Early accessYou found us early — Done By the Book is free while we finish testing, and the app tells you plainly what's still being verified.
Get your Calgary basement permit ready
the first time.
Below: everything Calgary asks for, researched from the municipality's own pages. Better: a free tool that reads a photo of your hand-drawn plan and tells you what's missing — before the permit counter does.
Why bother getting it right first
The paperwork is the cheap part
1 in 5
permit applications audited in Toronto were missing required documents at intake — and cities everywhere are cracking down on incomplete files
$1,200–$8,000
what permit consultants and design firms charge to do this thinking for you
$0
to find out if your own drawing is ready — the free tier covers the whole planning stage
Sources: Toronto Auditor General building-permit audit, Feb 2024; published GTA consultant rate guides. Alberta has its own version of the same problem — that's why Calgary's list below matters.
The official list
What Calgary asks for
Researched from calgary.ca on 2026-07-17. Not yet independently verified — requirements change, and the municipality's own page always has the final say. No fees listed on purpose: fee schedules change, so check the municipality's page for current amounts.
- 1
Floor plan
Room layout with each room's use and size, total area being developed, any structural changes, window locations/sizes/how they open, door locations and sizes, and smoke detector, CO detector, and bathroom fan locations.
- 2
Elevation drawings — only if adding exterior doors, windows, or window wells
Building height and width, window dimensions, and any proposed cantilevers, decks, landings, or patios.
- 3
Site plan — only if adding exterior doors, windows, or window wells
Everything labelled existing or proposed; north arrow, address, legal description, property lines, adjacent streets and utilities, yard dimensions, and window wells dimensioned to the property lines.
- 4
Condo Board authorization letter — only if the building has a Condo Board
- 5
Approved Development Permit — only if Land Use Bylaw requirements are not met
- 6
Engineering — may be required for structural changes
- 7
Plumbing permit — required for basement plumbing work, including fixtures on an existing rough-in
Calgary requires a plumbing permit when a plumbing system is constructed, extended or altered. Connecting fixtures to a basement rough-in still adds piping — the trap arms and the water lines — so a rough-in inspected under your home's original construction permit does not remove the requirement. Homeowners doing the work themselves can apply for a homeowner plumbing permit; if you hire a plumber, the contractor applies for it.
- 8
Permit fee
The city's fee schedule is on its permit page.
How to apply
Apply online through the city's ePermit system (apply.calgary.ca).
Here's the part nobody else does
A list is nice. A checked drawing is ready.
Some of the items above have to appear on your drawing; the rest are forms and documents you gather. Missing items — either kind — are exactly how applications bounce. Done By the Book closes that gap in three steps:
Print the free worksheet
A drawing worksheet built for permit drawings — measurement checklist on one side, sketch grid on the other. Pencil and paper. No signup.
Photograph your sketch
Snap it with your phone. The app reads your hand-drawn plan — room labels, dimensions, windows, the works.
See exactly what's missing
A readiness report, item by item, in your municipality's own terms — with where to write each missing thing on your drawing. Fix, re-scan, repeat until it's ready.
Then it walks the whole build with you
The app won't open the construction stage until your permit is issued — on purpose. After that: a stage-by-stage walkthrough in build order, with inspection checkpoints so nothing gets covered up before it's inspected.
And it shops your materials list around
Quantities from your measurements, with previously recorded prices compared across selected retailers for the purchases we can match fairly. Compare one-store and split-store subtotals for those items. Different-sized packs and unclear products are excluded, not priced at zero. This is not the full project cost or a current local quote. Prices read 2026-07-19; confirm products and current prices before buying.
Who inspects in Calgary
City of Calgary Safety Codesmunicipal
Phone: 403-268-5311 · website
Book online at inspections.calgary.ca — requires myID account (phone bookings not accepted)
9 money programs may apply to a Calgary basement or suite project
Legalizing an existing suite? Calgary's fee amnesty runs until December 31, 2026 — and the city's suite incentive (up to $10,000) is now waitlist-only as funding wraps up, so check the live status before you budget. Every program on our list is checked against its official page, with the date shown — including the closed ones that ads still sell. Most of them require a permitted, inspected project, which is exactly what this app gets you.
See the verified money listShow up to the Calgary counter ready
Sketch it tonight, scan it tonight, and know what's missing tonight. Free to start, works on your phone, in 8 languages — and it never pretends to be the municipality: the final say is always theirs.
Start my Calgary project — freeDone By the Book is independent, source-linked guidance for homeowners. It is not affiliated with the municipality and never guarantees approval — it helps you show up prepared. Permits in Alberta are required under the Safety Codes Act before regulated building, electrical, plumbing, gas, and HVAC work.
New to this? The Alberta basement development guide walks the whole journey, start to finish