PDF for architects and contractors
Building departments review plans as PDFs, and a set that breaks their rules waits in the queue until it is fixed.
What plan reviewers actually require
One file for the whole set. Seattle asks for every plan sheet in a single PDF, with supporting documents as separate PDFs. Roseville, California, requires a single PDF and says a set sent as several files will delay processing.
Size is capped: 500 MB in Seattle, 195 MB in Roseville. Seattle does not accept zip files.
Files must be unlocked. A password or security setting stops the reviewer from marking up the drawings, so a protected set comes back.
Bookmarks matter. Roseville requires one bookmark per sheet — sheet number and title — all on the same level, none nested. Seattle asks you to keep the bookmarks your drawing program made.
Every sheet upright and the same way round, at a standard full size and to scale, with the same clear space for the approval stamp on every sheet: 2 × 2 inches in Roseville, about 4.5 × 1 or 2.5 × 2.5 inches in Seattle, lower right preferred. Markups and layers must be flattened. File names have rules too — in Seattle, at most 200 characters and none of * : < > ? / \ | ~ " # % &.
These are two cities' published rules (Seattle SDCI Tip 106, updated July 2022; Roseville, May 2020). Your jurisdiction's own checklist always takes precedence.
The tools for it
- Merge PDFCombine several PDFs into one, in the order you want.
- Edit bookmarksAdd, rename, reorder or remove the bookmarks in a PDF.
- Rotate PDFTurn pages the right way up and save them that way.
- Resize PDFChange the page size — A4, Letter, or a margin you set yourself.
- Unlock PDFRemove a password from a file you already have the password for.
- Compress PDFMake a heavy file small enough to email, without wrecking it.
- Split PDFPull out the pages you need, or break a file into separate documents.
- Rename PDF filesGive a whole batch of PDFs clear, numbered names in one go — the files themselves stay untouched.
- Compare PDFsSee exactly what changed between two versions — the wording, or the drawing.
What this does not do
Flatten PDF bakes in form fields only. It does not flatten comments, markups or drawing layers into the sheet, which both cities require — do that in the program that made the drawings, or in a PDF editor built for plans.
Compare PDFs can lay two revisions of a sheet over each other, but only sheets saved at the same size and position line up — a sheet that was re-plotted at another scale shows every line as changed. We do not apply professional seals with a digital certificate, and we do not submit to any permitting portal.
In every case above, the document is processed without ever being transmitted. Nothing is uploaded, which for confidential filings, student records, unpublished manuscripts and salary data is not a convenience but the point.
Set it up for the whole team
One Team plan covers everyone: $7 per seat, per month · 2 seats minimum. Every tool with no daily limit, shared seats and roles, and up to 100 signature requests a month with an audit trail. Your team's first yearly plan comes with a 30-day refund.
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