My experience is that more and more municipalities will not review the drawings until the fees are paid. This is due to their own budget shortfalls. Also, our liability insurance provider has instructed us to not pay for fees and to always write our contracts with the terms "we will submit on behalf of the Owner" in order to help ensure the Owner knows the submission is their own. However, when submitting to certain entities such as the State Fire Marshal or Health Department we will pay the review fee but have that listed as a reimbursable expense in our contract. Finally, in TN to obtain a building permit contractors must submit various documents including workers compensation insurance and their license information before a permit is issued.
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Wayne Oakley AIA
Architect/Partner
Whitehead + Oakley + Dunlap + Bumpas, LLC
Smyrna TN
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