What building permit drawings are, and why completeness matters

This guide explains what building permit drawings Toronto examiners expect to see in 2026, who can prepare them, how the review actually works, and what changed this year for homes, additions, garden suites and multiplexes.

A building permit is the City's confirmation that your proposed work complies with the Ontario Building Code, the zoning by-law and other applicable law. In other words, the drawings serve as the evidence. Examiners cannot approve what they cannot see, so every dimension, assembly and code reference they need must appear on the page.

What Toronto Building counts as complete

For this reason, Toronto Building is explicit about completeness. Under its building permit review streams, an application is complete only when it includes all six of the following:

• A filled-in application form
• The signature of the owner or authorized agent
• A full set of plans and specifications
• An issued Zoning Applicable Law Certificate
• Confirmation of all applicable law
• Payment of every fee

Miss one item and the application is incomplete. Moreover, the City sets no review time frame for incomplete applications.

Why permit-ready drawings save time

This, in short, is the real value of permit-ready drawings. A coordinated set does not make the City faster; however, it removes the reasons for the City to be slower. In practice, the drawing board usually settles the difference between a two-week first review and a three-month back-and-forth, long before anyone submits anything.

What a complete drawing set includes

The architectural drawings in a permit set form only part of the package. Requirements also vary by project type, and the City publishes an application guide for each one.

For example, the New House guide asks for drawings on standard sheets, drawn to scale, fully dimensioned, signed, dated and submitted as PDFs. In general, a typical set contains the sheets below.

One practical note from the City: keep the homeowner's name and phone number off the drawings. After all, Ontario's municipal freedom-of-information law allows the disclosure of plans submitted for permit.

Start with the site plan and the zoning review

The site plan is the first sheet an examiner reads, and in our experience it generates more comments than any other. For that reason, it must agree exactly with the survey, the floor plans and the zoning summary. If the site plan says one thing and the elevations say another, the application stalls.

What a ZAP is, and why you need one

Before a full building permit application in Toronto can proceed, the project needs a Zoning Applicable Law Certificate, known as a ZAP. In short, this preliminary review confirms that your design complies with Zoning By-law 569-2013. It also identifies any other approvals that apply, such as a tree permit, a heritage permit or a conservation authority clearance.

A ZAP application includes up to three reviews, and the 2026 fee for a new house or an addition is $644.38. Today, you apply online through the City's submission portal.

When the design does not comply

If the ZAP finds that your design does not comply, you have two choices: revise the design to fit, or apply to the Committee of Adjustment for a minor variance. A minor variance typically adds several months, because it involves public notice and a hearing.

To be clear, neither route is a failure. Even so, learning this at the ZAP stage costs far less than discovering it after you have drawn a full permit set.

Who can prepare building permit drawings in Toronto

Ontario regulates who may design buildings for permit. The Ontario Association of Architects licenses architects and Professional Engineers Ontario licenses engineers; both can take responsibility for design work within their scope.

All other designers, however, must qualify and register with the province through the QuARTS system and hold a Building Code Identification Number (BCIN).

Route A: BCIN designer

• A legitimate, common route for houses and small Part 9 buildings.
• Toronto's guide requires the designer's name, registration number, qualification number, signature and stamp on the drawings.
• First, ask whether their qualification covers your building type.
• Then ask whether structural and mechanical design is included or subcontracted.

Route B: Architect and engineer

• Required for larger buildings and for most buildings within Part 3 of the Code.
• An engineer can seal house drawings for expedited review under the City's program.
• In addition, an integrated team coordinates architecture, structure and mechanical design in one office.

Expedited review with an engineer's seal

Since July 2025, the City's Reliance on Professional Engineer's Seal program has allowed expedited review when an engineer seals and takes responsibility for house drawings. Specifically, it applies to houses of up to three storeys and 600 square metres with no more than two units. It also covers garden suites, laneway suites and mechanical design.

As a result, an integrated architecture and engineering team can use this route without coordinating three separate offices.

How the Toronto Building review works, and how long it takes

Toronto Building sorts applications into review streams, and each stream carries its own target for the first review of a complete application.

What the targets do not cover

However, those targets describe the first review only. They also assume the drawings reflect the current Ontario Building Code. The 2024 edition has applied to permit applications since 1 January 2025, so sets that still cite the older code invite comments.

If the examiner issues comments, the clock resets when you resubmit. Therefore, the fastest route through the House Stream is a set that needs no second round: matching dimensions, current code references and every form signed.

The permit process, step by step

1. Survey and zoning analysisConfirm what the lot allows.
2. ZAP reviewUp to three reviews; $644.38 in 2026. If needed: minor variance at the Committee of Adjustment.
3. Complete submissionForms, drawings, ZAP, fees.
4. First review10, 15 or 20–30 business days. Comments? Revise and resubmit — the clock resets.
5. Permit issuedConstruction can begin.

