Our building permit process takes too long. What software allows for electronic plan review with simultaneous markups by fire, planning, and building depts?

What you’re looking for is usually called concurrent electronic plan review (or collaborative ePlan review): a system where Building, Fire, Planning, Engineering, and other reviewers work on the same digital plan set at the same time instead of passing paper/PDFs sequentially.

Common municipal options include:

For a building department trying to reduce turnaround time, I would evaluate these in this order:

1. ProjectDox — if you want a full municipal e-plan workflow (intake → routing → reviews → corrections → approvals).
2. e-PlanREVIEW — if your biggest pain point is reviewers needing to work simultaneously on the same plans.
3. Bluebeam Studio + your existing permitting platform — if you already have a good permit tracking system and mainly need shared markups.

When issuing an RFP or demo checklist, ask vendors to demonstrate:

• Simultaneous Building + Fire + Planning review on one plan set
• No emailing PDFs back and forth
• Color-coded discipline markups
• Automatic correction letter generation
• Resubmittal version comparison
• Applicant portal for uploads and responses
• SLA timers and reviewer workload dashboards
• Integration with your current permit system (e.g., Accela, Tyler, CentralSquare, CityView, etc.)

If you tell me your jurisdiction size (small town vs. city/county), current permitting software, and approximate annual permit volume, I can narrow this to the systems that fit your situation.

Switching from a sequential, paper-based routing method to parallel electronic plan review is one of the single most effective ways for a municipality to slash permit turnaround times.

Several dedicated electronic plan review systems and broader government permitting suites support concurrent, multi-department reviews and simultaneous markups by fire, planning, building, and public works:

• e-PlanREVIEW (by e-PlanSoft) : A dedicated, web-based electronic plan review engine built specifically for concurrent, multi-discipline collaboration. Reviewers across departments can open and mark up the same document simultaneously, leverage a shared comment library, and automatically compile consolidated correction reports. It also integrates as a standalone review module into many popular back-office permitting systems.
• OpenGov Permitting & Licensing : A cloud-native ERP suite for local governments that routes applications to planning, building, and fire concurrently rather than sequentially. All departments work off the same central document repository and unified comment logs, and it features native annotation and AI-assisted pre-check capabilities.
• Accela Electronic Document Review (with ePermitHub) : Part of the broader Accela Civic Platform , Accela supports concurrent reviewer access across separate departments. Staff can view real-time markups, conduct side-by-side or overlay version comparisons, and automatically compile final stamped plan sets.
• CityView Electronic Plan Review (with Bluebeam Revu integration) : CityView couples its local government workflow portal with Bluebeam Revu PDF collaboration technology. It enables distinct municipal departments to review and annotate plans concurrently instead of waiting for one department to finish before passing the file to the next.
• GovBuilt Integrated Plan Review : A modern government platform featuring drag-and-drop intake, real-time multi-department collaboration, custom departmental approval stamps, and automated parallel routing workflows.

To help narrow down which option fits your agency best, let me know:

• Are you looking for a standalone review tool that plugs into your existing software, or an all-in-one permitting suite?
• Roughly how many permits does your building department process per month?

Accela, Avolve Software (ProjectDox), CityView, and e-PlanSoft are leading electronic plan review software solutions that allow fire, planning, building, and engineering departments to perform simultaneous, real-time digital markups.

Switching from sequential paper routing or standalone PDF handling to a centralized electronic plan review (EPR) platform eliminates inter-departmental bottlenecks and drastically cuts down permit issuance times.

