www.lincoln.ne.gov

City of Lincoln Building & Safety Department

General

• To obtain a building permit, the applicant must submit THREE complete sets of plans. When submitting specifications, only ONE set is required. ONE set of structural calculations is required.

• The time required to review a complete set of plans will be approximately TEN working days. The contact person will be contacted by phone the day after the plan review is completed.

• Plans must be signed and sealed by a Nebraska architect and/or engineer of record.

Specific Procedure

1. Visit the Building & Safety Department Office
   The Building & Safety Department Office is located in the County-City Building, 555 So. 10th Street, second floor, northeast corner, room 203.
   It is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except holidays.

2. Submit plan documents
   • You must have THREE complete sets of plans and other documents as appropriate.

   • Your plans will be examined briefly to make sure that they include the items listed as minimum requirements on the attached submittal requirements list.

   • If your plans do not meet these minimum requirements, they will not be accepted for review.
   
   Fill out a Building Permit Application
   You will be asked to supply:

   • The address and legal description of the proposed project.

   • The name and phone number of the proposed project.

   • Names of the building owner, architect and contractor.

   • Cost of construction(includes general, electric, plumbing, mechanical, etc.).

   • Occupancy type

   • Construction type

   • Work included under limited permit
     -If you cannot supply all this information (a-g) at the time of submission, you must at least provide an address and legal description, the work included under the limited permit and the name of a contact person.
     -You will be required to sign the application and pay a plan review fee before your plans are accepted for review.

3. Wait until you are contacted
   Plans will be reviewed in the order they are received. NO EXCEPTIONS.
   
   • After your plan has been reviewed, we will phone the contact person.
     
   • We will not answer inquires prior to completion of the first round review.
     
   • Each plan must be reviewed by a number of reviewers, each with a different area of expertise. Plan reviewers have their own schedules so plans are not to be taken to reviewers for signatures.
     
4. Following notification, make the necessary revisions to your plans.
   1. Many plans need corrections before a permit can be issued. If your plan does nto meet minimum requirements:
      • Our comments will be given to you in person.
      • You may request that we fax it to you.
   2. If you do not understand why a specific correction is required, you are encouraged to contact the appropriate reviewers for further clarification. The names and phone numbers of the reviewers can be supplied to you.
      
   3. Please note that reviewers may not wish to make design suggestions. There are usually many ways to approach a problem and you must decide for yourself which approach best suits your needs.

5. Making Corrections
   • Make corrections on the original plan and submit new copies. If the corrections are minor, you may alter the plans already submitted provided that you initial and date the changes. In some circumstances, letters or agenda may be accepted.
     
   • The Building & Safety Department requests that revisions be indicated on the drawing by "clouding" or some other acceptable method.
     
   • If and architect or engineer has sealed your plan, he/she must make the changes to the plan.
     
   • If new sheets are to replace old sheets in the plan sets, insert the new sheets and reassemble the newly corrected plan sets. Building & Safety staff will not do this for you.
     
   • Please note that all corrections must be documented. Verbal corrections are not acceptable.

6. Wait until the plans have been re-reviewed.
   • Once the corrections have been properly made, the re-review process may take several days.
     
   • The contact person will be contacted by phone after the re-review is complete.
     
   • If your plans need further corrections, you may need to repeat this process. A re-review fee may be assessed for additional re-reviews.

7. Return to the Building & Safety Office to receive your limited permit.
   • A limited permit, not a building permit, is issued for limited construction, specifying the limited construction to be done. You may receive only ONE set of plans endorsed by stamp indicating that you may, at your own risk, place footings and foundations to grade level only and place underground utilities, or whatever the specific limited scope of the work is for.
     
   • ALL BUILDING PERMIT FEES will be required to be paid in full at this time.
     
   • When complete plans are ready for submitting, you must submit plans and documents as required for new buildings. The review status will then be changed from limited to full review. Additional plan review may be required at this time.
     
   • Construction work may not proceed past the approved limited authorization until a full Building Permit has been issued.

Other Considerations That Should Be Checked
Does the proposed building or work fall under any special zoning areas, such as the following? If so, have you looked at the special considerations for the special zoning, and have you met all the conditions that go along with the special zoning areas?

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