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File Format Requirements

Building Division

678-512-3250

All Documents

Plans and documents submitted must follow these format requirements or will not be accepted.

PDF Files

  • Remove all security features – save files as unlocked, flattened PDFs
  • If plan file is larger than 25 MB, split it by discipline into multiple files

Address

  • Property address must be on all documents – not just the lot number

All Plan Sheets

Minimum Size

Originals of plan sheets must be no smaller than 11” x 17″ – if they’re so small as to be illegible, plans will be rejected. Orient all pages in the same direction.

Stamp Area

Leave a 2”wide x 5-1/2”high blank block on the top right corner of each plan sheet.

Title Bar on Every Plan Sheet

Every plan sheet should contain a title bar that shows:

  • Name and contact information of the person who prepared the plans,
  • Project address including suite/lot number
  • Date the plans were prepared and revised (if applicable)
  • Professional certification seal, if required.

The title bar should be placed on the right edge of the plan sheets.

Plan Sheet Names and Sheet Numbers

Every plan sheet, including the title sheet, must be named and numbered. Provide a 2” x 2” block in the
bottom right corner of each plan sheet with the sheet number and name.

Cover Sheet

Each set of drawings should have a cover sheet showing key information about the proposed project, as described below:

Index

Index of plan sheets (with sheet numbers and identifying name) in the plan set. Cloud any sheets listed that have been revised, added, or removed, showing the date of the change.

Project Scope

Narrative of the existing and proposed use and site conditions and describing the scope of work and area of work (SF).

Location Plan

  • For residential interior alterations, show the location of the work area within the house
  • For commercial interior alteration, show the location of the work on the parcel and/or within the development or commercial center
  • North arrow, except plans for interior-only alteration

Primary Summary Table

  • Project summary description
  • Existing and proposed square feet, area of work in square feet
  • Table showing proposed heated and unheated areas under the roof – broken down by type (garage, deck, interior spaces by floor, etc.) and totals
  • Site’s block and lot numbers, zoning district (new buildings/homes)
  • Construction Type, Occupancy Type, Occupant Load, and whether there are fire sprinklers (commercial permits)
  • Number of floors and proposed building height (new structure or vertical expansion)
  • Foundation type (new construction or finishing of unheated areas)

Architect’s and/or Engineer’s Seal

Plans must be sealed by a Georgia-licensed architect for plans related to the following occupancy types:

  • Assembly
  • Business, over 5,000 SF
  • Daycare
  • Educational
  • High Hazard
  • Institutional
  • Mercantile/Retail, over 5,00 SF
  • Hotel/Lodging Facilities
  • Apartments/Dormitories/Residential Care/Assisted Living

Truss drawings/layouts, LVL beams, and retaining walls > 6’ require sealed engineer’s drawings.

Plan Scale

All plans must show dimensions of significant measurements, with the scale and graphic scale shown on every plan sheet. If drawings on the same sheet are drawn at different scales, label each part of the drawing accordingly.

The minimum scales are 1”=20’-0” for site plans, 1/8”=1’ 0” for floor plans, and 1/4”=1’ 0” for elevations and for plans showing layout of parking and loading.

Changes to Plans

Resubmittals

For resubmittals of permits currently in plan review, all changes should be clouded, with a numbered delta symbol indicating the revision number. The numbered delta symbol should be listed in the sheet index with a date indicating on which sheet the change was made. The revision date should be added to the title bar.

Revisions

For revisions of issued permits, the area revised work must be clouded, with a numbered delta symbol indicating the revision number. The numbered delta symbol should be listed in the sheet index with a date indicating on which sheet the revision was made. A written narrative describing the proposed revisions and referencing the numbered changes must be provided separately. The revision date should be added to the title bar.

File Name Rules

  • All files submitted must follow our file naming rules.
  • No special characters except hyphen, period, dash, or underscore.
  • File names will have three or four parts, in this order, separated by hyphens:
  1. Permit Number (except initial submittals)
  2. File Category (e.g. Architectural Plans)
  3. Site Address
  4. Your file name/revision date/lot number, etc. – optional

Discipline

If plan set is more than 100 pages, break the set into disciplines, such as Architectural, Mechanical, Electrical, Life Safety, etc. Do not abbreviate the discipline name.

For discipline types, see the Sheet Identification instructions from the United States National CAD Standard, v5 – Uniform Drawing System – Sheet Identification.

Description

If submitting multiple documents of the same File Category, include a brief description. It can be abbreviated as long as it’s obvious (easy to understand).

File Name Example

BLDR-22-0499 – Architectural Plans – 215 King St – Lot 57 Berman Elevation D 2208.PDF

Resubmitted Files

Our system automatically adds the version number to resubmitted files, e.g. v.1, v.2, v.3. if they are revisions of a file with the same File Category and File Name.