By Shahzaib Nadeem, Content writer at CADTRI · Published july 06, 2026
Quick answer: A permit set, construction documents, and a bid set are three versions of your project's drawings, each prepared for a different audience. A permit set shows the building department your project meets code. Construction documents (CDs) tell the contractor exactly how to build it. A bid set gives multiple contractors enough information to price the work accurately. They overlap heavily but they are not interchangeable, and submitting the wrong one to the wrong audience costs time and money.
If you've ever compared a permit set vs construction documents and wondered why your drafter treats them as different deliverables, this guide is for you. We'll break down what each set contains, where it fits in the drawing phases, and how to know which one your project actually needs.
The three sets at a glance
Permit Set
Construction Documents (CD Set)
Bid Set
Audience
Plan checker / building department
Contractor and trades in the field
Bidding contractors
Purpose
Prove code compliance, obtain a building permit
Direct construction; the buildable instruction manual
Enable accurate, comparable pricing
Level of detail
Everything code review requires no more, no less
Fullest detail: dimensions, schedules, details, specs
Enough to price scope; may carry allowances for unresolved items
Typical contents
Site plan, floor plans, elevations, sections, code analysis, energy compliance, structural sheets
Everything in the permit set plus construction details, finish schedules, full specifications, coordinated MEP
Drawings + specifications + instructions to bidders + bid forms
Stage
End of design development / early CD phase
Completion of the CD phase
Issued during or after CDs, before contract award
Common failure mode
Rejection for missing code documentation
RFIs and change orders from uncoordinated sheets
Scope gaps that surface as change orders later
Keep this table handy most confusion between the three comes from assuming "a set of drawings is a set of drawings." The drawings may look similar; the job each set does is different.
Where each set fits in the drawing phases
Architectural projects move through recognizable phases, and each set is a snapshot of the design at a specific point of completeness.
Schematic design (SD) establishes the big idea layout, massing, rough square footage. Nothing here is submittable or buildable.
Design development (DD) locks in dimensions, materials, structural approach, and systems. By the end of DD, the design is resolved enough that documentation can begin in earnest.
Construction documents (CD) is both a phase and a deliverable. During the CD phase, the team produces the complete, coordinated drawing and specification package. When people ask about CD set meaning, this is it: the full instruction manual for building the project, developed to the point that a contractor can execute it without guessing.
The permit set is typically carved out partway through the CD phase. Most jurisdictions don't need every interior elevation or finish schedule to confirm code compliance they need life safety, structural, energy, accessibility, and zoning documentation. Issuing the permit set early lets plan review (which can take weeks or months) run in parallel while the CDs are finished.
The bid set is issued when you want competitive pricing usually from substantially complete CDs. On fast-track projects it may go out earlier, with allowances covering unresolved scope.
Finally, once the permit is issued and a contractor is under contract, the drawings are stamped IFC Issued for Construction. The IFC set is the legally controlling version the field builds from, incorporating any plan-check corrections and bid-phase clarifications. If the permit set and the IFC set disagree, that discrepancy needs to be reconciled formally not improvised on site.
What's in a permit set (and what isn't)
A permit set is built to answer one question: does this project comply with the codes this jurisdiction enforces? That typically means a site plan, dimensioned floor plans, exterior elevations, building sections, a code analysis sheet, structural drawings and calculations, and energy compliance documentation (Title 24 in California, IECC-based requirements in most other states). Jurisdictions vary widely in what they require beyond that which is exactly why researching the local checklist before drafting prevents rejection.
What a permit set usually omits is the construction-direction layer: finish schedules, casework details, exhaustive specifications, and the fine grain coordination notes a builder relies on. A plan checker doesn't care what your countertop is made of; your contractor does.
For a deeper breakdown of permit set contents and how plan check works, see our guide: What Is a Permit Set? A Contractor's Guide.
What makes construction documents different
Construction documents are the complete package: every sheet in the permit set, plus the detail that turns a code-compliant design into a buildable one. That includes construction details (how the wall meets the roof, how the window flashes), door/window/finish schedules, and critically specifications.
