AI Plan Review Software Buyer’s Guide for Cities and Counties (2026)

Start with three questions: does the tool serve the agency, the applicant, or both; does it read the plan sheets or only forms and parcel data; and will it draft your corrections letter in your own format. The table below compares eleven vendors on those questions, using only their own materials and public agency documents.

When a city or county evaluates AI plan review software, the questions that decide fit are which side of the counter the tool serves, whether it reads the drawings or only the forms, how deeply it knows your state and local code, whether it drafts your corrections letter, how much control staff keep, how you can buy it, and how it handles your data.

This guide is published by CrossBeam Permits, one of the vendors in the table. We describe other vendors only from their own websites and from public agency documents, link every claim, and say where each one is strong. If a vendor believes something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.

What should an agency ask before buying AI plan review?

Question	Why it matters	What to ask the vendor
Does it serve the agency, the applicant, or both?	Applicant tools help submittals arrive cleaner; agency tools change staff workload. Some vendors sell only to project teams.	“Who is the customer, and who logs in?”
Does it read the drawings, or only forms and parcel data?	Completeness and zoning checks can run on forms and GIS. Building code review needs the plan sheets.	“Run one of our recent plan sets. Show the sheet each finding came from.”
Intake completeness, plan review, or both?	Many tools stop at completeness. Ask what it does after the package is complete.	“Which review disciplines does it cover in production today?”
How deep is its local code?	Model codes differ from state codes and local amendments. In California, Title 24 governs, not the model codes alone.	“Which code editions and which of our local amendments are loaded? Who keeps them current?”
Does it draft the corrections letter?	The letter is where staff time goes. A report in a separate format still has to be rewritten.	“Can it produce our letter, on our letterhead, in our numbering?”
Do staff stay in control?	State law and agency policy expect a person to decide.	“Can staff edit, promote, demote and dismiss every item? Is anything sent without approval?”
Does it handle resubmittals?	Backchecks are a large share of review time.	“Does it check the resubmittal against our prior letter?”
How can we buy it?	Cooperative contracts, sole source and trial agreements each have different approval paths.	“Which contract vehicles are you on? What did comparable agencies use?”
How does it handle data and security?	Plan sets contain personal information; agencies have AI policies.	“Do you train on our data? Where is it stored? Will you complete our AI and security questionnaires?”

How do the main AI plan review vendors compare?

Vendors are listed alphabetically, with CrossBeam Permits’ own row last. “Public agency deployments” lists only agencies named on the vendor’s own site or in a public agency document, with the link. It is not a complete customer list for any vendor.

