ChatGPT SearchOct 14, 2026
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Data as of Oct 14, 2026A topic in Government Permitting & Code Enforcement Software.
Reviewed by Dimitry Apollonsky
Mentioned in · Jul 7 – Oct 14, 2026
ChatGPT SearchOct 14, 2026
What you're looking for is concurrent electronic plan review software. It allows Fire, Planning, Building, Zoning, and Engineering to review and mark up the same digital plan set at the same time, rather than passing it from one department to another sequentially.
I found several software platforms that specifically support this workflow. For a municipality trying to shorten permit turnaround times, I'd start with e-PlanSoft, Avolve ProjectDox, and Accela, then compare them with options that fit your existing permitting system.
(Strongest direct match)
A purpose-built electronic plan review system. Supports simultaneous departmental reviews, shared markups, document versioning, standard comment libraries, and consolidated correction reports. It can integrate with existing permitting systems.
Best for: Cities that want to improve plan review without necessarily replacing their entire permitting platform.
A mature option for complex municipal workflows. Supports parallel reviews across Building, Planning, Fire, Engineering, and Public Works, with automated routing, version comparisons, audit trails, and workload tracking.
Best for: Cities with high permit volumes, complex projects, or many reviewing departments.
Combines plan review with a broader permitting platform. Multiple departments can review the same application concurrently, with shared records, annotations, approval tracking, and applicant status visibility.
Best for: Municipalities considering an integrated permitting and workflow solution, rather than only a plan review add-on.
Connects digital submissions, departmental circulation, Bluebeam markups, document comparisons, and approval tracking in a municipal workflow.
Best for: Cities that want plan review integrated with development applications and permit issuance.
Offers online drawing review, simultaneous reviewers, digital redlining, and Bluebeam Revu integration. Its compatibility with existing permitting software makes it worth considering.
Best for: Agencies looking to add electronic review to their current permitting setup.
| Capability | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Parallel routing | Fire, Planning, and Building receive assignments simultaneously, not sequentially. |
| Live shared markups | Reviewers can see comments and redlines from other departments without merging separate PDFs manually. |
| One consolidated correction letter | Applicants receive coordinated feedback instead of conflicting or duplicate comments. |
| Version control and overlays | Staff can compare resubmitted plans against the previous version and avoid reviewing outdated sheets. |
| Integration with your current permitting software |
These capabilities are supported across several of the platforms above, although the exact workflow and integration options need to be verified in a vendor demonstration.
One additional option is Bluebeam Revu with Studio Sessions. It supports simultaneous markup of PDF plans, and the City of Las Vegas used it to enable concurrent reviews across departments. However, Bluebeam alone is primarily a document collaboration tool, not a complete municipal permitting and routing system.
Start by requesting demos of e-PlanREVIEW and ProjectDox. Add Accela if you are considering replacing or substantially upgrading your overall permitting platform.
During each demo, ask the vendor to demonstrate one real permit moving through all three departments at once, including conflicting comments, consolidated corrections, resubmission, and final approval. Ask for references from cities of a similar size and evidence of actual reductions in review-cycle time.
One question that would help me narrow this down: What permitting software does your building department use today?
For example, Accela, Tyler EnerGov, CityView, a homegrown system, or mostly paper and PDFs. That will help determine which option is most likely to reduce delays without creating a costly system replacement.
Google AI ModeOct 14, 2026
To eliminate sequential bottlenecks and allow simultaneous multi-department reviews (building, planning, fire, and engineering), modern electronic plan review (EPR) platforms use concurrent cloud markup spaces and automated routing.[](https://www.municipalsoftware.com/electronic-plans-review/)[[2](https://www.govbuilt.com/product-features/integrated-plan-review)](https://www.govbuilt.com/product-features/integrated-plan-review/)
Top software solutions specifically built or integrated for concurrent municipal plan review include:
ChatGPT SearchOct 14, 2026
Yes. What you’re looking for is called concurrent electronic plan review: a digital permitting workflow where Fire, Planning, and Building can all review and mark up the same set of plans at the same time, rather than waiting for each department to finish before passing the documents along.
Several platforms specifically support this approach. The key is choosing one that combines shared markups with parallel departmental workflows, revision tracking, and consolidated comments so you can reduce delays without losing accountability.
(Strong direct fit)
A dedicated electronic plan review system that supports simultaneous reviews, shared annotations, comment libraries, document versioning, and consolidated correction reports. It can also integrate with permitting systems.
Google AI ModeOct 14, 2026
ChatGPT SearchOct 14, 2026
For a municipality looking to reduce permit processing times, I would focus on collaborative electronic plan review (ePlan) platforms that allow fire prevention, planning and zoning, and building plan reviewers to work on the same digital submission at the same time, rather than routing paper plans or PDFs sequentially between departments.
The biggest gains usually come from five capabilities:
The important distinction is that a digital document viewer alone is not enough. You want a permitting workflow platform with coordinated, multi-department review.
These are the strongest candidates to evaluate based on their published capabilities for multi-department plan review.
Google AI ModeOct 14, 2026
| Avoid duplicating application records or replacing a system that already works. |
| Turnaround-time dashboards | Identify which department or review stage is holding up permits. |
If you'd like to narrow this down, let me know:
Best if you want to modernize plan review without necessarily replacing your existing permitting software.
A broader government permitting platform with concurrent reviews across Fire, Planning, Public Works, and other departments. It tracks comments and approvals within a shared application record.
Best if you also want to improve application intake, permit tracking, and approvals in one system.
Supports parallel routing to relevant departments, digital redlines, code-linked comments, version comparison, and an applicant portal for reviewing consolidated feedback. It also offers AI-assisted plan checks.
Best if you want to explore a modern, cloud-based workflow with AI-assisted review features.
