Most cities and municipalities require a site plan as part of the permit application for any construction, addition, or planning activity on your property. The site plan allows the permitting agency to verify zoning compliance, setback requirements, and lot coverage limits without physically visiting the site.

Common projects that require a site plan:

• New home construction, additions, and ADUs
• Garages, sheds, decks, patios, pools, and spas
• Fences over a certain height
• Solar installations and septic permits
• Driveway permits and business license applications
• Conditional use permits and zoning variance requests

Start by reading your city's permit application packet — it will list the features required for your project type. As a general guide:

• Basic — property boundaries, primary structure, north arrow, scale. Best for simple planning use.
• Medium Detail — adds driveways, secondary structures, fences, trees. Most common for residential permits.
• Detailed — adds landscaping, parking, ingress/egress. Required for most commercial and conditional use permits.

Still unsure? Email us a copy of your city's requirements at siteplan@mysiteplan.com and we'll recommend the right tier.

Most of our customers are in construction, real estate, and landscaping — including general contractors, custom builders, remodelers, pool and fence installers, solar installers, real estate agents, and developers. We also serve many DIY homeowners pulling permits for additions, garages, sheds, decks, pools, fences, and ADUs. We offer a Contractor Program with volume pricing for businesses that order regularly.

The process is entirely online:

• Step 1 — Choose your plan tier (Basic, Medium, or Detailed)
• Step 2 — Enter the property address and any options (vicinity map, topography, non-existing features)
• Step 3 — Check out. Your order is assigned to a qualified drafter
• Step 4 — We draft your plan in AutoCAD, fully scaled and dimensioned
• Step 5 — Receive your PDF within 24 hours (or 12 hours with RUSH)
• Step 6 — Free in-scope revisions until your permit is approved

For a full walkthrough, see our How We Work page.

Yes. We're a U.S.-based company with many clients in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, much of Europe, and other countries where reliable parcel and aerial data is publicly available. If we can't find sufficient data for your property, we issue an immediate full refund.

We aggregate data from multiple authoritative sources to produce a scaled, dimensioned drawing without visiting the property:

• County GIS parcel data (legal boundaries, parcel number, lot dimensions)
• High-resolution satellite imagery from licensed providers
• County tax maps and assessor records
• Recorded plats and deeds when publicly available
• Google Earth Pro for cross-referencing

All data is brought into AutoCAD and drawn to scale. After delivery, you verify dimensions against your own records — we revise the plan free of charge if anything needs adjustment.

Our plans are drawn to scale using GIS parcel data and high-resolution aerial imagery — the same data infrastructure used by county assessors and municipal planning departments. Because we don't visit the property in person, we recommend verifying dimensions against your own measurements, survey, or deed. Mark any discrepancies and we'll update the plan free of charge. For sub-inch accuracy or monument-based coordinates, you'll need a licensed surveyor.

Imagery is generally 1–12 months old, with most properties showing imagery around 3 months old. If you've added or removed a structure within the past 1–3 months, the change may not yet be visible — just mark up the draft and we'll add or remove the feature for free.

All site plans are drafted in AutoCAD, the industry-standard CAD software from Autodesk. AutoCAD lets our drafters work in a precisely scaled environment to professional standards. The native .DWG file is available as a checkout add-on, but it's a technical format — most clients are best served by sending us changes and letting us make the edits free within scope.

In most cases, yes. Before drafting, we check satellite visibility. If structures can't be identified accurately, we offer two options:

• A full refund with no questions asked, or
• You provide approximate dimensions and placement for the obscured structures — a simple sketch with measurements is plenty

We can also work from a previous survey, builder's plans, or property listing.

No, we don't offer site visits. Every plan is drafted remotely from GIS, parcel, and aerial data. If your project requires monument-set property corners or features that aren't visible from above, you'll need a local land surveyor or architect.

Standard orders are delivered within 24 hours, 7 days a week, including weekends and most holidays. The plan is sent as a PDF to the email address you provided at checkout. The RUSH option at checkout guarantees delivery in under 12 hours. Custom hourly work timelines depend on complexity.

If 24 hours pass and you haven't received your plan, check your spam folder first, then email siteplan@mysiteplan.com with your order number.

Select the RUSH option at checkout for delivery within 12 hours, 7 days a week. For anything faster (4–6 hour turnaround), email us before ordering at siteplan@mysiteplan.com. Depending on our queue, we may be able to accommodate it for an additional fee.

Site plans are delivered as a PDF sized to 11" × 17" by default — the standard size accepted by most building departments, with room for stamps and revision marks. If you need a different size (8.5" × 11", 18" × 24", 24" × 36", or custom), select the rescaling option at checkout.

The native AutoCAD source file (.DWG) is available as an add-on at checkout — note that it's intended for qualified AutoCAD users.

We don't mail hard copies, but printing is easy and inexpensive. Use FedEx Office's online print service at fedex.com/office or take the PDF to any local print shop (Staples, FedEx Office, UPS Store) for printing on 11" × 17" paper.

