1. What it is: a city tool, not something you buy
The best-documented case is Honolulu. Its Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) uses CivCheck, a "Guided AI Plan Review solution" sold to cities by Clariti Software. You upload your plans before you apply, the tool flags errors and missing items, you fix them, and you submit the watermarked plans to the city. DPP's page (read October 16, 2026) says plainly: "CivCheck does not replace the official City review, nor does it guarantee a permit."
Since September 1, 2026 it is required in Honolulu for new construction, additions and alterations of single-family, two-family and duplex homes, ADUs and ʻOhana units. An application that skips it "will be rejected during pre-application review." Not covered: commercial work, general electrical and plumbing, EV chargers, fences, retaining walls and solar. Quick Permit jobs should not go through it.
Denver's City Council approved a five-year contract for an AI plan review platform in March 2026, about $4.6 million with one vote against, and the city started rolling it out in the spring. Stateline (August 20, 2026) also names Baltimore and Los Angeles, and smaller cities such as Everett, WA; Lebanon, NH and Naples, FL.
2. What it costs, and whether it helps
For you, $0 in Honolulu: "There is no fee for the account or using CivCheck, no matter how many projects are submitted" (DPP, read October 16, 2026). The city pays the vendor. We found no city that charges applicants for it.
The city's numbers: applications through CivCheck reached a decision in 32.5 days on average against 73 days without it, and needed 7.7 corrections against 23.5. That is 73 minus 32.5 = 40.5 days, the figure DPP itself reports as average time saved. These numbers come from the city and the vendor; Stateline reported them as such. Seattle's own pilot measured 87% accuracy on completeness checks and 92% on design checks, and as of June 2026 Seattle had still not adopted it.
Where sources disagree: for Denver, Stateline quotes a city official saying about 37% of applications pass on the first round, while Route Fifty (May 22, 2026) quotes "roughly 30%". Both say the goal is 80%. We could not find a Denver page that says whether the tool is required for residential applicants; check with your permit office.
The warnings are real. Denver's dissenting council member said local architects doubt AI can handle "the full complexity" of zoning and site conditions, and Honolulu's director told Stateline that AI does not decide the gray areas. A clean AI pre-check is not an approval.
Verdict: worth adopting now, wherever your city offers it, because it is free and the city's own numbers point to fewer correction rounds. In Honolulu it is not optional anymore. There is nothing to buy: if a vendor sells you "AI permit approval" as a private service, that is not this.
3. This week
- 01Search your city or county permit office site for "AI", "pre-check" or "CivCheck". If it is there, read which project types it covers.
- 02In Honolulu: DPP advises starting a few weeks before you plan to submit, and recommends that the person who drew the plans does the pre-check. Agree with your designer who uploads.
- 03Keep the AI's list of flags with the job file. If the human reviewer later asks for the same fix, you have a record of what was already checked.
- 04Do not change your schedule promises yet. Tell the homeowner the permit date the city gives you, not the average from a press story.