HOMEOWNER GUIDE
How to Read Permit Plan Check Comments
Treat a correction list as a set of questions that must be answered in the drawings, calculations, supporting documents, or written response. Identify the responsible discipline, connect each comment to an exact sheet and detail, and keep a response matrix. The plan checker and design professionals determine whether a response resolves the comment.
1. Preserve the original comment number and wording
Do not paraphrase away the code section, sheet reference, or requested action. Keep the original sequence so the revised set and written response can be checked against the authority's list.
2. Classify the issue without deciding it yourself
A comment may concern missing information, a drawing conflict, calculations, planning or zoning, energy, structural design, fire, utilities, fees, or an administrative document. Classification helps route the item, but it does not substitute for interpretation by the responsible reviewer.
3. Assign an owner
Use the project contracts and professional roles to identify who should respond: architect, structural engineer, civil engineer, energy consultant, contractor, owner, permit coordinator, or another specialist. Avoid asking one discipline to alter another professional's work without coordination.
4. Link the response to a drawing location
A useful response identifies the revised sheet, detail, note, calculation page, or supporting document. Many correction sheets specifically ask applicants to identify where changes were made. "Done" is less useful than "Revised keynote 12 and detail 4/A5.2; see structural calculation page 18."
5. Track dependencies
One correction can affect multiple sheets. A revised beam may change the floor plan tag, reflected ceiling, section, structural framing, connection detail, and calculations. Update the response only after the coordinated documents agree.
6. Do not claim approval before verification
A response package can be organized and complete from the applicant's perspective, yet the plan checker may request clarification or another correction. The authority having jurisdiction controls acceptance and permit issuance.
Simple response-matrix fields
- Comment number and original text
- Discipline and responsible person
- Required action or clarification question
- Revised sheet, detail, note, or calculation page
- Written response
- Status, dependencies, and date
Official examples
- Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety: Standard Correction Lists (accessed August 13, 2026)
- LADBS residential green-building correction sheet and response instructions (accessed August 13, 2026)
Organize the plan evidence before responding
PlanDecode can surface related sheet references and questions. Your design team and plan checker must decide the correction response.