Government permitting software is a specialized digital platform designed to automate, track, and manage the end-to-end lifecycle of regulatory inspections, approvals, and permits. It replaces traditional paper-heavy workflows and siloed legacy programs with a unified, cloud-based framework accessible to both government staff and the general public. These processes can be time- and resource-intensive for local government, and mistakes or delays can be costly. Errors or oversights can result in financial injury to businesses and potential physical injury to residents and visitors, as well as reputational damage to the government agency. Accuracy, timeliness, and convenience are key drivers in selection of this type of government software.

Common permits issued by local government agencies include many types of building permits (construction, fire, engineering, electrical, plumbing, etc.) along with road closures for events and installation of fences and other property alterations. Instead of an applicant physically driving to City Hall to submit paper blueprints, government permitting software digitizes the entire permit process. The most comprehensive permitting solutions for government include four distinct elements:

• The Front-End Public Portal: Homeowners, businesses, and contractors use an online portal to find required applications, calculate real-time fees, upload digital construction plans, and submit documents securely 24/7.
• Back-Office Collaborative Review: The software automatically routes the application to the necessary internal departments (e.g., Planning, Zoning, Fire, and Engineering) simultaneously. Reviewers use built-in electronic plan review tools to cross-reference data and digitally mark-up blueprints collaboratively.
• Mobile Field Inspections: Code enforcement and building inspectors pull up active cases on-site using mobile tablets or phones. They can log inspection passes or failures, pin photos of structural issues, and immediately transmit results back to the office without returning to a desk.
• Issuance & Tracking: Once approvals are met, the platform auto-generates the physical permit, manages upcoming compliance reminders, tracks building data history, and alerts the applicant of structural renewals or expiration dates.

Because permitting is a net-positive revenue generation tool for local government, well-priced permitting solutions can pay for themselves in time and generate resource savings in short time.

MaintStar’s Permitting Module in its Community Development Suite includes all four critical elements of a permitting solution plus integrated GIS mapping, is priced very competitively and highly configurable at no additional cost, and is seamlessly integrated with other MaintStar software solutions. It is also sold as an enterprise software license, supporting agency growth and evolution and providing predictable budgeting.