What does the City require?
The City: Most designs for Building Permits not completed by the owner, require a designer registered and/or qualified under Division C, Part 3, Section 3.2 of the Ontario Building Code.
And a designer is anyone who is responsible for the design, which may also include preparing the drawings for submission.
(City of Hamilton, Hiring a Designer for Building Permit Drawings, read November 5, 2026) The owner may draw their own; the City's application page says As the owner, you may design your project and drawings
.
How do I check a designer?
In QuARTS, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing's public registry. Designers file with the Ministry for a Building Code Identification Number (BCIN), and the registry lets anyone verify their qualification information under the Building Code
. Architects who are members of the OAA and engineers of the PEO typically do not also file with the Ministry. The City suggests getting three or more quotes (City of Hamilton, Hiring a Designer for Building Permit Drawings, read November 5, 2026).
When does it need an architect or engineer?
| Project | Who may draw it |
|---|---|
| Your own house, drawn yourself | The owner |
| Most house projects drawn by someone else | A designer qualified, and registered where required, with a BCIN |
| Most industrial, commercial and institutional construction | An architect, a professional engineer, or both, with original seals on at least one set |
The City: For certain projects, such as most industrial/commercial/institutional construction, a qualified or registered designer is not sufficient and the drawings must be stamped by an architect, professional engineer or both.
It points to Division C, Section 1.2 of the Building Code for the exact cases (City of Hamilton, Hiring a Designer for Building Permit Drawings, read November 5, 2026). The Building Division answers for a specific project.
Where does JDT fit?
JDT Construction Inc. draws every job on a picture of your property before the price, so you see the work in place. Under its agreement it supplies the drawings it has and answers the plan examiner's questions about its part; structural engineering and architectural fees are outside the agreement unless it adds them in writing. On commercial jobs the architect or engineer comes in early, before site plan approval. The application itself is in who applies for a building permit.