Planning and Building Department
250 Frank Ogawa Plaza, 2
nd
Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
10/14/2015
Recommended General Standards for Drawings
Submitted with Building Permit Applications
Requiring Plan Check
If these recommended standards are followed, it will speed the permit and plan check process, provide for more durable jobsite copies, aid the
department when adding standard sized City information sheets and reduce problems during construction.
NOT ACCEPTABLE
1. DRAWINGS LESS THAN 18” X 24” (or set with more than 4 sheets of 8 ½” x 11” or 11” x 17”. Smaller drawings make plan
checking more time consuming and difficult, are more easily lost or damaged, lack of room for borders results in poor copies and lost
information, and tendency to omit information if there is a lack of drawing space.) OR LARGER THAN 36” X 48” (too large to
handle in plan check cubicles).
2. XEROXED COPIES (not durable for job site).
3. ORIGINAL DRAWINGS (can be easily altered during permit issuance).
4. DIFFERENT SIZE SHEETS IN A DRAWING SET (except survey and/or plot plan may be different size from the other
drawings if they are the same size as each other).
5. DRAWINGS TAPED TOGETHER, OR SHEETS WITH SMALLER DRAWINGS TAPED, STAPLED, OR PASTED ON
(these are not durable and will tend to get torn or ripped off).
6. DRAWINGS WITH INFORMATION ADDED IN RED EXCEPT BY CITY STAFF.
7. DRAWING SHEETS WITHOUT BORDERS OR WITH INFORMATION CROSSING OVER BORDERS (information may
be lost due to misalignment when having copies made at the printer).
8. DRAWINGS WITH LETTERING LESS THAN 1/8 INCH HIGH OR ILLEGIBLE LETTERING (not suitable for
microfilming or making reduced size copies).
9. UNBOUND, UNSTAPLED DRAWING SETS
10. DRAWINGS WITHOUT TITLES, PERTINENT ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBERS, OR WITHOUT PREPARER’S
WET SIGNATURE ON EACH SHEET
11. POOR QUALITY BLUELINE OR BLACKLINE COPIES WITH POOR CONTRAST OR DIRTY BACKGROUND.
REQUIREMENTS
ACCEPTABLE SHEET SIZE: 22” x 34” or 24” x 36” is preferred. 18” x 24” minimum, 36” x 48” maximum. Drawings should be
standard drawing size: 18” x 24”, 22” x 34”, 24” x 36”, 18” x 24”, 30” x 42”, or 36” x 48”. Sets of 4 or less 8 ½” x 11” or 11” x 17”
are not desirable, but will be taken in.
If drawings were done at a smaller size (11” x 17” or 8 ½” x 11”), applicant can “paste up” to a standard size and have a Xerox vellum
master run at a printing company. These can be used to make the bluelines or blacklines prior to submitting for permit.
Standard size bluelines of odd-sized originals are acceptable if all information is shown on the blueline.
BORDER REQUIREMENTS: 1 ½” minimum at left-hand bound edge, ½” minimum elsewhere; each sheet should have borderlines.
TITLE BLOCK REQUIREMENT: Each sheet shall have title block indicating (1) Project title and address; (2) Owner’s name,
mailing address, daytime phone and fax number; (3) drawing preparer’s name, address, daytime phone and fax number; (4) pertinent
Consultant’s name(s), mailing address, phone and fax number(s): (5) sheet number of total number or sheets (i.e.: 1 of 7, 2 of 7, etc.);
(6) revision number, and (7) indication of latest date of preparation, printing.