The biggest improvement usually comes from changing the workflow from sequential to parallel review.
Sequential review
Building
Fire
Planning
Each department waits for the previous one.
Concurrent digital review
One shared plan set
Building
Fire
Planning
All three can review simultaneously, with comments consolidated for the applicant.
Accela publishes a customer example from Manatee County, Florida, reporting that single-family home plan reviews dropped from seven days to three when multiple reviewers could work on the same record simultaneously. That is a useful example, not a guarantee of similar results for your jurisdiction.
Start by evaluating e-PlanREVIEW and GovWell if you primarily want collaborative plan review, and include Accela if you're considering a broader permitting-system upgrade.
During demos, ask each vendor to demonstrate:
One question will help me narrow this down considerably: Are you currently using permitting software that you want to keep, or are you open to replacing the entire system?
Yes, modern electronic plan review (EPR) software for local governments is specifically designed to replace the old sequential "bucket brigade" (passing a physical folder or separate PDFs from department to department) with parallel, concurrent multi-department reviews.[](https://geocivix.com/electronic-plan-review-software-for-local-government/)[[2](https://govwell.com/plan-review)](https://govwell.com/plan-review)
With these platforms, fire, planning, zoning, building, and engineering can all access, comment on, and mark up the exact same master document at the same time. When everyone finishes, the system typically consolidates all markups and correction letters into a single unified response for the applicant.[](https://govwell.com/plan-review)[[2](https://govwell.com/plan-review)](https://geocivix.com/electronic-plan-review-software-for-local-government/)
Top platforms that support simultaneous, multi-department digital plan markup include:
If you'd like to narrow down which tool fits your municipality best, let me know:
1. ProjectDox — Best starting point for complex municipal reviews
(Top shortlist)
Designed for government plan review involving building, fire, planning, engineering, public works, and other departments. Supports configurable parallel workflows, task assignments, reminders, applicant corrections, and review analytics. It can integrate with existing permitting systems.
Best for: Cities and counties that want a dedicated plan-review platform without necessarily replacing their permitting system.
2. e-PlanREVIEW — Best for shared markups and consolidated corrections
Reviewers from different departments can mark up plans simultaneously, use standardized comment libraries, track document versions, and generate consolidated correction reports. The vendor also offers integrations with permitting systems.
Best for: Departments that want a dedicated collaboration and review tool with less manual comment consolidation.
3. Accela Building — Best for end-to-end permitting
Combines permitting workflows with concurrent plan review across departments. Reviewers can access a shared record, track annotations and approvals, and coordinate the review process within a broader municipal permitting platform.
Best for: Municipalities seeking to improve the entire permit lifecycle, not just the drawing-review stage.
4. Tyler Technologies eReviews — Best for integrated workflows and accountability
Offers browser-based plan administration, digital markups and approval stamps, revision overlays, version control, audit trails, and departmental permissions.
A Tyler case study reports that San Luis Obispo County reduced overall permit processing times by 60% using eReviews and collaborative review. That's a customer-reported result, not a guarantee of what your jurisdiction would achieve.
Best for: Agencies that already use Tyler's permitting ecosystem or want a connected community-development platform.
5. Bluebeam Revu and Studio Sessions — Best for real-time PDF markup
Enables multiple reviewers to collaborate on PDF drawings in shared sessions, with drawing markups and revision comparisons. It can also work alongside a dedicated permitting or plan-review system.
Best for: A lower-disruption option when your departments already have a permit tracking system but need better drawing collaboration.
A further option is SagesGov Electronic Plan Review, which advertises simultaneous review by multiple users and integration with Bluebeam Revu. It's worth including if you want to retain your current permitting system. Product information.
| Capability | ProjectDox | e-PlanREVIEW | Accela | Tyler eReviews | Bluebeam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concurrent departmental review | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, for shared PDF sessions |
| Shared drawing markups | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Permit workflow and routing | Configurable | Integration-dependent | Integrated | Integrated | Usually needs another system |
| Version comparison | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Consolidated corrections | Supported | Yes | Workflow-dependent | Workflow-dependent | More manual |
| Permit-cycle analytics | Yes | Review logs and tracking | Yes | Yes | Limited on its own |
Comparison based on published vendor capabilities; specific features, integrations, licensing, and configuration depend on the product edition and implementation.
I would narrow the initial evaluation to three options:
Before selecting a vendor, ask each to demonstrate the same real-world workflow: a commercial building permit that requires building-code review, fire/life-safety review, and planning/zoning review.
Use this checklist when evaluating vendors.
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Establish a baseline before implementation, then measure:
A key operational change is to run reviews in parallel, with clear deadlines and a coordinated resolution process for conflicting comments. Software enables this process, but staffing, application completeness, and review policies also affect the outcome.
What permitting software does your municipality currently use, if any?
For example, Accela, Tyler EnerGov, CityView, another system, or a mostly manual process. That will help determine whether you should add an electronic plan-review tool to your existing system or consider a broader platform.
To eliminate the bottlenecks of sequential, paper-based, or siloed routing (where the fire department waits on planning, which waits on building), modern electronic plan review (EPR) software utilizes concurrent multi-departmental workflows . This allows all departments to review, markup, and comment on the exact same digital plan set simultaneously.[](https://www.avolvesoftware.com/projectdox/)[[2](https://govwell.com/plan-review)](https://govwell.com/plan-review)[[3](https://www.municipalsoftware.com/electronic-plans-review)](https://www.municipalsoftware.com/electronic-plans-review/)
The primary software solutions utilized by local governments to achieve simultaneous cross-departmental collaboration include:
If you'd like to narrow down these options, let me know:
I can help you evaluate whether a native add-on or a standalone enterprise solution fits your infrastructure best.
