Our 98% First-Submission Approval Rate, Explained
Quick answer
Our 98% first-submission approval rate means 98% of the plans we deliver never come back to us with a city correction notice. It is measured across every delivered plan; our own pre-submission fixes do not count toward it. Customers who never reply are counted as approved, which we state openly. When a city does ask for a change, it is almost always a missing label or an unshown easement, and we revise it free, usually within one business day.
We publish a 98% first-submission approval rate across our site plans, and a number like that deserves an explanation rather than a marketing asterisk. This page defines exactly what it measures, how we track it, and where its limits are. If you are comparing site-plan services, this is the kind of thing worth asking every one of them.
What "first-submission approved" means here
A plan counts as first-submission approved when the customer never comes back to us with a city correction notice. They submitted the plan we delivered, and the building department did not ask for changes to it.
Two clarifications that keep the number honest:
- Our own drafting revisions do not inflate it. If we catch something and fix it before you submit, or you ask for a change before it goes to the city, that is not a city correction. The 98% is strictly about what happens once the plan reaches a reviewer.
- The denominator is every plan we deliver, not just the orders where we heard back. We do not quietly drop the plans we lost track of to make the rate look better.
How we actually know
We learn a plan's outcome two ways:
- Correction notices. When a city asks for a change, the customer forwards us the notice for a free revision. That is our clearest signal, and it is how the revision is free: the guarantee depends on us seeing these.
- Replies. Some customers write back to say the permit was issued, or simply to say thanks.
The 98% comes from the first channel: across our delivered plans, only a small number ever come back with a city correction notice.
The honest limitation
Here is the part most services leave out. Customers who never contact us again are counted as approved. The large majority of them almost certainly were, because a homeowner whose plan got rejected has every reason to come back for the free revision they already paid for. But we cannot prove that every silent customer succeeded. Some fraction may have resolved an issue another way, or set the project aside entirely.
So the precise, honest version of the claim is this: 98% of the plans we deliver never come back to us with a city correction notice. We think that is a meaningful number, and we would rather state it plainly, with its limits, than dress it up as something we can't verify.
When a correction does happen, here is what it looks like
The other side of a 98% rate is the 2%, and we would rather show you those than hide them. Three real cases, details redacted:
Detached garage, Columbus, Ohio suburb
The notice: "Revise site plan to show distances from the proposed garage to the side and rear property lines. Plan must show all easements of record. A 7.5 ft utility easement exists along the rear lot line per the recorded plat."
What we did: added labeled setback dimensions from two garage corners to the side and rear lines, pulled the subdivision plat, and drew the rear utility easement with its 7.5 ft width labeled.
Timeline: the customer forwarded the notice Monday night; the revised PDF went back Wednesday morning.
Outcome: accepted on resubmission, no further comments.
Deck, Phoenix-area city
The notice: the reviewer wanted the distances from the deck to the property lines labeled.
What we did: added the three setback dimensions.
Timeline: same day.
Outcome: approved.
Fence, Houston-area suburb
The notice: "Proposed fence encroaches on platted drainage easement along rear property line. Show easement of record and revised alignment."
What we did: drew the easement from the recorded plat. The customer decided to pull the fence to the easement edge, and we added the offset dimension.
Timeline: two days, one of which was waiting on the customer's placement decision.
Outcome: accepted; the customer replied that the permit was issued that week.
Notice the pattern: corrections are almost always a missing label or an unshown easement, not a rejected design. That is why they resolve in a day or two, and why every one of our plans includes free revisions until the plan is accepted. A correction costs you nothing but a short wait.
What this means if you are ordering
The number behind the number is simpler than the statistics: draw the plan completely the first time, and the city rarely has anything to correct. When it does, fixing it is fast and free. The Pre-Submission Checklist is the same standard we hold our own plans to, published so you can hold any drawing to it. And whichever way it goes, the approval guarantee means a plan your jurisdiction cannot be satisfied with is refunded in full.
Frequently asked questions
What does a 98% first-submission approval rate actually mean?
It means 98% of the plans we deliver never come back to us with a city correction notice. The customer submitted our plan and the building department did not ask for changes. It is measured across every delivered plan, and our own pre-submission drafting fixes do not count toward it, only what the city does once the plan is in review.
How do you track approvals?
Mainly through correction notices: when a city asks for a change, the customer forwards it to us for a free revision, which is our clearest signal of an outcome. Some customers also write back to say the permit was issued. We count every delivered plan in the denominator, not only the orders where we heard back.
How are customers who never reply counted?
As approved, and we state that openly. A homeowner whose plan was rejected has every reason to come back for the free revision they already paid for, so silence is a strong signal of success, but we cannot prove every silent customer got a permit. We would rather publish the honest definition and its limit than imply a verification we do not have.
What happens if my city does ask for changes?
You forward us the correction notice and we revise the plan at no charge, usually within one business day. Corrections are almost always a missing dimension or an unshown easement rather than a design problem, so they resolve quickly. If your jurisdiction cannot be satisfied even after revisions, the order is refunded in full within 30 days.
Why publish the 2% instead of hiding it?
Because the case studies are more useful than the statistic. Showing exactly what a correction notice says and how it gets fixed tells you more about what you are buying than any single number, and it is the honest way to back up an approval rate. Any service can claim a percentage; showing the corrections is how you earn it.
Permit requirements vary by city, county, and state. The information in this guide provides general guidance based on common building codes and practices across the US. Always verify requirements with your local building department before starting your project.