Choose CivCheck if your main problem is incomplete or low-quality applications at high volume and you want a guided intake step that integrates with your permitting platform. Choose CrossBeam Permits if you want AI plan check built around your own team, rules and workflow, through the corrections letter on your letterhead and the backcheck, whatever your agency’s size.
This comparison is published by CrossBeam Permits. CivCheck facts come only from Clariti’s CivCheck page and the City and County of Honolulu’s page, linked below. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
How do they compare?
| Question | CivCheck (a Clariti company) | CrossBeam Permits |
|---|---|---|
| Who it serves | Agencies and applicants: Guided AI Permit Intake for applicants and Guided AI Code Compliance for staff (Clariti) | Agencies and applicants on one engine: an agency-branded applicant pre-check and internal review tools for staff |
| What staff get | “Pre-check calculations, code references, and flagged issues on one screen” (Clariti) | Findings from the full plan set, read sheet by sheet against state code and the agency’s local amendments, each citing a code section and a plan sheet; staff keep, edit or dismiss each one |
| Corrections letter | Clariti’s CivCheck page does not describe drafting the corrections letter (Clariti) | Drafts the corrections letter on the agency’s letterhead, in its numbering and wording, for staff to sign |
| Resubmittals | Clariti says the two modules cut review cycles “from an average of 3–6 down to 1–2” (Clariti) | Checks each item in the prior letter against the new set, reports which appear resolved, and flags other changes in the set |
| Where it fits best | In Clariti’s words: “the most value for jurisdictions where volume or application quality are the primary drivers of permitting delays” (Clariti) | Built around each agency’s team, rules and workflow; small and mid-size cities as well as large ones, anywhere in the country |
| Public agency deployments | Honolulu DPP, pre-screening residential building permit applications (Honolulu DPP); Clariti also lists Seattle, New York City, San José, Greeley, Chanhassen, NCTCOG and Denver (Clariti) | The City of Laguna Beach and the City of Buena Park use it today. Laguna Beach staff report; Buena Park Plan PreCheck |
| Permit system | Part of the Clariti permitting platform; Clariti says it can be used standalone and integrates with major cloud-based permitting solutions (Clariti) | Runs alongside the agency’s existing permit system; nothing has to be replaced. Findings go out to Bluebeam as markups and come back in |
Where is CivCheck strong?
- A long list of large-city references, including Honolulu, Seattle, New York City, San José and Denver.
- Guided applicant intake aimed at completeness before submittal, from the vendor of a full permitting platform.
- A public City program with its own instructions for applicants (Honolulu DPP).
Where is CrossBeam Permits different?
- It drafts the work product staff send. Completeness notices, plan review findings, the corrections letter on the agency’s letterhead, and the backcheck on resubmittal.
- It is built around your team. Before day one it loads the agency’s public rules; staff then add the checklists and judgment calls only they know.
- Small and mid-size cities are a core fit. The City of Laguna Beach and the City of Buena Park use it today, and it works with agencies of any size anywhere in the country.
- Both sides of the counter on one engine. An agency can offer applicants the same review its staff use, under its own name.
In both products staff make every decision. Neither one issues permits.
Sources
Facts and sources checked November 2, 2026.
- Clariti, “CivCheck AI Plan Review Software” (accessed 2026-11-02)
- City and County of Honolulu, Department of Planning and Permitting, “Getting Started with CivCheck” (accessed 2026-11-02)
- City of Laguna Beach, staff report for Consent Calendar Item 17, August 4, 2026 (accessed 2026-11-02)
- City of Buena Park, “Buena Park Plan PreCheck” program page (accessed 2026-11-02)
CrossBeam Permits is operated by Onboard Dot AI LLC, Huntington Beach, California. Not affiliated with Crossbeam, the partner-ecosystem software company at crossbeam.com.