Step-by-Step: Cloudpermit’s Modern Permit Management

Permitting touches many departments—building, licensing, enforcement, and public works—and it’s becoming clear that manual systems create unnecessary bottlenecks in modern communities.

That’s why municipalities of all sizes are upgrading to digital permit management, bringing their departments from manual chaos to digital clarity.

Today’s online permitting software helps local government employees and citizens alike, providing real-time access to information and updates that streamline and expedite the process.

You know how the permitting process has worked for years — now, it’s time to see how things work, step by step, with modern digital permit tracking software.

The Traditional Workflow (and What’s Broken)

Not long ago, paper applications and emails were enough to get the job done. But increasingly complex and urgent needs in today’s towns and cities have changed all that — and if your community is still stuck in past ways, it’s time to join the digital transformation.

The old way of doing permit management is familiar to many municipalities that haven’t yet made the upgrade to modern digital tools:

• Paper forms are the standard, slowing processing and consuming staff time as workers search for the information they need.
• A confusing email approval process makes it hard to know the current status and what remains to be completed.
• Inspectors are occupied with phone calls from citizens, diverting them from their core responsibilities.
• Data is scattered across fragmented PDFs, emails, and spreadsheets.

Cloudpermit’s Modern Permit Management Process

For many years, little changed in permit management. But today’s permit tracking software has revolutionized the process.

1. Complete Application Submission

With a digital workflow, paper applications are a thing of the past. Instead, citizens and contractors use an online portal to enter property information, upload necessary documents and plans, and pay for their permits.

This process reduces confusion and shortens turnaround times by eliminating back-and-forth phone calls, office visits, and emails. Citizens are kept in the loop with automatic status updates that clearly indicate whether any additional information is required before approval.

For staff, this means no longer having to wait for required documentation, payments, or paper forms.

2. Easier Reviews and Routing

The right permit tracking software requires citizens to complete applications before submission, ensuring staff receive applications ready for review with no missing mandatory details or documents.

From there, applications can be filtered and routed by permit type, then sent directly to the team responsible for issuing approvals.

3. Collaborative Plan Reviews

The next step is collaboration, and Cloudpermit’s permit tracking software makes it easier than ever to share information and complete this work quickly.

Everything can happen directly in the platform thanks to Cloudpermit’s seamless local government software integrations with best-in-class plan review and markup tools, including Bluebeam and DigEplan.

That means no more downloading separate files, uploading to third-party services, or uncertainty about the latest plan version. Instead, everything is at your fingertips, all in one place.

4. Streamlined Inspections

The inspection process can make or break an efficient permitting strategy, especially for municipalities with limited staffing and high workloads.

With Cloudpermit’s comprehensive mobile app, Cloudpermit Inspections, this step is easier than ever.

Now, inspectors can complete inspections, record notes, and upload photos right from the field— even without internet or cell service at the site. Once they’re connected again, everything they’ve recorded will automatically sync back to the platform, eliminating the need to re-enter information back in the office.

It’s another way our permit management platform keeps everyone in the loop, with easy access to real-time updates and shared data that improves decision-making across all departments.

5. Faster Final Approval

Once all the reviews and inspections are completed, it’s time for final approval.

This last step confirms everything is in order — plans, reviews, work, and payments.

While the project is now complete, it’s essential to maintain easy access to these records going forward. The right permit tracking software makes this easy by keeping everything available on demand in a centralized archive, with all notes, details, and photos in one place.

Permitting Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated Anymore

Upgrading to a digital platform for permitting and community development benefits everyone involved in the process, from citizens and contractors to staff and internal departments.

Here’s what each stakeholder gains by transforming your permit management workflow:

• Applicants: Clarity about the current status and next steps, and convenience with online applications and payments.
• Staff: Automation that reduces the need for time-consuming administrative work and provides visibility into each step of the process.
• Management: Simplified reporting and improved oversight of decisions that affect the community.

With Cloudpermit’s permit tracking software, your municipality can transition from paper-based processes to modern workflows that benefit everyone.