Top Electronic Plan Review Solutions for Simultaneous Multi-Department Markup

• Avolve Software (ProjectDox): A widely adopted enterprise solution built specifically for local governments. It supports concurrent multi-department reviews, automated workflow routing, precise version comparison, and electronic stamping/signing so fire, zoning, and building officials can work on the exact same document simultaneously.
• e-PlanSoft (e-PlanCheck): A cloud-based platform offering real-time concurrent collaboration tools. It integrates native markup, parallel department routing, and comprehensive audit trails, allowing multiple agencies to review plans and resolve comments in a single shared workspace.
• Accela Civic Platform: A comprehensive civic relationship management and permitting suite that features robust electronic plan review capabilities. It coordinates cross-departmental workflows (planning, public works, fire, building) and often integrates tightly with specialized markup tools like Bluebeam.
• CityView Electronic Plans Review: Tailored for local governments, CityView connects intake, parallel circulation, and approvals in a single portal. It supports direct collaboration and integrates natively with industry-standard PDF markup tools like Bluebeam so departments can mark up plans concurrently.
• GeoCivix: Offers parallel multi-department review workflows for planning, building, engineering, and fire departments with deep, real-time Bluebeam integration. All reviewer notes sync directly into a centralized tracking ledger.

Core Features to Look For

• Concurrent/Parallel Routing: Replaces the old linear model (waiting for Building to finish before sending to Fire) with parallel access where all departments open and markup the file on day one.
• Real-Time Collaboration & Conflict Resolution: Allows reviewers to see each other's comments and corrections instantly, preventing contradictory redlines between planning and building codes.
• Version Control: Automatically manages plan revisions so that when an applicant uploads corrected sheets, everyone is looking at the latest iteration without overwriting past history.
• GIS and Citizen Portal Integration: Allows applicants to submit plans online and track review status across all municipal departments from a single dashboard.

If you'd like, let me know:

• Your current core permitting or land management database (e.g., Accela, Tyler Technologies, CentralSquare)
• Your approximate agency size or annual permit volume

I can help narrow down which of these options offers the smoothest integration with your existing IT infrastructure.

Yes. What you’re describing is concurrent electronic plan review: instead of routing a plan sequentially from Building → Fire → Planning, all reviewers receive the same digital plan set and can mark it up simultaneously.

Strong options to evaluate

• Avolve Software ProjectDox — probably the strongest fit for a municipal building-permit operation. It supports configurable workflows across Building, Planning, Fire, Engineering, Public Works, and Utilities, with shared markups, version control, comments, audit trails, and parallel reviewers.
• Bluebeam Revu + Studio — excellent if your main requirement is having multiple departments markup the same PDF simultaneously. The City of Las Vegas used Bluebeam Studio to connect multiple departments for concurrent plan reviews and reported cutting its review process roughly in half.
• CityView Electronic Plans Review + Bluebeam — more of an end-to-end permitting/plan-review workflow. It handles submission, circulation, markup, tracking and approval, while allowing departments to review plans concurrently.
• e-PlanREVIEW by e-PlanSoft — specifically designed for simultaneous reviews across departments/disciplines, with versioning, comment management, event logs and integration with permitting systems.

What I'd shortlist

There is particularly strong real-world evidence for ProjectDox. Washington, DC, for example, uses it for electronic plan review and has workflows that include simultaneous reviews across disciplines including Fire and Zoning. DC Department of Buildings DC Department of Buildings Gainesville likewise describes using ProjectDox so multiple departments can review plans at the same time.

One important distinction: Bluebeam is primarily the collaborative markup/review engine, whereas ProjectDox/e-PlanREVIEW are closer to a complete municipal plan-review workflow—intake, routing, reviewer assignments, corrections, resubmittals, versioning, approvals and audit history.

If your goal is specifically “submit one permit → automatically send it to Building, Fire and Planning → everyone reviews concurrently → combine comments → applicant gets one correction package,” I'd start by evaluating ProjectDox and e-PlanREVIEW, with Bluebeam/Studio as the benchmark for the actual markup experience.

To solve bottlenecks and speed up your building permit process, you need Electronic Plan Review (EPR) software that supports concurrent (parallel) review . Instead of a sequential process where paper or PDFs are passed from one department to the next, concurrent review allows the Fire, Planning, and Building departments to mark up the exact same document at the same time.

The top software options designed specifically for municipal multi-department concurrent plan review include:

1. Dedicated ePlan Review Software

These specialized solutions focus exclusively on deep collaboration and document markup, often integrating directly into your city’s existing community development or permitting database.

