Do I need a survey or just a site plan?

For most residential permits — decks, sheds, additions — a site plan is sufficient. A full boundary survey is usually only required for new construction, boundary disputes, or where local rules specifically demand it.

Can I draw my own site plan for a permit?

Yes. Most jurisdictions accept an owner-drawn site plan as long as it is to scale, shows accurate property lines, and labels the setback distances. The challenge is accuracy — hand-drawn boundaries are the most common cause of rejection.

What is the difference between a site plan and a plot plan?

They are often the same thing. Some jurisdictions use 'plot plan' for a simpler lot-and-building drawing, but for permit purposes the two terms usually refer to the same submission — a scaled drawing showing the work location and distances to the property lines.

How much does a site plan cost?

Drawing it yourself is free but time-consuming. Hiring it out often runs $300 to $600 at retail — though much of that is markup layered on a drawing that may have started as a sub-$150 draft passed through a reseller. Generating one directly from county parcel data cuts out the middle layer.

How long does a site plan take?

By hand, hours. Outsourced, days to weeks. Generated from parcel data, a few minutes.

How do I make a site plan myself?

Get your property boundary from the county parcel record, deed, or an existing survey; pick a scale (1 inch = 20 feet is common); draw the property lines to scale; add existing structures; place the proposed work and label the distance from it to each property line; then finish with a north arrow, scale notation, and the property address. A parcel-data generator automates the boundary and scaling steps, which is where hand-drawn plans usually fail.

What Is a Site Plan? Definition, How to Make One & Requirements

A site plan is a scaled, top-down (bird's-eye) drawing of a property that shows the location of buildings, structures, and site features relative to the property lines. For permitting, it maps where existing and proposed work sits on the lot — the structure's footprint, its distance to each property line (setbacks), and nearby features like the driveway, patio, sidewalk, and utilities. It's the drawing a permit office uses to confirm that what you're building is where you say it is, and that it complies with local zoning.

A site plan is not an engineering survey or a topographic map. It doesn't require grade elevations, soil data, or licensed-surveyor stamps in most residential cases. It answers one question for the reviewer: where on this lot is the work, and does it clear the setbacks?

What a site plan shows

A permit-ready site plan typically includes:

Property lines — the legal boundary of the parcel, drawn to scale
Setbacks — the required distance between structures and each property line (front, rear, side), set by local zoning
Existing structures — the house, garage, and anything already on the lot
Proposed work — the new deck, shed, addition, pool, or other structure, with its footprint and dimensions
Distances to property lines — measured from the proposed work to each boundary
Site features — driveway, walkways, patio, fences, and easements where relevant
A north arrow and scale — so the reviewer can orient and measure the drawing
Address and parcel information — identifying the specific lot

Not every jurisdiction wants every element. A shed permit in one county may need far less than a room addition in another — but property lines, the proposed work, and setback distances are near-universal.

When you need a site plan

Most residential building permits that add or change a structure's footprint require a site plan. Common triggers:

Decks and porches
Sheds and detached garages
Room additions and expansions
Pools and hot tubs
Fences (in some jurisdictions)
Driveways and curb cuts
Egress windows and below-grade work (to show location on the lot)

If your local building department asks you to "submit a site plan" with your permit application, they mean this drawing — work location, distances to property lines, and nearby features. They are generally not asking for engineer-grade topography.

Site plan vs. plot plan vs. survey

These terms overlap and are often used interchangeably, which causes confusion:

Site plan

Shows proposed and existing structures on the lot, with setbacks. The standard permit submission for most residential work.

Plot plan

Frequently used to mean the same thing. Some jurisdictions use "plot plan" for a simpler drawing showing just the lot and building placement.

Survey

A legally precise measurement of the property boundary, prepared and stamped by a licensed surveyor. More rigorous and more expensive — usually only required for boundary disputes, new construction, or specific jurisdictional rules.

For most deck, shed, and addition permits, what the office calls a "site plan" (or "plot plan") is the drawing you need — not a full survey.

How to get a site plan

There are three common routes:

1 Draw it yourself by hand

Free, but slow and error-prone. Getting the property lines to scale and the setbacks accurate by hand is where most DIY submissions get rejected.

2 Hire it out — and pay for the markups

A drafter, architect, or engineer can produce one, but the retail price often reflects a chain of markups, not the actual work. A drawing that starts as a sub-$150 draft frequently reaches the end user at $300–$600, because it passes through a middle layer — someone buys drafts in bulk, marks them up, and resells. You're often paying two markups on a drawing that takes minutes to produce.

3 Generate one from parcel data

Tools now pull the property boundary directly from county GIS records and let you place the proposed work to scale, producing a permit-ready PDF in minutes. Because you're pulling the authoritative county geometry, the middle layer disappears — no bulk-draft markup, no reseller margin. Faster than outsourcing, more accurate than drawing by hand.

Weighing routes 2 and 3? Our site plan creator comparison puts the main DIY tools and done-for-you services side by side on price, turnaround, CAD files, and the refund fine print.

How to make a site plan, step by step

Whichever route you choose, every permit-ready site plan comes together the same way. If you're making one yourself, work through these steps in order:

1. Get your property boundary. The accurate source is your county's parcel record (GIS), your deed's legal description, or an existing survey — not a guess from the fence line. This is the step where hand-drawn plans go wrong.
2. Pick a scale and sheet size. Common residential choices are 1" = 20' on letter or 11×17 paper. Write the scale on the sheet — reviewers measure against it.
3. Draw the property lines to scale. Every boundary segment, at its true length and bearing, forming the closed parcel shape.
4. Add existing structures. The house, garage, sheds, driveway, and walkways — each in its actual position, labeled.
5. Place the proposed work and dimension the setbacks. Draw the new deck, shed, addition, or pool at its footprint size, then label the measured distance from the work to each property line. These setback dimensions are what the reviewer checks first.
6. Finish the sheet. North arrow, scale notation, the property address and parcel number, and a label distinguishing proposed work from existing structures. Some offices also want a title block.

A parcel-data generator does steps 1–3 automatically — the boundary arrives to scale from county records — leaving you steps 4–6 with drag-and-drop placement. That's the whole reason the DIY-tool route takes minutes instead of an afternoon; you can try it on the free 30-day trial.

Common reasons site plans get rejected

Permit reviewers reject site plans for predictable reasons:

Not to scale — a reviewer can't measure setbacks on a drawing that isn't scaled
Missing setback dimensions — distances to property lines not shown or not labeled
Wrong or missing property lines — freehand boundaries that don't match the parcel
Missing north arrow or scale bar
Proposed work not clearly distinguished from existing structures
Jurisdiction-specific formatting — some offices require specific title-block or sheet-size formats

Getting the property boundary right and labeling every setback distance clears the most common rejections.

PlotForge™ generates permit-ready, to-scale site plans from real county GIS parcel data. Enter an address, place your proposed work, and export a permit-ready PDF in minutes — with the property lines pulled straight from county records, not traced by hand.

See how it works →