Get your Canmore basement permit ready
the first time.
Below: everything Canmore asks for, researched from the city'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 2026-07-18. Not yet independently verified — requirements change, and the city's own page always has the final say. No fees listed on purpose: fee schedules change, so check the city's page for current amounts.
- 1
Current Certificate of Title
Issued no more than 30 days before the application date.
- 2
Letter of authorization — only if an agent applies for the owner
- 3
Scaled metric floor plan
Property address, floor area calculations, door locations and sizes, bathroom fans, forced-air and return-air locations, HRV diagram, description of all structural changes, and smoke and CO detector locations. Basements also need geodetic floor elevations, room designations with window locations, sizes, types (new or existing), and window wells.
- 4
Scaled metric site plan — only when adding or enlarging window wells or exterior doors
- 5
Scaled metric elevations — for affected sides when the exterior changes
- 6
Application fee, payable at application
The town emails payment details; schedule on the town's fees page.
How to apply
Apply through the town's online portal (portal.canmore.ca) — PDF applications by email are no longer accepted.
Here's the part nobody else does
A list is nice. A checked drawing is ready.
Every item above has to actually appear on your drawing — and missing items 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 city'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, priced at real stores from their own listed prices — one-stop totals, plus the cheapest-per-item route. On our test basement it found $703 in savings just by splitting the list across three stores.
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 city: the final say is always theirs.
Start my Canmore project — freeDone By the Book is independent guidance for homeowners, built with certified Alberta safety codes officers. It is not affiliated with the city 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.