New · August 2026: the City's AI pre-check pilot

In August 2026, the City launched an AI-assisted Building Permit Application Pre-Check pilot for houses with two or fewer units, additions and accessory structures.

Importantly, the tool is voluntary and advisory. It flags missing documents and possible zoning or code issues before submission, but it does not approve permits or replace staff review. We treat it as a useful second check rather than a substitute for a designer's own quality control.

Still current: drawings must cite the 2024 edition

Today, examiners review against the 2024 Ontario Building Code. As a result, older drawing sets, templates and details that reference the previous edition are a common and avoidable source of comments.

Before you resubmit an older design, ask your designer to confirm every code reference on the set.

Building permit drawings in Toronto for additions and suites

Not every project is a new house. For example, second-storey and rear additions, legal secondary suites, basement walkouts, garden suites and laneway suites each have their own City guide and document list.

Additions, for instance, need existing-conditions drawings alongside the proposed work. That way, the examiner can see exactly what you plan to remove and what is new.

Garden and laneway suites

Garden suite and laneway suite projects bring extra requirements, most notably fire department access. In many cases, access shapes the design as much as the zoning envelope does.

Party walls

Party walls, in turn, add another layer. Where a project affects a shared wall, every property the wall separates needs a permit, so start the conversation with your neighbour early.

Multiplex permit drawings and the City's pre-approved plans

Toronto's multiplex permissions have turned many residential lots into potential three-, four- or six-unit sites. Consequently, choosing a multiplex architect in Toronto has become one of the most important decisions in the project. After all, a multiplex raises fire separation, egress, sound transmission and servicing questions that a single-family house never does.

A shortcut, not a complete one

On 2 October 2026, the City published pre-approved multiplex building plans for four-unit and six-unit buildings, in narrow and wide versions. Undoubtedly, they offer a genuine shortcut. Still, a qualified design professional has to complete the site-specific work and submit signed letters taking responsibility for the architectural, structural and mechanical elements, including bearing capacity, shoring, HVAC loads and servicing.

However, any modification, including to HVAC or plumbing, ends the plan's pre-approved status. From that point, the regular application process applies.

Questions to ask a multiplex architect

When choosing a multiplex architect in Toronto, ask how many multiplex permits the firm has taken through the Small Building Stream, and whether its engineering team works in-house. For example, our Leroy Sixplex project shows a custom multiplex resolved for its own lot.

Whether you use a pre-approved plan or a custom design, the site plan, grading and servicing work remain specific to your property.

Coordinating architecture, engineering and construction

In our experience, most resubmissions trace back to coordination. Typical examples include a beam that moved on the structural drawings but not on the architectural set, a duct run that conflicts with a joist, or a window that no longer meets limiting distance after a wall shifted.

When one team produces the architectural, structural, mechanical and electrical design, it catches those conflicts before the City sees them.

Permit-ready and buildable should be the same set

It also helps to think past the permit. For instance, architectural drawings that a contractor can price accurately, with the details trades actually need, save money during construction. Ideally, permit-ready drawings and buildable drawings are the same document.

Budget and timeline: what to plan for

Above all, plan your budget for more than drawings. Typical costs include:

• A current survey
• Design and engineering fees
• The ZAP fee
• The building permit fee
• Any Committee of Adjustment application
• Arborist or consultant reports, where required
• A municipal road damage deposit

The City calculates the permit fee per square metre of work, plus a per-unit charge for new units, and lists current rates on its building permit fees page. Building permit drawings for a Toronto project are only one line in that budget, yet they influence most of the others.

Plan the schedule in stages

1. Survey and zoning analysis
2. Design
3. ZAP review
4. Variance, if needed
5. Permit drawings and submission
6. First review and any resubmission

Finally, build in a margin for the stages that sit outside anyone's control.

Working with 6ixDesign on permit drawings in Toronto

6ixDesign Architects is a North York practice offering architecture, structural, mechanical and electrical engineering, and interior design under one roof. In addition, construction input is available through our sister company, 6ixBuild.

Together, we prepare building permit drawings Toronto examiners can review efficiently, for custom homes, additions, garden and laneway suites, and multiplexes across Toronto and the GTA. Equally, you can see the range of our work in our project stories, from the Dundas Residence to the Bayview Townhouses, and read more about custom home design in Toronto.

Our process

First, we start with your survey and a zoning review, so you know what your lot allows before you commit to a design. From there, we coordinate every discipline internally, manage the ZAP and permit submissions, and respond to examiner comments directly.

Ultimately, good permit drawings are not paperwork. Instead, they mark the point at which a design becomes something the City can approve and a contractor can build. Getting your building permit drawings Toronto-ready the first time is the most reliable way to keep a project moving.