Applicant FAQs
Make sure to bring in the required number of hard copies of everything we send back to you (if applicable) to the municipality so they can then ensure you have everything in order including any local requirements (i.e., zoning, historical, building board approvals, etc..) so permits can be issued and you may start construction!
Before any work can be issued a permit, especially for commercial structures, first a plan review must be performed to ensure code compliance! Our Company, E-Plan Exam, has partnered with the municipalities to achieve local delegation at the municipal level where E-Plan Exam can then do your review!
Mostly the program that we initiated in partnership with the communities matches the states fees with a couple exceptions. Our goal is simply to have it so straight forward for you that all you need to do is change the name on who you are making payment out to.
We guarantee to all our municipal partners, in contract, that we will not exceed 15 business days for any plan review! Now this does not mean or translate that you will be able to automatically start work in 15 days as you may need to do some more items at the local level. Likewise, if we request additional information because something does not appear code compliant, that 15-day clock restarts.
We operate off a first come first serve basis. No appointments required! If you have a large project coming soon, we always appreciate a heads up so we can walk you through the process!
We greatly prefer submission of all plans electronically. However, for municipal record retention, so you are aware, after we grant conditional approval – a standard condition of approval is that you must submit a copy of your plans to the community. Some communities request at least 2 (sometimes 3) hard copies of plans to the community prior to permit release – some will operate with electronic plans. Its based on each individual community and we will let you know at the time of approval what steps come next.
Likewise, we can and still accept paper plan submissions. However, so you are aware, over the last two years since moving to allow for electronic submissions, based on logistics alone, we estimate that your plans will take at least 7-9 calendar days longer to get back to you. We recommend and greatly appreciate when you submit to us electronically but understand if you need to submit via paper and will accommodate your request.
When we get the plans, the one thing you will probably immediately notice is that you will NOT get an immediate payment link to pay for the review. This is because our staff reviews each plan set to ensure that we have enough to go on to verify the plan review fees. From there our staff will reach out with confirmation on what the fees are and present options for payment.
Additionally, while that is happening, once you hit submit – you instantly are put into our queue. From there a plan reviewer will be assigned to your project and will reach out to your primary/secondary contacts you designate to verify what, if anything, additional is required before we can move to granting conditional approval.
Once your plans are conditionally approved and all fees paid, if you submitted via electronically, we transmit all the documents back to you for your records so you can obtain permits. If you submitted through paper submission, we bring everything back to that municipalities’ offices directly. From there, the municipality will be the ones that you will need to coordinate with in order to verify what, if anything, additional is required before your ability to start work!
No! You need to make sure to obtain full permission and permits from the municipality prior to starting any form of construction. aside from simple code compliance, you need to verify what additional is required at the local level from Historic Preservation, building boards, zoning approvals, public works/engineering, water department, etc.
Yes. We do offer an expedited priority plan review option. This option essentially doubles the base plan review fee and puts it to the front of the line. We try our best to handle these reviews within approximately a week from receipt of a complete submittal.
Yes.
If you have a question on payment status, how to make a payment or need anything additional from us – please contact us a info@eplanexam.com.
No, just reach back out to your reviewer directly to provide our team with revisions.
We do our best to match what the state requires through statutory and administrative code references as well as department interpretations, so you have as smooth of an experience with us as possible while still ensuring code compliance.
Check out our Plan Review Application Checklist below for more information!
At this point in time, our reviewers all work remotely. However, should you desire, you can drop all payments off at our UPS mailbox located at:
E-Plan Exam
12605 W. North Ave., #189
Brookfield, WI 53005
Typically, municipalities in the state of Wisconsin are bound by what is called a Certified Municipality status – meaning they really can’t do reviews on new construction over 50,000 cubic feet in volume – and even then, it is only for building and HVAC.
In our operations, to the best of our ability, we ensure that when we partner with a municipality for a trade (Building, HVAC, Plumbing, Fire Alarm, Fire Sprinkler) we apply for full-fledged delegation to do plan reviews of unlimited size structures so that way you don’t have to worry about if we can or can’t do the review. We never apply for just small scale plan review authority.
Our staff comes from a diverse expertise ranging from the tallest structures in the state, the most complicated projects, to the simple remodels. Our goal is that 50,000 cubic feet in volume threshold for plan review limitations is out the window when you see E-Plan Exam.
Yes. At this moment in time the following items need to be reviewed by the state:
- Anything requiring DHS plan review and approval
- Plumbing engineered systems (this includes Provent)
- Variances* (some communities may have this – check with us first)
Great question.
For years, decades even, going through the State for plan review has become our norm. most communities have no idea this is available to them as an option to take it back in house or what’s required to do it. And even then, as of today we can only identify a handful of communities in the State of Wisconsin that have full-fledged authority across the board for unlimited size structures for Building, HVAC, Plumbing, Fire Alarm and Fire Sprinkler plan reviews. We are always looking to expand, and if nothing else we are more than willing to help a municipality explore what it will take to do this.
This program does the following for communities when partnered with us:
- Re-directs revenue to them that they have never seen before.
- A portion of all fees we receive is set aside for scholarships within the communities we serve – something that isn’t happening today.
- It allows the communities to better enable and have a direct hand in the development process within their community by consolidating the entire review process rather than having to rely upon an external entity.
Municipality FAQs
Of the 1,000+ municipalities in the state, only a small fraction of them can review building plans of unlimited size. And even less of those communities can do full-fledged Building, HVAC, Fire Alarm, Fire Sprinkler and Plumbing plan reviews. Our service offering is twofold:
- We can either serve as a backup plan review service to what you already have in place
- Help you in achieving full delegation across the board
The way which we typically structure our fees result in a net revenue generator for the municipality. We typically operate off a percent fee split of the plan review fees – and from our portion we handle any logistics or incidental state fees required from the program.
When working in partnership with E-Plan Exam, our mission is to provide you and your team with full visibility into our system so that way you and your team can see everything that we are working on at any point in time. This access can also extend to mobile tablets for your team to access in the field.
Yes, there are fees owed to the State of Wisconsin as part of the delegated and appointed agent program, but as part of our contracts, for the reviews we perform we take the responsibility of handling those fee payments to preserve the program within the communities we serve.
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