectDox: Required checklists for commercial and residential projects that are processed through ProjectDox.
Pre-application
The use of land, the height and size of buildings, the size of lots, provision of yards, parking requirements, and more are found under District regulations (Title 11 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR)).
Before You Submit Your Permit Application
- Find out if development restrictions apply to your project. It is important to ensure that any work you intend to take complies with zoning regulations. Additional development restrictions are administered by other agencies, such as Historic Preservation, the National Capital Planning Commission, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, or other preliminary reviewing organizations. For more information and a complete list of overlays, visit the DC Office of Zoning website.
- Learn if you need to get Office of the Surveyor documents to submit with your permit application. These may include plats, subdivisions, or street and alley closing forms. A building plat is a scaled drawing of a lot, showing lot lines and record dimensions. Plats are required for all exterior work excluding roof-mounted solar systems for one and two-family dwellings and must show all existing structures drawn to scale. The plat must be certified by the DC Surveyor. You can obtain a plat here. Please note that plats are not required for jobs that only consist of interior work (e.g., bathroom remodeling).
- See if your project is a good candidate for a Concept Review, which helps developers of large projects to discuss preliminary design, building code, inspection requirements, or zoning-related questions before the submission of a permit application.
- Find out if you need the issuance of a new address. If you do, submit a completed application through our Kustomer portal.
- Schedule a Preliminary Design Review Meeting (PDRM) if you are submitting a large-scale project, such as the construction of a new residential or office building.
- Set up other pre-application meetings with DC Water, DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) and DC Health to help eliminate unforeseen obstacles during the review of permit applications.
Environmental Review Process
All District government agencies must consider the environmental impact of all proposed major actions before issuing approvals for them (DC Public Law 8-36, the Environmental Policy Act of 1989).
Permit applicants must submit an Environmental Intake Form (EIF) to determine if an Environmental Impact Screening (EIS) is required. If so, an interagency review team will review the applicants' Environmental Impact Screening Form (EISF) and make a determination. This process takes approximately 30 days.
Preparing Your Permit Application
When preparing your permit application:
- Check out our required checklists for commercial and residential projects that are processed through ProjectDox and the template cover sheet.
- Make sure all required information is provided and all applicable boxes are checked.
- Include a valid address.
- Collect and submit the required supporting documentation.
Intake/Completeness Check
All applications are reviewed electronically once submitted through the Citizens Access Portal.
Plan Submittal
This is what happens once you submit your application:
- You will receive an email with a link to ProjectDox.
- Through ProjectDox, you will upload all plans and supporting documents for plan review.
- DOB will review your application and plans to determine if you have met the minimum requirement for plan review based on the complexity of the project scope.
- Once approved at pre-screening, your project will be assigned to the required plan review disciplines for review.
Check out our required checklists for commercial and residential projects that are processed through ProjectDox and template cover sheets.
Plan Review
After you file your permit application, it must be reviewed by all relevant disciplines. Typically, plans are routed through:
- Zoning review
- Mechanical/plumbing review
- Electrical review
- Fire review
- Structural review
- Green
- Energy
For certain projects such as restaurants, excavation, work in historic districts, or work in public space, these agencies may also participate in the review process:
- Office of Planning (Historic Preservation)
- District Department of Transportation (Public Space)
- DC Health (Community Hygiene)
- Department of Energy and Environment (Soil Erosion and Storm Water Management, Green Area Ratio (GAR))
- Water and Sewer Authority
Each discipline will review and approve the plans, or put a hold on the application if DOB’s plan review comments note that corrections are needed.
Final building permit approval is not given until all disciplines and external agencies have approved and stamped the plans.
Permit Issuance
This is what happened after the application is approved:
- You will receive a notification to pay any outstanding permit fees.
- You will ensure you have included the contractor’s information (license number and mailing address —which is required for permit issuance— or indicated as the property owner you will be acting as the contractor.
Inspections
This preparedness guide is helpful for customers preparing for permit-based inspections.
There are two categories of DOB inspections related to permits:
- Building inspections, which include plumbing, electrical, fire and construction inspections, ensure the building has been constructed based on the building code and approved plans.
- Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) inspections, related to the use of the building, are required for occupancy of all buildings except single-family dwellings.
To schedule a permit-based inspection agency, please go to Tertius.
Certificates of Occupancy
A Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) is a document that certifies that the use of a building complies with Zoning regulations and Building Codes.
A new C of O is required when new construction or alteration has occurred—or there have been changes in:
- Ownership
- Occupancy Load
- Use
You must get a C of O before occupation and use of the building, and post it for public view.
Please note that single-family homes, individual units in an apartment building, and individual suites in an office building do not require C of Os. Please view the Certificate of Occupancy process to get started.