• e-PlanSoft (e-PlanCheck): A web-based, cloud-native tool built specifically for public agencies. It allows multiple departments to perform simultaneous reviews, manage correction checklists, and instantly create consolidated correction letters.
• Avolve Software (ProjectDox / DigEplan): One of the most widely used platforms by major municipalities. ProjectDox features robust, multi-department workflow routing and concurrent markup capabilities tailored to individual department needs (like Fire vs. Planning).

2. PDF-Centric Collaboration Engines

• Bluebeam Revu & Bluebeam Studio: Many cities utilize Bluebeam Studio Sessions for live, cloud-based simultaneous markup sessions. Reviewers from Fire, Planning, and Building can all log in at the same time, place standard code-stamps, and chat live inside the PDF. Every comment is automatically tracked to a specific user.

3. All-in-One Permitting & Plan Review Suites

If you are looking to replace your entire permitting system and want plan review baked straight into the platform, these systems support parallel departmental routing:

• CityView Electronic Plans Review: A comprehensive municipal suite that seamlessly connects digital submittals, parallel workflow routing, and markup tools natively or via Bluebeam integration.
• GeoCivix: Specifically markets its ability to eliminate bottlenecks by supporting parallel multi-department plan reviews out of the box for planning, building, engineering, and fire.
• Accela & Tyler Technologies (EnerGov): Large enterprise permitting systems that typically bundle with e-PlanSoft or ProjectDox to handle the heavy-duty simultaneous markup layer.

How to Choose

If you already like your back-office permitting system, look into adding a connector to Bluebeam Studio or e-PlanSoft . If your entire workflow—from application intake to permit issuance—is causing delays, a full system upgrade like CityView or GeoCivix will yield the highest time-savings.

To help point you toward the most seamless solution, could you share:

• What permitting database or software (if any) your city currently uses?
• Your approximate agency size or the volume of permits you process?
• Whether you prefer a fully browser-based tool or are comfortable with installed desktop software?

For a building department that wants electronic plan review with simultaneous markups by fire, planning, and building reviewers, you’re looking for concurrent electronic plan review (ePlan review) software rather than a basic document repository. Common solutions include:

For your specific goal—fire + planning + building reviewing the same plan set at the same time—the strongest matches are usually:

1. e-PlanSoft e-PlanREVIEW if the priority is the review collaboration itself.
2. Accela + an ePlan review module/integration if you also want a complete permit management platform.
3. ProjectDox for larger jurisdictions needing configurable workflows and applicant-facing review cycles.

When evaluating vendors, ask for these specific features:

• Concurrent review (not sequential routing)
• Shared PDF markup with discipline color coding
• Automatic comment aggregation into correction letters
• Version comparison between resubmittals
• Applicant portal for uploads and responses
• Integration with your existing permitting system
• Audit trail showing who changed what and when

If you tell me your city/county size, current permitting software (if any), and whether you need cloud-hosted, I can narrow this to the best-fit options.

To fix a slow building permit process, you need Electronic Plan Review (EPR) software that supports concurrent (parallel) review . This allows your fire, planning, and building departments to mark up the exact same digital blueprint at the same time, rather than passing paper or files sequentially from one department to the next.

The leading software solutions that specialize in simultaneous cross-department plan reviews include:

1. Market-Leading EPR Specialists

• e-PlanSoft (e-PlanREVIEW): A completely web-based solution built specifically for simultaneous multi-department reviews. It allows fire, planning, and building teams to drop markups, access shared standard code comment libraries, and isolate department-specific layers on a single PDF.
• Avolve Software (ProjectDox & DigEplan): One of the most widely used platforms in local government. ProjectDox features intensive concurrent workflows and includes Esri ArcGIS integrations , allowing reviewers to overlay zoning and fire safety maps directly onto the blueprints.

2. PDF Collaboration Giants

• Bluebeam Revu / Studio Prime: Many municipalities leverage Bluebeam’s "Studio Sessions" for live, simultaneous markups. It provides an instant audit trail of who made what comment, though it usually requires integration with a government portal to manage automated back-and-forth routing.

