Submit a permit application online through your portal.
The first step of a new application. Choose a category and type, then Save and Continue through Upload Files, Fees, and Confirm and Submit. Example from a GeoCivix demo portal. Names are hidden, and your local portal may look a little different.
- A verified portal account. See Create your account.
- Your property address, and your property or parcel identifier if you have it.
- A clear description of the work, its dimensions, and an estimated construction value.
- Your documents saved and ready to upload — see Uploading your files.
- Read What you'll need before you start first if you haven't. It will save you a cycle.
Give yourself an uninterrupted block of time. Applications can usually be saved and resumed, but you'll finish faster in one sitting.
01 | Steps |
The screens can come in a slightly different order depending on your application type.
1 | Sign in at your portal. |
2 | Select the option to start a new application. |
3 | Choose the permit type that matches your work. The full list the office accepts is shown on this screen. If two types could apply, pick the one that describes the primary work — intake staff will tell you if a second application is needed. If nothing obviously fits, stop and call the office rather than guessing. Choose the category, then the application type. Help me choose explains each type. |
4 | Read and accept any terms or acknowledgments shown for that permit type. These often contain real requirements, not just legal boilerplate. Read each one rather than clicking through. The checklist for your application type. Read each item, then tick to acknowledge it. |
5 | Add the people involved: applicant, property owner, contractor, and design professional as applicable. Some roles are required and the application won't submit without them. Add the property owner and applicant. The plus button adds someone new to your address book. |
6 | Enter the property. Search by address or your property or parcel identifier and select the matching record rather than typing the address freehand — that attaches your application to the right property. Type the start of the address and wait for suggestions. Verify checks it against the town's records. |
- If your address doesn't come up, stop and contact the office. A new or recently split parcel may not be in the system yet.
7 | Describe the work. Be specific and use numbers. Include what's being added, changed, or removed; the square footage affected; and the materials involved. Describe the work with numbers: what, where, how big, and the estimated cost. |
8 | Enter the estimated construction value or job cost if asked. Give a real figure rather than a placeholder — what you enter here is part of the permit record, and in many cases it affects what you're charged. |
9 | Answer the additional questions for your permit type. These vary a lot — they may cover occupancy, existing conditions, floodplain, historic district, or utility connections. If a question doesn't apply, say so rather than leaving it blank. Questions specific to the application type. Here, a fence permit asks for location, height, length and material. |
10 | Review the summary page carefully. Check the address, the scope description, and the contractor information. Some details you can still correct yourself afterwards; others are fixed once you submit, and from then on only the office handling your application can change them. Treat this page as your last chance to get everything right. When you are happy with it, tick the acknowledgment and select Confirm. That saves your details and takes you to Upload Files. It does not send the application yet. The summary of your application. Check the address, contacts and description before you confirm. |
11 | Upload your documents. See Uploading your files for formats, sizes, and naming. Upload failures are the most common reason an application stalls at this point. When every file shows in the list, select Save and Continue. Uploaded files appear in the list with the date. Then select Save and Continue. |
12 | If a fee is due at submittal, pay it on the Fees step — see Paying your fees. Then select Confirm and Submit for Review. Your application is not sent until you do. The last step. Your application is not sent until you select Confirm and Submit for Review. |
13 | Save or note your application number. Every future conversation about this project starts with that number. |
02 | What happens next |
You should get a confirmation on screen and by email. Submitting is not the same as being approved — your application first goes through an intake or completeness check, where staff confirm everything required is present. Your project page shows where it is at any time.
If something's missing, you'll be contacted and the application will wait for you. If it's complete, it moves into review — which may include several review teams looking at it in parallel or in sequence. You can follow along at any time; see What your application status means.
When review is finished, you'll either receive an approval and an invoice for any remaining fees, or a correction letter asking for changes. Corrections are normal and are not a judgment about you or your project. See What a correction means.
Wait until the permit is actually issued before starting work — an application in review isn't a permit yet.
03 | If something goes wrong |
Need help mid-application? Contact the office handling your application. The phone number, email address and opening hours are shown on your portal.
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