Most building plans get sent back for one of two reasons. Something required is missing, or something shown does not meet code. Each return starts another review cycle, and each cycle can add weeks to a project.
The good news: most of these problems are predictable. And with AI plan review, many of them can now be found before the plan set ever reaches a reviewer’s desk. Here is what goes wrong, what it costs, and how to catch it early.
Why Do Building Plans Get Sent Back?
A plan set gets sent back when the building department cannot approve it as submitted. That happens at two points.
At intake (completeness). Staff check that everything required is there: forms, sheets, stamps, calculations and fees. If something is missing, the set is rejected before any code review starts.
During review (compliance). A plans examiner checks the design against adopted codes and local rules. If something does not meet code, or is not shown clearly enough to check, you get correction comments.
The first kind costs more than most applicants expect. Under Scottsdale, Arizona’s submittal guidelines, an incomplete single-family plan set gets no correction comments until the second submittal. That pushes approval to a third submittal at the earliest.
The Most Common Reasons Plans Are Rejected
Many building departments publish lists of their top rejection reasons because the same mistakes keep coming back.
Missing or incomplete items
- An incomplete package:Required forms, sheets or reports are missing from the set. Arizona’s Department of Housing lists this as its top plan review concern.
- No code analysis: The drawings skip the code summary: occupancy, construction type, area, height and exits. Eugene, Oregon names this as its most frequent plan review deficiency.
- Paperwork errors: Fees are missing, checks are for the wrong amount, or the zoning application is incomplete. Dayton, Ohio lists all three in its guide to common plan review problems.
- Missing stamps, calculations or product data. Drawings arrive without a professional seal, structural calculations, truss designs or equipment data sheets.
Code and detail problems
- Thin structural details, such as unclear load paths or connections.
- Energy code information left off the drawings.
- Fire and life safety gaps, such as egress, fire ratings and fire stopping.
- Accessibility issues, such as clearances and accessible routes.
- Zoning conflicts, such as setbacks, height and lot coverage.
Comments not answered
A resubmittal that ignores earlier comments goes straight back. The University of California, Riverside’s plan review team lists this among its most common plan review fails.
What Each Review Cycle Really Costs
Every return adds a full loop: fix the drawings, resubmit, wait in the queue, then wait for review again. In 2025, new commercial buildings in Virginia Beach went through an average of 2.6 review cycles before approval. Commercial alterations and additions averaged 1.8.
For applicants, each loop means idle crews, loan interest and extra design fees. For building departments, it means reviewing the same project two or three times while new applications wait in line. Fewer cycles help both sides.
How AI Plan Review Finds the Gaps Before You Submit
AI plan review tools check a plan set for the same problems a reviewer looks for, sheet by sheet, in minutes. Blitz AI is one example, used by building departments on both sides of the counter.
For applicants: AI Pre-Check
Where a jurisdiction offers it, applicants upload their permit set before they submit. AI Pre-Check runs three checks:
- Submittal Completeness: Are all required forms, sheets and documents there?
- Sufficiency: Is the required content actually shown, such as a code analysis or a fire rating detail?
- Compliance: Does it meet the code rules the jurisdiction has set up?
The applicant gets a Permit Readiness Score and a list of items to fix. The fixes happen before a reviewer opens the plan.
For reviewers: AI Plan Review
Plan examiners run the same three checks in more depth, with each finding tied to a code section and a sheet. The reviewer checks every finding and makes every decision.
A Pre-Submission Checklist You Can Use Today
Run this check before every submittal:
- Get the jurisdiction’s submittal checklist and match every item to your set.
- Confirm the adopted code edition and any local amendments.
- Include a code analysis: occupancy, construction type, area, height and egress.
- Check that every sheet in the drawing index is actually in the set.
- Attach stamps, signatures, calculations and product data.
- Check site plan dimensions against zoning setbacks, height and lot coverage.
- On a resubmittal, answer every comment in a response letter and cloud each change?
What to Look for in an AI Plan Review Tool
Not every tool checks the same things. The strongest ones work with standard PDF plan sets, use the jurisdiction’s adopted codes and local amendments, cite the exact code section and sheet for each finding, and keep a human reviewer in charge. For a full list of criteria, you can quickly check Blitz AI’s guide on how to choose AI plan review software.
The Bottom Line
Most plan rejections are not about bad design. They come from missing items, thin details and unanswered comments, and all three can be caught before you submit. Match your set to the jurisdiction’s checklist, answer every comment, and use an AI pre-check where your building department offers one. Every gap you find first is one less review cycle.
