Comment letter, correction notice, plan check letter: one document, many names

The letter your city sends after reviewing your permit drawings has at least a dozen names, and they all mean the same thing: a numbered list of corrections you must address before the permit is issued. This glossary sorts out the names for the letter, the people who write it, and the terms you will meet inside it.

What is the letter called?

Comment letter. The general term, used by architects and consultants. The reviewer's items are "comments."

Plan check comment letter, plan check letter, plan check corrections. California's term. Cities in California call the review itself "plan check," so the letter is a plan check letter and the reviewer is a plan checker.

Correction letter, correction notice, corrections list. Common in Los Angeles and in many building departments nationally. The items are "corrections."

Plan review comments, plan review letter. The term most of the country uses, including the model codes. The reviewer is a "plan reviewer" or "plans examiner."

Deficiency list, deficiency letter. Used by some jurisdictions and by third-party review firms. Each item is a "deficiency."

Redlines, markups. Not a letter at all: the reviewer's notes written directly on your drawings, usually in red. Some cities send redlines instead of a letter, or alongside one.

Incomplete letter, intake letter. A shorter letter sent before technical review begins, listing what the submittal is missing to be accepted for review at all. Answer it fast; the review clock has not started yet.

Who writes the letter?

The building department's plan checkers. Staff of the city or county, organized by discipline: building, structural, accessibility, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, energy. Larger cities have a plan checker per discipline; small ones have one person who reviews everything.

Third-party plan review firms. Many jurisdictions contract review to firms that specialize in it. The letter arrives on the firm's letterhead or the city's, and the firm's engineer signs it. The city still issues the permit.

Other departments. Planning, Fire, Public Works, and Environmental Health review in parallel and often send their own letters or add sections to the building letter. A "conditions of approval" list from Planning is a different document again: things you must do during or after construction, not corrections to the drawings.

What do the terms inside the letter mean?

Cycle, round, PC1 / PC2 / PC3. Each submittal and its review is a cycle. PC2 is the second plan check; the letter from it answers your response to PC1.

Comment remains outstanding, not addressed, see previous comment. The reviewer could not find your change. Usually the fix is a better pointer to the sheet, not a new change.

Approved as noted. The permit can be issued with minor notes the inspector will check in the field.

Resubmittal. Your revised set and response letter, sent back for the next cycle. Cities have rules about how to package it; see the resubmittal checklist.

Response letter, comment response, response matrix. Your document answering each comment, in the letter's numbering. Some cities want a letter, some a table, some their own form.

Clouds, deltas, revision triangles. The drafting marks that show what changed on a sheet: a cloud around the revised area and a triangle with the revision number. Reviewers look for them first.

Code summary, code analysis, project data. The block on your cover sheet stating occupancy group, construction type, sprinklers, allowable and actual area and height, and the codes used. Half of first-round comments on small projects are about this block being incomplete.

Adopted code, code edition, local amendments. The version of the state code your city has adopted, plus the changes the city made by ordinance. California adopts a new Title 24 every three years; a project is reviewed under the edition in force when the application was filed.

Deferred submittal. A part of the design, such as trusses, fire sprinklers, or a storefront system, that the city agrees to review later, under the same permit. It has to be listed as deferred on the cover sheet.

Expiration. Most codes let an application expire if the applicant does not act for 180 days. A stalled response can cost you the application and its fees.

Why do the names matter?

They matter when you search. A homeowner types "correction notice"; an architect types "plan check comments"; the model code says "plan review." The document is the same, and so is the way to answer it: comment by comment, with a response and a sheet reference for each. The guide to responding walks through it with examples.

The commentletter.com agent reads all of these. Whatever the header calls the document, the engine extracts each numbered item, keeps the letter's own numbering, and drafts a response checked against your city's adopted code.