Standard Plan Review Service

UPDATED 04-12-2026

The Standard Plan Review Service consolidates the former “Commercial Service,” “Residential Service,” and “Building Permits with Plan Review-Instructions” webpages.

The Standard Plan Review Service facilitates the online submittal of plans for commercial and residential projects. Not sure if your project needs plan review? Don't worry, with this service, you will start your project at SJPermits.org and it will guide your project to the right process. Or get full instructions for your project using Start Your Project.

Who can apply? Anyone can start the online application — it can be the project designer, engineer, contractor, property owner, etc. However, following plan approval, the permit will be issued only to the property owner or licensed contractor. See Who Can Apply for a Building Permit.

How long does Standard Plan Review take? See Plan Review Time Frames. Review will not begin until fees have been paid and complete, accurate plans have been uploaded.

PROJECTS THAT MUST USE STANDARD PLAN REVIEW

COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL & OFFICE PROPERTIES

Cell & wireless projects
Damage repair that involves structural changes
Electric vehicle charging stations
Industrial tools, industrial projects, R&D unless qualifying for STAR
New buildings
Remodels or additions unless qualifying for STAR
Restaurants/food or beverage services unless qualifying for the Streamlined Restaurant Program
Any other project that does not qualify for an Online Building Permit, STAR Service, or the Streamlined Restaurant Program.

RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS

Additions greater than 500 sq. ft. or remodels greater than 750 sq. ft on a 1-story single-family home or of any size to a duplex or multistory home
Additions to a multifamily building
ADUs
Damage repair that involves structural changes
New single-family/duplex homes
New buildings* or remodels on a multifamily property
Code Enforcement compliance cases
Any project that does not qualify for Online Building Permits, Simple Projects Service, Over-the-Counter Service, or Residential Express — if your project qualifies for these faster services, use them instead of Standard Plan Review.

* For a new multifamily building, email anthony.thornberry@sanjoseca.gov and write "New MF Construction" in the subject line. He will reply with specific instructions.

GET STARTED

For help with any of the tasks, view Help for SJPermits & SJePlans

STEP 1 - Go to SJPermits.org

> Click Log in|Register. Create an account if you do not have one. For help, see Account Setup Guide or Video.

> Click Apply for New Permit. For help, use the Application Wizard. In the next set of screens:

- Add the property location
- Add the ePlan Applicant, collaborators, and their email addresses
- Describe the scope of work

> SJPermits will issue an application number to you. You will need this number for naming project files and for paying the fee invoice.

> SJPermits will auto-email the ePlan Applicant with the steps to create an account in SJePlans.

STEP 2 - Upload plans to SJePlans

> Only the ePlan Applicant can upload plans and respond to plan review comments.

> Correctly naming and formatting files is critical. See the instructions below.

> SJePlans will auto-send an email confirming receipt of the files.

> To resubmit or revise plans during the process, see "Resubmittals or Revisions in SJePlans" below.

File Naming Requirements

Important Note:
The departments for Building, Planning, Public Works and Fire have different naming conventions. The instructions here apply to building permits.

Correctly naming the project files is essential to a successful submittal. Use our file-naming tool to get valid file names that incorporate your application number.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING THE FILE-NAMING TOOL

> Click the link below that corresponds to your type of property. An Excel-based file will download and appear in the upper right corner of your screen — click to open the tool.

Single-Family/Duplex Projects File Naming Tool

Multifamily Projects File Naming Tool

Commercial Projects File Naming Tool

Less common:

> Double-click "Enable Editing" so that you can type into the tool.

File Naming Tool - Enable Editing button

> Under Year, enter the current year. Under Sequence No., enter the six-digit application number that was auto-generated by SJPermits (see Step #2 of the "Get Started" section on the main page).

File Naming Tool - Number Entry

> The table will use your entries to apply the correct prefix to a range of valid file names. See the example below.

Example illustration:

File Naming Tool - example file names

> Copy and paste the appropriate valid file names to your files.

Congratulations! Your files should now be correctly named.

File Formatting Requirements

In addition to naming the files correctly, you must correctly format the files:

Export each plan review item as a separate PDF or PDF/A - Use Adobe Acrobat v.9.0 or higher. Export the PDF from the native file, not a scan. Exception: For single-family additions/alterations, supporting documents or plans can be scanned at 150dpi to 300dpi.
Create separate PDF files for:
- Plans - Make a separate file for each type of plan.
- Sub-trade sheets - Make a separate file for each type of sub-trade (electrical, plumbing, or mechanical).
- Drawings - Flatten into a single layer, then export to PDF.
- Supporting documents - May include ST calculations, soils reports, truss calculations, plan review forms, and other items as directed by staff. Save these separately from the plan sheets.

Apply OCR if needed - For scanned or non-searchable PDFs, apply Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to the document.
Select “unsecured” in security settings - Enables marking of the documents.
Use Landscape orientation on all drawings - Maintain a uniform page position and insertion point for all files in the submittal.
Index/bookmark and label the pages within the PDF. Indicate the sheet number as well as the title/description of each sheet. Example:
Cover Sheet Stamp Space – For Residential Projects only, on the cover sheet bottom right corner, create a 3" high by 3.5" wide space for the stamp region with margins as shown:
Drawing Sheet Stamp Space – The primary designer must ensure that a stamp space is located in the top right corner of all sheets. It must consistently appear as either a Horizonal space or Vertical space with margins as illustrated below. The City approval stamp will be applied to the entire set based on how the stamp space is oriented on the first sheet.

Horizontal title space and Vertical title space for the right upper corner of a plan set

Congratulations! Your files should now be correctly formatted.

Resubmittals or Revisions in SJePlans

These instructions are for SJePlan users only.
If you are not using SJePlans, then resubmit using the Resubmittal/Revision Service.

RESUBMITTALS

During the plan review process, you may need to make corrections and resubmit your plans. This video explains the steps: Respond and Resubmit Task - Building SJePlans.

REVISIONS

If the scope of your project changes after your building permit has been issued has been approved for issuance or has been issued, then you will need to submit revised plans. Send an email to: PlanRevisions@sanjoseca.gov

Include your permit number and the scope of your proposed revisions. After staff have processed your request, SJePlans will auto-email you to upload the revised plans.

STEP 3 - Pay fees

If the application is complete, staff will upload an invoice to the "Permit Center Outgoing Documents" in SJePlans. Pay the invoice (see Payment Methods) and then plan review commences.

STEP 4 - Plan review

Using SJePlans, staff will send comments to the ePlan Applicant, who can respond. If necessary, resubmit corrected plans. For help, see Respond & Resubmit Task Video.

Team members and clients can be given access to follow or participate in the plan review process. For help, see Applicant Project Access Video.

STEP 5 - Permit issuance

After all tasks and approvals are completed, pay the final invoice. Provide any outstanding documents and forms — see Approved Permit Issuance Service. Staff will upload the Permit Card and approved plans at SJePlans. For help, see Permit Issuance Video.

Questions?

First see Help for SJPermits & SJePlans. If you still need help, Submit a Help Ticket and we will respond.

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