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If you have questions about Division of the State Architect (DSA) plan approval, or you need assistance completing any of these tasks, please contact the DSA.
To save time, your district or its architect may submit a project's working drawings concurrently to the School Facilities Planning Division (SFPD) and DSA for review.
- Attend Preliminary Conference
- Prepare Submission Package
- Submit Package
- Receive Feedback
- Make Corrections
- Attend Backcheck Meeting
- Receive DSA Plan Approval
This optional conference is intended to help resolve questions of code interpretation and special project design or site conditions. The preliminary conference is especially beneficial to architects and engineers submitting their first project, and on complicated projects.
Your school district's architect must submit specific forms, fees, calculations, drawings, reports, and certifications to the DSA. These include:
- Three sets of completed plans and specifications.
- A geologic hazards report or letter.
- A geotechnical (soils) report or letter.
- A copy of the test and inspection list.
- A letter from your district's local fire authority approving fire department access, with a signature of the appropriate local fire official on a print of the plot plan sheet.
- A completed Form DSA-1: Application for Approval of Plans and Specifications.
- One set of structural calculations.
- Signed energy compliance forms from an appropriate design professional certifying compliance with California Energy Commission requirements for nonresidential building energy efficiency. For more information, call 1.800.772.3300.
- Two sets of fees: one for DSA's review of access compliance, and the other for its assessment of structural/fire & life safety. Both of these fees are set on a sliding scale that varies with overall expected project cost. The combined minimum fee is $450. The DSA review is totally funded by these fees.
All architects and engineers listed on submitted documents must be currently registered in California.
The submittal package must be complete before the DSA puts the project in line for review. Reviews are handled on a first-come, first-served basis.
When the DSA receives your district's submittal package, the Division staff completes a preliminary review to verify that:
- The correct fee was paid.
- The design professionals are qualified.
- The submittal package is complete.
- Drawings, calculations, and specifications are complete.
The DSA notifies your school district and its architect when the submittal is complete. If your district's submittal is incomplete, the DSA notifies your district and its architect of the missing documents.
The DSA conducts concurrent reviews of project plans for structural safety, fire & life safety, and access compliance. During each review, corrections are marked in color on the proposed plans. The DSA will notify your district when each discipline (structural, fire & life safety, and accessibility) returns the corrected plans and specifications. When the reviews are complete, the DSA returns the drawings and specifications to your district's architect.
The architects and engineers responsible for your district's project make corrections suggested by the DSA to the tracings and specifications. Notations by your school district or its architect providing justification for not making suggested changes, or responses to DSA comments, may be made in pencil next to the comment in order to save time during the backcheck.
When all required corrections to drawing tracings and specification originals have been made, the backcheck begins with a face-to-face meeting between the DSA and your district's architect and engineers. The purpose of the backcheck meeting is to review the architect's corrections and discuss any issues raised during the correction process.
Backchecks are usually completed in one day. Sometimes they require more extended study of the changes discussed at the face-to-face meeting. If this is the case, the DSA notifies your district and its architect when this backcheck is complete.
The DSA stamps the plans and specifications for identification. Once your architect submits one set of stamped plans and specifications to the DSA for its files, the DSA provides your district with written approval of the project drawings and specifications.
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