Do I need a civil engineer for a residential lot?

You do when the city requires a stamped grading or drainage plan, which is common on sloped lots, infill lots, and any project that changes the path of stormwater. A flat lot with no grade change often does not.

Can you work from my contractor’s sketch?

Only if the sketch has measured existing elevations or you also upload a survey. Proposed grades without existing grades cannot be checked or sealed.

Will you design the storm drain connection?

We show how the lot drains and where it discharges when that point is already allowed by the city or shown on the survey. A new public connection that needs a separate utility permit is called out, not assumed.

How much does a grading stamp cost?

The live quote is priced by sheet count, from $100 per sheet down to $25 per sheet. Most single-lot plans are small sets. Final pricing is confirmed after plan review.

Project types / Grading and drainage plans

Grading and drainage plans sealed for the civil permit

Lot grading, swales, spot elevations, and a legal point of discharge are civil engineering. AllPEStamp reviews that plan and seals it with a civil engineer licensed in the project state when the building department requires a PE on the site work.

Lot grading, swales, and spot elevations
Drainage to an approved point of discharge
Driveways, pads, and small commercial sites
Civil engineer licensed in the project state

Get a PE stamp quote

What a grading plan has to show

Plan check wants existing and proposed grades, spot elevations at corners and along the flow line, swales or drains that move water off the pad, and a note for where that water is allowed to go. Water that sheets onto a neighbor’s lot is the comment that stops a permit.

A single-family pad, a new driveway, and a small commercial site are the sets we see most often. A subdivision drainage study is a different scope. Say which one you have at intake so the quote matches the sheets.

The survey comes before the stamp

Grading design starts from existing elevations. Upload a survey or a site plan with measured spots. A sketch with no elevations cannot be sealed, because there is nothing to check the proposed grade against.

Retaining walls on the same permit can be included when the grades and the wall section are coordinated. If the wall is the only open comment, use the retaining wall page and keep the set smaller.

Seal and price

The civil sheets and any drainage calculations that support them are sealed by a PE licensed in the project state. Architectural site plans that only locate the building are not a grading plan.

Pricing is by sheet count, from $100 per sheet down to $25 per sheet. A single-lot plan is a short set. Final pricing is confirmed after the survey and the city’s drainage checklist are reviewed.

Disciplines on this project

These are the seals this kind of permit usually asks for. The quote lists only the sheets you upload.

FAQ

Do I need a civil engineer for a residential lot?: You do when the city requires a stamped grading or drainage plan, which is common on sloped lots, infill lots, and any project that changes the path of stormwater. A flat lot with no grade change often does not.
Can you work from my contractor’s sketch?: Only if the sketch has measured existing elevations or you also upload a survey. Proposed grades without existing grades cannot be checked or sealed.
Will you design the storm drain connection?: We show how the lot drains and where it discharges when that point is already allowed by the city or shown on the survey. A new public connection that needs a separate utility permit is called out, not assumed.
How much does a grading stamp cost?: The live quote is priced by sheet count, from $100 per sheet down to $25 per sheet. Most single-lot plans are small sets. Final pricing is confirmed after plan review.