Are Your Preapproved ADU Plans Still Current?

Ask for the approval identity

A brochure saying preapproved should lead to a specific program, plan identifier and version. Request that information and compare it with the authority's current materials. Keep the approval identity separate from the vendor's marketing model name so a reviewer can determine which technical package is being proposed.

Ask whether the quoted price includes the currently accepted documents or an older standard set requiring updates. A design may remain attractive and useful while its application materials need revision. That is a scope and scheduling issue to resolve before treating the plan purchase as complete.

Read the program’s update requirement

San José's San José: Preapproved ADU and Site-Specific Application requires updates when adopted codes, policies or zoning changes affect the master plans. Its instructions also distinguish the standard design from the site-specific submission. Use the current program to ask the provider what has been updated and what remains with the project team.

Alameda County's Alameda County: Permit Forms and Resources offers its own preapproved resources and checklists. A listed plan should be evaluated within that program and jurisdiction. Do not treat preapproval in a neighboring city as automatic acceptance, or assume a downloaded file's date alone proves it is obsolete or current.

Check the whole document family

A plan set may rely on calculations, energy documentation, specifications and other referenced information. Ask the provider to identify the complete current package. If one sheet was updated, check whether its supporting documents and site-specific adaptations remain coordinated.

Maintain a document index with revision dates and the source of each file. Do not mix a new floor plan with an old structural set simply because the building dimensions appear unchanged. The responsible professionals should confirm that the submission is technically coordinated; the owner can verify that the file list and stated versions are consistent.

Handle customization as a controlled change

Record every departure from the standard design and ask whether it remains within allowed variations or needs additional review. The answer should cover the actual change, not a general promise that the vendor permits customization. Even a preferred exterior arrangement can affect documents beyond the presentation drawing.

In a hypothetical purchase, the owner selects a standard plan but changes its size and opening layout. Before paying a premium for preapproval, ask what benefit remains and what review must be repeated for that version. A transparent answer helps compare the modified standard plan with a custom approach without assuming either is automatically faster.

Create a release-to-submit check

Before submission, confirm the jurisdiction, master identifier, accepted code version, permitted variations, site-specific documents and the person responsible for any update. Obtain a clear list of additional services if the provider's original quote does not cover them.

After submission, archive the exact package and keep later revisions separate. If the city requests an update, identify whether it reflects a missing current document, a site-specific issue or an owner change. That distinction makes the next step and any additional fee easier to understand. Preapproved plans are valuable when their actual scope is known, not when an old approval badge is treated as a guarantee that all design and review work has disappeared.

A version-control check before paying for the package

Ask the vendor to provide the title sheet or index identifying the offered set and its program approval reference. Compare that with the authority's current program information and request clarification where the names or versions differ. Keep the response with the purchase scope so a later update is not an unexplained surprise.

List the supporting documents included and the person responsible for each site-specific adaptation. If the package needs an update, ask whether it is already complete, underway or outside the quoted service. A schedule should show the actual status rather than assuming the provider's familiarity with the design makes the remaining work instantaneous.

Before the contractor prices construction, provide the same version that will be used for the application, with any proposed changes clearly labeled. If pricing and submission use different versions, reconcile them. This prevents a comparison in which the budget describes an older design while the current permit package contains additional or different work. The goal is one coherent basis for design, price and review, not a collection of documents that happen to carry the same model name.

Ask the provider to identify the point at which the site-specific package is ready for coordinated pricing. Pricing too early may be useful for feasibility, but it should carry that label. Once the current application set is established, reconcile earlier allowances and assumptions against it before treating the construction total as based on the final design.