/25Toronto Building Permit Pre-Check
Toronto now offers a voluntary AI building-permit pre-check through CivCheck. See what it asks for, what it checks, and when a private first pass can still be useful.
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Toronto Building Permit Pre-Check
Toronto now offers a voluntary AI building-permit pre-check through CivCheck. See what it asks for, what it checks, and when a private first pass can still be useful.
Start here
6 min
Toronto’s official AI pre-check is free and should be your City-facing source of truth. If you want to inspect a supported interior-alteration package before creating a CivCheck project, you can run a narrower private first pass first.
Leave knowing / Know whether to go straight to Toronto’s free pre-check or run a private package pass first
What changed
Toronto launched a voluntary AI-assisted permit pre-check.
The City of Toronto now offers a voluntary Building Permit Application Pre-Check hosted on CivCheck. For eligible residential projects, the official tool can flag missing plans, forms or supporting documents, incomplete or inconsistent information, some zoning or Ontario Building Code issues, and electronic-submission problems before formal submission.
The official pre-check is free. It does not approve a permit or replace City staff review, and completing it does not formally submit the application.
Use Toronto’s tool when you want the official City-facing pre-check. Do not pay us for something the City already gives you free.
Before you start CivCheck
Get the package into reviewable shape first.
Confirm that your project is eligible for Toronto’s AI pre-check pilot.
Read the City application guide for your exact project type.
Gather the plans, forms and supporting documents the guide calls for.
Use readable, unlocked PDFs. Password-protected files cannot be reviewed by the City tool.
Use the most current version of every document.
Have the property address, permit type and expected submission date ready for the CivCheck project.
Treat every automated finding as advisory until Toronto Building or a qualified professional confirms it.
Pick the right first step
Toronto’s pre-check and Permit are not the same job.
| Option | Best for | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto / CivCheck | The official City-facing AI pre-check for an eligible residential project. | Free. Requires a CivCheck account and project information, and produces a City pre-check report and ID. |
| Permit / We Make Stupid | A private first pass on one supported small-residential interior-alteration package before you create the City project. | CAD $29 for 30 days. Narrower scope. No Permit account or property address is requested by the checker. It does not produce a City pre-check ID. |
| Qualified professional | Design, code, zoning, engineering or legal questions that need professional judgment. | Use the professional appropriate to the issue. Neither automated tool is a professional opinion or permit approval. |
The privacy difference
A private first pass can be useful before the City workflow.
Toronto says CivCheck asks a new user for name, email and role, then asks for project name, property address, permit type and expected submission date. Its notice says account information and application records from the AI Pre-Check are provided to the City.
Permit is intentionally narrower. The checker itself does not ask for a property address or City project profile. Its application code reads the uploaded searchable PDF in memory and records aggregate run signals rather than the document text in its Permit telemetry. Stripe still handles the payment and customer details needed for a paid pass.
The paid value is privacy and a repeatable first pass, not superior authority.
A sensible sequence
Private first pass, official pre-check, formal submission.
1. Assemble the package.
Use Toronto’s current application guide and make the PDF readable before any automated review.
Output / A reviewable package
2. Optional: run a private first pass.
If you want to catch obvious package gaps before creating the CivCheck project, Permit can check its supported interior-alteration scope and let you re-check revisions for 30 days.
Output / A narrower preparation pass
3. Use Toronto’s free AI pre-check.
For an eligible project, run the official CivCheck workflow and address its findings.
Output / The City-facing pre-check report and ID
4. Formally submit to Toronto.
The pre-check itself is not the permit application. Complete the City submission process and rely on Toronto Building for the decision.
Output / A formally submitted application
Official sources
Optional private first pass / Permit
CAD $29 / 30 days / supported interior alterations only
Check the package before you create the City project.
Permit is a narrower private preparation pass. It does not ask the checker for your property address, does not produce a City pre-check ID, and does not replace Toronto’s free official CivCheck pre-check.
One payment unlocks 30 days of revision checks. If you only want the official City-facing review, use Toronto’s free pre-check instead.
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