Yes — this is one of the most common reasons people order. After entering the address, select "Add Non-Existing Feature (Structure)" and describe the dimensions and placement. Common additions:

• Sheds, barns, and detached garages
• Fences, pergolas, and covered patios
• Pools, ADUs, and additions
• New homes on vacant lots
• New driveways

Yes — but you'll need to provide the locations. Order the Detailed Site Plan, mark the locations of underground or hidden features on the draft (septic tanks, wells, utility lines, propane tanks, electrical service, fire hydrants), and send it back. We'll add them to the final plan. If you have a utility locate, well log, or septic permit drawing, attach it to your order.

Yes. Check "Add Topographical Lines" at checkout. We use USGS topographic data at 2-foot to 10-foot contour intervals. This is sufficient for most permit applications. For sub-foot accuracy, you'll need a topographic survey from a licensed surveyor.

Yes. Check "Add Vicinity Map" at checkout. A vicinity map is a small inset in the upper corner showing your property in relation to nearby streets. This is different from a radius map, which shows all properties within a set distance (250, 300, or 500 feet) and is usually required for public hearings. For a radius map, fill out our Custom Quote form.

Yes, but because we don't visit the property, you'll need to provide accurate sketches with all dimensions. Email sketches to siteplan@mysiteplan.com — overall dimensions, room sizes, ceiling heights, window/door locations and sizes. We'll send a quote based on complexity.

Yes. In addition to standard site plans, we offer plot plans, 2D and 3D renderings, conceptual designs, floor plans and elevations, vicinity and radius maps, topography overlays, septic system layouts, parking lot designs, and other custom AutoCAD work. Fill out our Custom Quote form with your requirements.

In over 20 years of producing site plans, we have never had one denied for an over-the-counter permit, provided the city did not require a stamp from a licensed surveyor, engineer, or architect. Our plans are non-certified but professionally drafted, scaled, and dimensioned — exceeding requirements at most building departments.

Money-back guarantee: If your city denies our plan for any reason other than requiring a certified stamp, we'll either revise it within scope at no charge or refund your money in full with a copy of the denial letter. See our return policy.

No. We're a drafting company and don't certify plans. Only licensed surveyors, engineers, or registered architects can stamp plans. If your building department requires a stamp, you'll need to hire one of those professionals locally.

No — a site survey requires a licensed land surveyor to physically visit the property and produce a stamped legal document. We don't offer surveying services.

However, terminology varies — some cities use "site plan," "plot plan," "site survey," and "survey" interchangeably. Before assuming you need a full survey, ask your building department: "Will a scaled site plan with property dimensions and structure locations be acceptable, or do you require a stamped survey from a licensed surveyor?"

The Detailed Site Plan is the right choice. Conditional use applications almost always require parking layouts, ingress and egress, full landscaping, and lot coverage calculations — all features only the Detailed plan includes. Many jurisdictions also require a vicinity map (add at checkout) and sometimes a radius map (custom-quoted separately).

Forward us the denial comments and we'll revise within original scope at no charge. If denied a second time for any reason other than requiring a stamped certification, we'll either keep revising or refund in full upon receiving a copy of the denial letter. Common denial reasons we resolve quickly: missing dimensions to property lines, missing setback callouts, missing scale or north arrow, missing easements.

Yes — and revisions within the original scope are always free. We stick with you until your permit is approved. That includes adjusting feature placement, correcting dimensions, adding measurements, repositioning structures, updating labels, and any small fixes from a city's first review.

The only time there's a charge is if you upgrade tiers (e.g., Basic → Detailed) — in which case you only pay the difference between the two plans, not the full upgrade price. Reply to your designer's email or mark up the plan and send it back.

Yes. Our Contractor Program offers volume pricing, faster turnaround on repeat orders, dedicated designer assignment, and net invoicing for businesses that order regularly — general contractors, builders, landscape contractors, pool and fence installers, solar installers, and real estate firms. Email siteplan@mysiteplan.com with your business info.

It depends on order status:

• Before drafting begins: Full refund — email us as quickly as possible
• After drafting starts: Case-by-case, may be partial
• If we can't produce the plan (data unavailable): Automatic full refund
• If your permit is denied for any reason other than requiring a stamp: Full refund with denial letter

See our full Return Policy or email siteplan@mysiteplan.com.

The owner of My Site Plan has over 20 years of experience working for a large contracting and landscaping firm and has drafted thousands of site plans for projects large and small. We're a drafting company first — not software, not a marketplace of freelancers. Every plan is hand-drawn by a qualified human drafter and reviewed before delivery.

Live chat is fastest during business hours (Mon–Fri 8am–11pm PST).

Phone: 1-800-969-6415 (Mon–Fri 8am–4pm PST) or 1-720-400-8899

Email is monitored 7 days a week at siteplan@mysiteplan.com — most responses go out within a few hours.

Tip: For questions about an existing plan, reply directly to the email from your designer — that goes straight to the person who drafted it.