15.1 Approvals & Permitting: Obtaining Project Approvals

15.1 Obtaining Project Approvals

Quick Answer: Project approvals are the formal owner sign-offs that authorize the designer to proceed at each phase boundary. The five critical approval gates are budget approval, schematic design sign-off, design development sign-off, construction document sign-off, and building permit issuance. No phase work should begin until the prior phase is approved in writing.

Approvals are the checkpoints that keep a project aligned with owner intent, budget, and code compliance. On the IDPX, approvals are tested as a workflow: each gate must close before the next opens, and every approval must be documented in writing.

Why Approvals Matter

Approvals protect three interests simultaneously. They protect the owner from paying for work that drifts from intent. They protect the designer from scope creep and liability for unapproved decisions. And they protect the contractor from building something the owner has not authorized. An approval is a contractually meaningful event, not a courtesy email.

Types of Project Approvals

Budget Approvals

The owner approves the project budget at defined milestones. Initial budget authorization typically occurs before schematic design begins, when the scope is clear enough to price. A refined budget approval occurs at the end of design development, when major systems and finishes are selected. The final construction budget is locked when the construction contract is signed. Designers must not proceed into a phase that will exceed an unapproved budget.

Design-Phase Sign-Offs

Each design phase ends with a formal client sign-off. The three standard design-phase approvals are:

Sign-off should be a written acceptance, often using a one-page approval form the owner signs and dates. Verbal approvals are not defensible—an email saying "looks good" is weaker than a signed form and weaker still than a verbal okay.

Building Permit Approval

The Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) reviews the permit drawing set for code compliance and, when satisfied, issues the building permit. Permit approval is the legal authorization to begin construction. The designer typically prepares and submits the permit application; the contractor often pulls (picks up) the permit and pays the fee, depending on the contract form and local practice.

Change Approvals

During construction, every change to the contract—scope, cost, or schedule—requires owner approval before it is implemented. Changes are documented through bulletins, construction change directives (CCD), or change orders, covered in Section 15.4. The designer's role is to document and price the change; only the owner can authorize the cost.

Schedule Approvals

The owner approves the project schedule at the start of construction and approves schedule revisions whenever a change extends the contract time. The designer reviews schedule impacts but does not produce the construction schedule—that is the contractor's responsibility under AIA A201 General Conditions.

Critical Sign-Off Stages

The critical sign-off stages, in order, are:

1. Owner budget authorization — before SD work begins
2. Schematic design approval — owner accepts the concept and preliminary budget
3. Design development approval — owner accepts systems, finishes, and refined budget
4. Construction document approval — owner accepts the final design and authorizes bidding
5. Bid/contract award — owner accepts the contractor and the construction budget
6. Building permit issuance — AHJ authorizes construction
7. Change order approvals — owner authorizes each scope/cost/time change during construction
8. Substantial completion — owner accepts the finished work

Skipping or rushing a sign-off is the most common source of scope disputes and change-order claims.

Approval Authority by Role

The approval-authority table is a useful IDPX reference: each approval type maps to exactly one party who can grant it, and confusion between roles is a common exam trap.

Exam Scenario

A client calls and asks you to start drafting construction documents while they "think about" the DD sign-off. The correct response is to pause: proceeding into CDs without DD approval exposes you to rework if the owner rejects the DD direction, and it weakens your position if a change-order dispute arises later. The IDPX rewards the designer who protects phase boundaries and documents every approval in writing.

Key Reminders

• Every approval must be written and dated.
• The owner is the only party who can approve cost.
• The AHJ is the only party who can approve construction (the permit).
• The designer approves design intent conformance in submittals, not the budget.
• Phase boundaries are the designer's strongest protection against scope creep.