Vendor	Who it serves	What it does, per its own materials	Public agency deployments (source)	Where it is strong
Archistar	Agencies and applicants	AI PreCheck (formerly eCheck): automated checks of building designs for zoning and code compliance, with applicant reports and an agency analytics dashboard (archistar.ai)	City of Austin: up to five years, not to exceed $6,000,000, for pre-checking single-family submissions against the Land Development Code’s zoning standards (Austin RCA, Aug 29, 2024). LA County: an eCheck trial reviewing fire-rebuild plans for zoning compliance (LA County Recovery)	Automated zoning checks at scale, with deployments in large U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions and a role in Los Angeles fire recovery
Blitz (Blitz Permits Inc., with CBIZ Technology as integration partner)	Agencies	Compliance platform that checks building permit applications and land-use plans against building and zoning codes; products for residential building, commercial building and planning (San Mateo County release, Jun 17, 2025)	County of San Mateo, selected through RFP PLN23-0825 (same source). City of Corona, pre-checks and plan reviews (Blitz release, Apr 6, 2025)	Building and planning products in one platform; an integration partner for connecting to agency systems; accepts PDF, CAD and BIM files
CivCheck (a Clariti company)	Agencies and applicants	Guided AI Permit Intake (completeness before submittal) and Guided AI Code Compliance (pre-check calculations, code references and flagged issues for staff) (Clariti)	Honolulu DPP: pre-screening of residential building permit applications before submittal (Honolulu DPP). Clariti also lists Seattle, New York City, San José, Greeley, Chanhassen, NCTCOG and Denver (Clariti)	Applicant-facing intake used by large cities; part of the Clariti permitting platform; broad list of review disciplines
CodeComply.AI	Agencies and design firms	Floor plan analysis against IBC, IRC, IMC, IPC, NFPA, ADA, FHA, UFC and state-amended codes; pre-check, version comparison and comment management (CivicPlus, Mar 19, 2026)	TXShare cooperative contract 2025-059 through Sep 30, 2027 (TXShare)	Model-code life safety and accessibility checks; a cooperative purchasing contract; distribution through CivicPlus
GovWell	Agencies	Permitting, licensing and inspections platform with AI AutoCheck for code-compliance review of applications and a 24/7 Community Assistant (Insight Partners, May 14, 2026)	Over 130 municipalities and counties across 34 states, per the same source; Collinsville, Oklahoma is named	A full permitting system of record with AI built in, for agencies replacing legacy software
Govstream.ai	Agencies	Phased program: a permit guide assistant, an application assistant with triage and code checks before submission, and automated triage of straightforward cases, with human reviewers keeping final authority (City of Bellevue)	City of Bellevue, WA, innovation partnership with a published case study (same source)	Resident and staff assistants and pre-submission triage, with results published by the city
InspectMind	Project teams (applicants)	Checks drawing sets before submittal for code issues, coordination conflicts, spec and drawing mismatches and dimension errors. Its own comparison says CivCheck is for the building department and “InspectMind is for the project team preparing it” (InspectMind)	None; the product is sold to project teams	Multi-discipline coordination checks for designers and contractors before they submit
Labrynth	Agencies and applicants	AI and agentic workflows that pre-screen submissions, validate them against requirements, flag missing components and guide applicants (Construction Dive, Sep 9, 2025; labrynth.ai)	City of Lancaster, CA, announced September 2025 (same sources)	Intake pre-screening and applicant guidance, working with both applicants and regulators
PlanCheckPro.AI (Pacifica Engineering Services)	Design professionals, contractors, owners and building departments	Same-day review of architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing drawings against NEC, NFPA, ADA and local building code, with code citations and corrective actions (plancheckpro.ai)	None named on its site	Multi-discipline MEP review; built by a licensed engineering firm; a path for Florida private-provider plan review under HB 683
Symbium	Agencies and contractors	Instant permitting with automated compliance checks for qualifying residential projects (symbium.com)	City of Pinole: instant permits for residential solar and batteries, EV chargers, heat pump HVAC and water heaters, reroofs and panel upgrades (City of Pinole). Bakersfield, Ventura and San Mateo County are named on its site	Instant permits for standard residential energy projects, including California SB 379 solar permitting
CrossBeam Permits	Agencies and applicants	Applicant pre-check, intake screening, building and planning plan review of full plan sets, corrections letters on the agency’s letterhead, backchecks and staff Q&A, on one engine with each agency’s own setup (CrossBeam Permits)	City of Laguna Beach: 12-month agreement approved 5 to 0 on Aug 4, 2026 (minutes). City of Buena Park: free, City-funded applicant pre-check launched Oct 5, 2026 (City release)	Plan review of full construction-document sets against state and local code, drafted as the agency’s own letter, with setup built around each agency’s staff and rules

Which kind of tool fits which agency?

Your main problem is incomplete submittals. Look at intake and applicant pre-check tools. Several vendors above focus here.
Your main problem is zoning review volume on standard homes. Look at automated zoning tools with GIS integration.
Your main problem is standard residential energy permits. Look at instant permitting for qualifying projects.
You want a new permitting system. Look at platforms that include AI inside the system of record.
Your main problem is plan review time and correction rounds across many permit types. Look for a tool that reads full plan sets against your state code and local amendments, drafts your letter and handles backchecks.

How should an agency run a fair evaluation?

Pick five to ten recent, real submittals across your common permit types, including at least one you corrected heavily.
Give the same sets to each vendor.
Compare each output with the letter your staff actually sent: items found, items missed, items that should not have been raised, and how much editing the draft needed.
Have a plan reviewer and a permit technician score the results, not only a manager.
Ask each vendor for its AI disclosure (for example, a GovAI Coalition AI FactSheet) and to complete your security questionnaire.

CrossBeam Permits does not publish a standing accuracy percentage. We would rather run your own plan sets and let your staff judge the results.

AI plan check for cities and countiesWhat CrossBeam Permits does at each step of the counter.Pricing and procurementHow agencies scope, buy and fund AI plan check.AI FactSheetAI use, data handling and human oversight in the GovAI Coalition format.

Sources

Facts and sources checked October 30, 2026.

CrossBeam Permits is operated by Onboard Dot AI LLC, Huntington Beach, California. Not affiliated with Crossbeam, the partner-ecosystem software company at crossbeam.com. Vendor names are trademarks of their owners and are used here only to identify their products.