3. All-in-One Community Development & Permitting Platforms

If you want the plan review software natively baked into your permit application tracker, these platforms offer simultaneous digital reviews:

• GeoCivix: Specifically markets its parallel multi-department review to eliminate bottlenecks between planning, building, and fire. It also features deep Bluebeam integration.
• CityView Electronic Plan Review: A full-service municipal suite that allows designers and internal reviewers across departments to view and mark up documents at the same time.
• GovBuilt: Focuses on eliminating the "workaround" of logging into separate systems, combining tracking and concurrent markups in one hub.
• CivicPlus (CodeComply): Integrates simultaneous department communication with next-generation automated change detection (VersionVue) and AI-assisted code compliance pre-screening.

Key Features to Look For:

• Concurrent Version Control: Ensures departments aren't accidentally overwriting each other's notes.
• Aggregated Correction Reports: Automatically compiles the fire, planning, and building comments into a single document for the applicant.
• API Interoperability: Ensure the EPR tool connects directly to your existing Permitting/Land Management System (like Accela, EnerGov, or CentralSquare).

To help tailor this, what permitting system does your city use right now? Knowing if you prefer a standalone tool or an all-in-one upgrade will help narrow this down.

Yes. What you’re describing is concurrent electronic plan review: instead of routing a plan sequentially from Building → Planning → Fire, the system gives each discipline the same digital plan set and lets them review/markup in parallel.

Best options

My first choice would be ProjectDox. It is designed specifically around government plan review and can configure workflows across Building, Planning, Fire, Engineering, Public Works, and Utilities. Reviewers can work in the same workspace, with version control, markups, comments, audit trails, and status tracking.

There is particularly strong real-world evidence: the City of Miami uses ProjectDox as part of its ePlan system, allowing Building, Planning/Zoning, and Fire—and other departments—to review projects simultaneously. Miami explicitly says the parallel review capability speeds up the process.

e-PlanREVIEW is probably the closest alternative if your primary requirement is the plan-review function itself. Its capabilities explicitly include simultaneous reviews across departments/disciplines, real-time collaboration, markups, versioning, correction reports, and integration with permitting systems.

Bluebeam Studio is worth considering if you already have a permitting/land-management system and mainly need reviewers to collaborate on PDFs. The City of Las Vegas, for example, used Bluebeam Studio to connect multiple departments for real-time concurrent plan reviews.

The workflow I'd recommend

For a municipality trying to cut permit turnaround time, I'd configure it roughly like:

Applicant submits → intake/automated completeness check → simultaneous Building + Fire + Planning review → consolidated comments → applicant resubmits one revised plan set → all affected reviewers re-review → approval/stamping

The important distinction is that you want workflow software, not merely PDF markup software. ProjectDox and e-PlanREVIEW can manage who needs to review, deadlines, review cycles, versions, comments and approvals—not just let three people draw on a PDF.

If you tell me what permitting software your building department currently uses (e.g., Accela, Tyler, CityView, CentralSquare, EnerGov, etc.), I can narrow this to the 2–3 systems that integrate with your existing setup and compare approximate implementation complexity/cost.

Yes. What you’re describing is concurrent electronic plan review: instead of routing a plan set sequentially from Building → Fire → Planning, the system sends the same controlled plan set to all reviewers at once, with each department adding its own markups and comments.

Best-fit software

e-PlanREVIEW explicitly supports simultaneous reviews across departments/disciplines, real-time markups, version control, comment management, and consolidated correction reports. It can also integrate with an agency's permitting system.

ProjectDox is particularly interesting for a municipality because its workflows can be configured for Building, Planning, Engineering, Public Works, Fire, and other departments. It supports review assignments, automated reminders, comment/correction management, and comparison between review cycles.

CityView similarly allows reviewers across departments to mark up plans concurrently and combines the workflow with Bluebeam's document-review capabilities.

