A permits and approvals plan: every permit the job needs, who applies and by when
The building approval is being tracked, so the team assumes permits are covered. A proposed access change then reaches a different authority, and a utility connection has its own application process. Those decisions appear just as the site team is trying to mobilize.
Build the permits and approvals plan by listing the project’s activities and asking the relevant authorities and service providers which applications, reviews or conditions apply to each. Assign an applicant and a needed-by date, then work backward using confirmed information about the process. This is a discovery exercise before status tracking begins. A building approval should not be treated as proof that every other proposed activity has been considered.
Find the approvals before they become blockers
- Describe the planned activities. Review the site layout and opening sequence with the superintendent. Include proposed access, occupation of surrounding areas, temporary services and interfaces with existing operations.
- Identify the decision-makers. Ask the project’s design and authority contacts who controls each interface. Include utility and property representatives where relevant, without assuming that every job needs the same applications.
- Confirm the current process at its source. Ask the relevant authority or provider what information it needs, who may submit it and how incomplete applications are handled. Record the answer and its date.
- Assign the applicant and supporting inputs. Name the person responsible for the application and the people providing drawings, surveys or other requested information. A named applicant cannot progress without those inputs.
- Work backward from the activity. Show the approval’s needed-by date, preparation time and the authority’s current review expectation separately. Mark an unconfirmed review period as an assumption, not a promise.
- Transfer the plan into active tracking. Give each item a reference, owner, next action and check date. Keep conditions attached to the approval so the site does not treat receipt of a document as unconditional permission.
Common mistakes
- Copying an old job’s permit list without checking this project’s activities and authorities.
- Showing a submission date while leaving the supporting drawing unnamed.
- Confusing an application receipt with permission to start the related work.
Action list
A useful approval-plan row
- Activity and location covered.
- Authority or provider to confirm it.
- Applicant and supporting information owners.
- Needed-by date from the work sequence.
- Confirmed process or clearly marked assumption.
- Conditions and next tracking action.
Check your understanding
The application is submitted, but the review period is only a guess from a previous job. How should the plan show it?
