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 Canmore basement permit ready
the first time.
Below: everything Canmore 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 Canmore's list below matters.
The official list
What Canmore asks for
Researched from canmore.ca on 2026-10-15. 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
Current copy of Certificate(s) of Title
Issued not more than 30 days from the application date.
- 2
Letter of authorization — only if an agent applies for the owner
- 3
Floor plan (scaled in metric)
Property address, the floor's area calculation, door locations and sizes, bathroom fan locations, HVAC (forced-air and return-air locations, and an HRV diagram), a description of all structural changes — including adding new exterior doors or windows, altering load-bearing walls, or adding a beam — and smoke and carbon monoxide detector locations. For a basement the town also asks for geodetic floor elevations and room designations: window locations, sizes and types, and window well locations and sizes, each marked new or existing.
- 4
Site plan (scaled in metric) — only if adding or enlarging a window well or adding an exterior door
Property lines, the outline of the home with its front labelled, and the distances from the property lines to all sides of the home, the window wells, cantilevers (for example a fireplace), air conditioning equipment and landings. Show the sizes of new or existing window wells, exterior doors and landings.
- 5
Elevations (scaled in metric) — only if adding or enlarging a window well or adding an exterior door
The height and width of the home, the dimensions of existing and new windows and exterior doors, and the location of cantilevers, decks and landings. Drawings should be submitted for only the affected sides of the building.
- 6
Application fee
The town notifies you by email of outstanding fees, with payment details. Its building permits page links the fee schedule.
How to apply
Apply through the town's online portal (portal.canmore.ca) — PDF applications by email are no longer accepted. If you're adding an attached accessory dwelling unit in the basement (a second kitchen and bathroom), the checklist asks you to refer to the town's attached accessory dwelling unit list.
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 and sign in — it's free. 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 Canmore
Town of Canmore (gas/plumbing/electrical via Park Enterprises Ltd.)private accredited agency
Phone: 403-678-1543 · website
Building permit applications go through the Town's portal (portal.canmore.ca); building inspections are Tuesdays and Thursdays with 2 business days notice
Inspection agencies can change — confirm the current agency with the municipality before booking.
8 money programs may apply to a Canmore basement or suite project
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 Canmore 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 Canmore 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