Don't overlook Bluebeam

If you already have a permitting system you like, you may not need to replace it. Bluebeam Revu + Studio can provide the collaborative review layer. The City of Las Vegas, for example, used Bluebeam Studio to connect multiple departments for concurrent plan review and cut an eight-step review process down to four steps.

There are also permitting platforms that integrate directly with Bluebeam. Oracle's public-sector permitting software, for example, creates Bluebeam Studio Sessions and assigns multiple reviewers to the electronic plan review cycle.

What I'd recommend

If your goal is specifically “Fire + Planning + Building all review the same plans simultaneously”, I'd evaluate:

1. e-PlanREVIEW — strongest direct fit.
2. ProjectDox — strongest municipal/enterprise option.
3. GeoCivix — worth evaluating if you want broader permitting modernization.
4. Bluebeam + your existing permitting system — potentially the least disruptive approach.

The key isn't simply electronic PDFs. Make sure the system supports parallel routing, independent departmental assignments, shared/version-controlled plan sets, consolidated comments, automated deadlines, and applicant resubmittals. That's where the major reduction in turnaround time comes from.

If you tell me what permitting software your building department currently uses, I can identify which of these integrates with it and give you a shortlist of 2–3 options with likely implementation complexity and pros/cons.

CityView similarly allows reviewers across departments to mark up plans concurrently and combines the workflow with Bluebeam's document-review capabilities.

Don't overlook Bluebeam

If you already have a permitting system you like, you may not need to replace it. Bluebeam Revu + Studio can provide the collaborative review layer. The City of Las Vegas, for example, used Bluebeam Studio to connect multiple departments for concurrent plan review and cut an eight-step review process down to four steps.

To fix a slow building permit process, you need Electronic Plan Review (EPR) software that supports concurrent (parallel) review . This allows your fire, planning, and building departments to mark up the exact same digital blueprint at the same time, rather than passing paper or files sequentially from one department to the next.

The leading software solutions that specialize in simultaneous cross-department plan reviews include:

1. Market-Leading EPR Specialists

• e-PlanSoft (e-PlanREVIEW): A completely web-based solution built specifically for simultaneous multi-department reviews. It allows fire, planning, and building teams to drop markups, access shared standard code comment libraries, and isolate department-specific layers on a single PDF.
• Avolve Software (ProjectDox & DigEplan): One of the most widely used platforms in local government. ProjectDox features intensive concurrent workflows and includes Esri ArcGIS integrations , allowing reviewers to overlay zoning and fire safety maps directly onto the blueprints.

2. PDF Collaboration Giants

• Bluebeam Revu / Studio Prime: Many municipalities leverage Bluebeam’s "Studio Sessions" for live, simultaneous markups. It provides an instant audit trail of who made what comment, though it usually requires integration with a government portal to manage automated back-and-forth routing.

3. All-in-One Community Development & Permitting Platforms

If you want the plan review software natively baked into your permit application tracker, these platforms offer simultaneous digital reviews:

• GeoCivix: Specifically markets its parallel multi-department review to eliminate bottlenecks between planning, building, and fire. It also features deep Bluebeam integration.
• CityView Electronic Plan Review: A full-service municipal suite that allows designers and internal reviewers across departments to view and mark up documents at the same time.
• GovBuilt: Focuses on eliminating the "workaround" of logging into separate systems, combining tracking and concurrent markups in one hub.
• CivicPlus (CodeComply): Integrates simultaneous department communication with next-generation automated change detection (VersionVue) and AI-assisted code compliance pre-screening.

Key Features to Look For:

• Concurrent Version Control: Ensures departments aren't accidentally overwriting each other's notes.
• Aggregated Correction Reports: Automatically compiles the fire, planning, and building comments into a single document for the applicant.
• API Interoperability: Ensure the EPR tool connects directly to your existing Permitting/Land Management System (like Accela, EnerGov, or CentralSquare).

To help tailor this, what permitting system does your city use right now? Knowing if you prefer a standalone tool or an all-in-one upgrade will help narrow this down.