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OPR - Online Permitting & Inspection Requests FAQ

This FAQ is for municipal building/construction department staff evaluating or using SDL's Online Portal for electronic permitting. Reference it when you need answers on the NJ DCA electronic permit processing legislation, how online permit submissions and templates work, how to configure inspection scheduling (blackout dates, lead times, requested dates, subcode exclusions), and how residents/contractors use the portal to submit requests and track status.

Legislation Questions

  • Who is requiring that we accept online submissions?

Legislation was signed on April 30, 2021 that requires that the DCA establish, develop, implement and administer an “Electronic Permit Processing Review System”. It also says that the DCA must ensure that all municipal enforcing agencies also find and begin using an electronic system within a year.

Electronic Permit Processing Review Systems are defined as an internet-based system that facilitates:

  • Electronic submission of construction permit applications, plans & specs
  • Electronic review of applications, plans and specs
  • Online inspection scheduling
  • Online information exchanges between the applicant, professionals and the construction department/enforcing agency
  • 24/7 public access for homeowners, contractors and other professionals to submit permit applications and request inspections

 

Online Permitting Questions

  • If any required fields have not been filled out completely by the applicant, will the submittal still be accepted?

An applicant will not be able to submit the application unless all of the required fields have been filled out.  

  • How are the requirements for raised seals on subcode technical sections being handled?

We are not sure how the DCA will handle this process at this time. 

  • If we want to practice creating templates prior to going live, can they be deleted afterward?

They cannot be deleted, however, they can be made inactive. You also can convert any of your unused templates into something else by editing the template name, settings and requirements. 

 

Inspection Request Questions

  • For inspection requests, is there a way to block out specific hours, vacation days, holidays or days our office is not open?

Yes, you can block dates and times so they do not appear available. You can also add a note to the portal request to say something like “Please note, inspections are conducted Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 12-2 pm.”

  • What is the earliest someone can request an inspection? 

By default, our system will allow users to schedule an inspection a minimum of 60 days out from their request date. You can adjust this setting to be as few as 7 days out or as far as 365 days out in the settings section under “Scheduling Days Ahead.” If you want to allow users to be able to request inspections sooner than 7 days out, we recommend that you include a note instructing them to call your office to review the availability and schedule the inspection. 

  • Do I have to allow the user to give 3 recommended inspection dates?

You can require the user to provide 1, 2 or 3 preferred inspection dates. This setting can be adjusted under “Requested Dates Required”. Note: If you require 1 date, the user can still input 3 dates, it just wouldn’t be required to submit the request.

  • Can we predetermine the type of inspections that can be requested through the portal?

Your Portal Admin can go into the settings and by clicking on “Web Requests'' and then “Building Inspection”, you can scroll through those settings until you reach the “Subcode Inspection Type Exclusions” section. Here you can select which inspection types for each subcode you DO NOT want to display on the portal request.

  • How do residents know what time their inspections are?

Requesters will receive an email confirming that their inspection request has been submitted and they will receive an email once it’s been scheduled with the date/time details. There are additional notification options that can be enabled in the settings that would also notify the requester when the inspection result type changes (i.e. Pass/Fail/etc…).

  • Are you allowing residents/contractors to request inspections for multiple disciplines at one time?

While inspections can only be scheduled for one subcode at a time, there is an option after you submit an inspection request to start a new inspection request for the same permit. This automatically fills in the permit and the contact details so the user only needs to select the subcode, type and date. 

  • Can we schedule the inspection for a different date/time than was requested?

Yes. When the inspections come in, they go to your info pane and you have control. You can either select one of their 3 dates, refuse their request and let them know to pick a new date or you can choose to schedule the inspection on a different date. 

 

Other Questions

  • When is the online plan review landing page expected to be live and available?

This feature is currently available to enable for your citizens. Once enabled, a citizen would access this feature by clicking the “Online Permits” button located in the top menu of the portal. 

  • Does the contractor/homeowner have access to the SDL Portal to communicate with the building department?

Any public user can create a portal account for your municipality so that includes contractors, homeowners, realtors, businesses, etc.... We can help you create marketing materials to spread the word about your portal and the services you have enabled. Once they have an account, they will be able to submit requests, receive notifications and check the status of their requests.

  • Where can the requestor go to view the status of their permits & other requests?

Using the drop-down menu in the top right corner of the portal, the user can select “My Account” and then click the “Requests” button to view all of their requests and see the status. Additionally, they can also use the search feature to look up permit and property information.