Specifications are the written half of the CDs. Drawings show where and how much; specifications define what and to what standard product requirements, installation methods, quality benchmarks, and acceptable substitutions. On small residential projects, specs may live as sheet notes. On commercial work, they're a separate manual organized by division. Either way, when drawings and specs conflict or go silent, the contractor issues an RFI (Request for Information) a formal question that pauses that piece of work until the design team answers. A coordinated CD set is, in practical terms, a set that generates few RFIs.
This is where document quality becomes money. Every ambiguity in the CDs becomes either an RFI (delay), a change order (cost), or a field improvisation (risk). Professional architectural drafting is largely the discipline of eliminating those ambiguities before they reach the field.
What is a bid package?
A bid package (or bid set) is the CD set dressed for a specific occasion: competitive pricing. It bundles the drawings and specifications with procurement documents instructions to bidders, bid forms, the proposed contract terms, and any general conditions. The goal is that three contractors pricing the same package are pricing the same project, so their numbers are genuinely comparable.
The quality bar for a bid set is subtly different from the permit set's. A permit set fails by missing code documentation. A bid set fails through scope gaps items that appear in neither the drawings nor the specs clearly enough for a bidder to price. Scope gaps don't disappear; they reappear during construction as change orders, priced without competition and with the schedule as leverage. The cheapest bid on a gappy set is frequently the most expensive project.
A well prepared contractor bid package closes those gaps before bids go out: drawings and specifications cross checked against each other, allowances declared explicitly, and unresolved items flagged rather than left silent.
Which set does your project need?
Homeowner doing an ADU, addition, or remodel: You need a permit set first nothing happens legally without the permit. If you've already chosen your contractor, a thorough permit set plus a clear scope agreement may carry a small project. If you want competitive bids, ask for the set to be developed to bid-ready completeness.
Contractor pulling a permit for a client: You need a permit set prepared to your jurisdiction's checklist built to local submission standards so it passes plan check the first time instead of cycling through correction rounds.
Owner or developer competitively bidding the work: You need full CDs packaged as a bid set. Resist the temptation to bid off a permit set "to save time" the pricing spread you get back will be wide, and the gaps will cost you later.
Project heading into construction: You need the IFC set, and someone responsible for keeping it authoritative answering RFIs, processing revisions, and reconciling plan-check corrections. That coordination role is what construction administration support covers after the permit is in hand.
One set rarely serves all three audiences well. The efficient path isn't producing three unrelated packages it's developing one coordinated body of documentation and issuing the right slice, at the right completeness, to each audience.
Frequently asked questions
Is a permit set the same as construction documents? No. A permit set is a subset of the construction documents prepared specifically for plan review. It contains what the building department needs to verify code compliance, while the full CD set adds the detail, schedules, and specifications a contractor needs to build.
Can you build from a permit set? Legally, construction must follow the approved permit drawings but practically, a bare permit set leaves many construction decisions undocumented. Building from a permit set alone shifts those decisions to the field, which invites disputes, RFIs, and inconsistent quality.
Can you bid from a permit set? You can, but expect wide pricing spreads and qualification laden bids. Bidders price uncertainty as either padding or exclusions. A true bid set narrows the spread because everyone is pricing the same defined scope.
What does IFC mean on drawings? IFC stands for "Issued for Construction." It marks the drawing set that legally governs construction the version incorporating permit corrections and bid-phase clarifications. Earlier sets (permit, bid) become reference documents once the IFC set is issued.
Who prepares these sets? The design team architect, drafter, and consulting engineers prepares all three from the same coordinated documentation. The difference is editorial: which sheets, what completeness, and what accompanying documents each audience requires.
Need a bid-ready set that eliminates scope gaps? See our contractor bid package drawings and specifications coordinated before bids go out, so the price you award is the price you pay.
Reviewed and updated June 11, 2026. Questions about your jurisdiction's requirements? Request a proposal and we'll confirm scope, timeline, and deliverables.