How long is the first permit review for an Ottawa deck?

The City of Ottawa lists "First review - 5 business days" for a deck building permit application. That is the timeline for the first review, not a guarantee of when the permit will be issued.

A few things are worth understanding about what that timeline means in practice. The five business days covers the City's first look at your application, not the full approval process.

The City's list for a deck application includes a completed and signed digital permit application, a full set of scaled and dimensioned drawings (site plan, foundation and framing plan, and elevations), and a Schedule 1 naming either a BCIN designer, an architect, an engineer, or the homeowner taking design responsibility for their own house. If your decking material is anything other than conventional lumber, you also need a CCMC or BMEC material testing report. If your guards are a manufactured or pre-engineered system outside the Code's prescriptive rules, you need the manufacturer's information and attachment details.

Applications go through the My ServiceOttawa portal, and payment must accompany the application. The City's fee is $12.75 per $1,000 or part thereof of the assessed value of the work, which covers all materials, labour, overhead and professional fees, with a minimum of $117.00.

Once a permit is issued, the City requires three inspections booked 48 hours in advance: an excavation and foundations inspection before backfill (for in-situ piers and pads), a framing inspection at completion of structural framing and guards, and a final inspection at completion of the deck framing, stairs and guards.

If you are unsure whether your drawings are complete enough to pass the first review without comments, a designer or BCIN holder who has submitted Ottawa deck permits before is the right person to ask first, because they can check the package against the City's list before you apply.