Shop Drawings for Fire Alarm and Emergency Responder Radio Coverage System

Shop drawings, as defined by the North Carolina Fire Code, apply to issued Commercial Fire Alarm Permits and Fire Emergency Responder Radio Coverage Systems. These permits are linked to development activities involving new construction, changes in use, additions, fit-ups, alterations, repairs, and/or commercial uses.

Fire Alarm Shop Drawings as required per NC Fire Code 907 for Fire Alarm requirements.

Emergency Responder Radio Coverage System (ERRCS) NC Fire Code Section 510 for Emergency Responder Radio Coverage Systems and Technical Bulletin 17.

Before Submitting an Application

1. Detailed code review will not begin until application submittals have been deemed complete by customer service staff. It is important that all required information is submitted for a project, and it is the applicant’s responsibility to be informed of the prerequisites.
2. You must be registered in the permit portal before you can manage your project, pay fees, or schedule inspections. Learn more about how to register on our portal help page.
3. Obtain approved Fire permit drawings. 

Prepare Application Materials

The below application forms and supporting documents are required for this project type:

1. Complete the Shop Drawings for Fire Alarm and Emergency Responder Radio Coverage System Application.
2. Complete plan set of shop drawings.
3. Supporting information such as manufactured cutsheets for all equipment, devices, and materials.

Submittal Instructions

At this step, your application materials should be ready to assemble. Please take note of the instructions below, applications that do not meet these criteria will not be accepted:

1. Only PDF file types will be accepted unless other file types (such as image, Excel, or CAD) are specifically called for as part of the application submittal process.
2. .ZIP files are not allowed.
3. Only one file should be associated with each discrete document included with the application package. For example, if an application requires 1) an application form, 2) a set of plans, and 3) a calculation report, the applicant should transmit these as three separate files.
4. City of Raleigh limits email attachments to 30 MB. To send larger files, you may send a file-sharing link (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.) to a folder with all required documents. Staff must be given direct access to your files and cannot accept links that require access codes, passwords, or logins.
5. Digital plan sets meet the following requirements:
   1. all PDF sheets must be the same size.
   2. minimum size 18"x 24" and cannot exceed size 36"x 24
   3. plan PDFs cannot be secured or locked.

Tips for Submitting Commercial Permit PDF Files:

Initial submittal:

1. One PDF file containing Shop Drawing Application. 
2. One PDF file containing Shop Drawings. 
3. One PDF file or file folder with all other supporting documents (manufactured cutsheets, calculations, etc.).

Resubmittals:

1. One PDF file containing Shop Drawings with corrections
2. One PDF of response to comments 
3. One PDF of supporting documents as needed

All application forms and supporting documents listed above must be attached as PDFs. Please send the entire application packet (with all documents) to commercialbuilding@raleighnc.gov.

Project Review and Permitting

Applicants will be notified by email when a project is processed. Standard review times are available to view online. Plan review comments can be viewed any time via a registered account in the Permit and Development Portal.

Plans that are ready for permit issuance but have incomplete contractor information will be kept at the Planning and Development Customer Service Center for up to six months. After six months, the plans will be considered invalid, and the application will be voided. An administrative fee may be incurred when projects are voided.

Please visit Final Review for more information on final approval and permit issuance requirements. 

Inspections can be scheduled via the permit portal.

Paying Fees

A Plan Review Fee is due prior to project review. All other permit fees are due when permits are ready for pick up.

The Development Fee Guide provides a detailed list of specific development fees.

• It is recommended that fees be paid via the Permit Portal.
• All major credit cards and eCheck payments are accepted.
• If you have questions, please contact the Customer Service Center.

A  fee calculator may be used to obtain an estimate of some building and trade permit fees.