Free tool: runs in your browser
AI planning drawing checklistbefore you lodge a planning or permit set
TimeBinder adds a layer of protection against AI and human fraud and disputes. Review the exact sheets, source files and terms you can still show, before you lodge a set or upload drawings to a review tool.
Nothing you tick is sent anywhere. This page cannot decide a planning application, and it cannot show that a drawing is accurate or safe to build.
Check the records you can still show
Tick what is true of the set you will lodge or upload, the source you already hold, and any current terms. You get a shareable result and clear next steps. Nothing you tick is sent to TimeBinder.
Your choices stay on this page. Nothing you tick is sent anywhere or tied to your name.
Tick everything that is true before you lodge a planning or permit set, or upload drawings to a review tool
This looks at the exact sheets you will lodge or upload, and the current terms if an AI review tool will receive them. It cannot decide a planning application, and it cannot show that a drawing is safe to build.
What to do now
What should I keep if AI helped draw a planning set? The short answer
Keep a dated copy of the exact drawings you will lodge or issue, dated copies of the editable source that produced those sheets, and a note of which sheets a person checked against the site and the current rules. If a review tool will receive the files, read the current terms first.
This checklist is not a planning decision. A TimeBind of a set you already hold can show that exact file existed no later than a recorded time and still matches. It does not show that the drawings are accurate, approved, or safe to build.
Why this came up in late October 2026
On 30 October 2026, the UK Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published Faster planning decisions as new rules and AI tackle delays. After a trial in Camden, Barnet and Dorset, the government said PlanAssist will expand to 15 councils for 12 months, with the intention of making it available to every council in England by the end of 2027. Officers will use the tool alongside their normal process, to test it at scale. That is an aid for planning officers. It is not a service that an applicant uploads drawings into, and this page does not treat it as one.
Two days earlier, on 28 October 2026, ANDS Architecture published a practice note on AI house designs and planning permission. The firm wrote that an AI-generated design is not the same as a planning-approved proposal, and that a convincing image is not proof that a building can actually be constructed. Planning decisions, it said, depend on the actual proposal, not on how impressive a visualisation looks.
Measured demand for this topic sits mainly in search. Autocomplete checked on 12 November 2026, about 7:42 PM Australia/Brisbane, returned suggestion clusters for "ai planning application", "ai planning permission tool", "ai building permit review" and "ai generated architectural drawings". YouTube explainers that matched PlanAssist itself were thin in the same window. Counts and suggestions will keep moving.
The checks are written for the next time an architect, a designer or a technician is about to lodge a set, or to upload drawings to a review tool, in any jurisdiction. Always follow the current application rules that apply to that job, and the current terms of any tool that will receive the files.
Sources: the 30 October GOV.UK announcement, and the ANDS Architecture note of 28 October.
What this checklist does and does not do
The honest job of this page is to slow down a lodgement until the exact set and the source are in hand, not to judge an application for you. See also the glossary entries for existed no later than and fingerprint.
| Part | What it does | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|
| The exact lodgement set | Gives you a reason to pause until the PDF set or plotted sheets you will lodge are kept, separate from later revisions and from marketing renders. | Decide a planning or permit application, or show that a later revision is the same file. |
| Editable source | Reminds you to keep dated copies of the CAD, BIM or model files that produced those sheets. | Show that the model is accurate or complete. |
| Current terms of a review or drafting tool | Reminds you to read what happens to files you upload, and to keep a dated copy of the file and of those terms. | Interpret a vendor's terms for you, or show what a tool did with a file. |
| A TimeBind of a file you already hold | Records that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and still matches, using a SHA-256 fingerprint made in your browser. The file stays on your device. | Show that the drawings are accurate, approved, or safe to build. |
If a drawing set is one you may need to stand behind later
Before you lodge or issue a set:
- Keep a dated copy of the exact drawings you will lodge, and of the editable source that produced them.
- Make a TimeBind of each exact file or archive you already hold. The fingerprint is made in your browser and the file stays on your device. You can later download a Proof of Time Certificate.
- If a tool will receive the drawings, read the current terms first, and store the set, the source, the terms capture and the certificate together.
A TimeBind shows the exact file existed no later than the recorded time and still matches. It is not a planning decision, and it is not a finding that a drawing is accurate.
First Pooled TimeBind free, no card, then from US$5. An ASAP TimeBind is US$15.
What a TimeBind shows, and what it does not. It shows that an exact file existed no later than a recorded time and that a copy shown later still matches its fingerprint. It does not show who made the file, who owns it, that its contents are true, or whether AI was used to make or edit it. This is general information, not legal advice.
If you are issuing drawings for planning, the free Drawing issue register builder logs each issue with its revision, date and recipient. It does not read drawing files.
To tell a client plainly which AI tools your studio uses and for what, see also the free Design studio AI use statement builder. It is not a contract clause.
AI planning drawing checklist: FAQ
Can this tool decide a planning or permit application, or show that a drawing is accurate?
No. It cannot decide an application, and it cannot show that a drawing is accurate, approved, or safe to build. It only helps you review the exact sheets, source files and terms you still hold.
What should I keep before I lodge a set?
A dated copy of the exact drawings you will lodge or issue, dated copies of the editable source that produced those sheets, and a note of which sheets a person checked against the site, the measurements and the current application rules. A TimeBind of an exact file you already hold can show that file existed no later than a recorded time and still matches.
If an AI tool helped draw the sheets, or will review them, what else should I do?
Read the current terms of that tool, including what happens to uploaded files, and keep a dated copy of the exact file you upload and of the terms that applied that day. An officer-side planning aid is not the same as an applicant tool that receives your drawings. Terms change.
Does an AI-generated image replace a planning drawing?
No. A convincing image does not, on its own, establish dimensions, heights or a buildable proposal. Keep the exact lodgement set separate from marketing renders.
Is anything I tick sent to TimeBinder?
No. The checklist runs in your browser. Your ticks stay on the page.
Is this planning, legal or professional advice?
No. If you need advice about a specific application, speak to the professional responsible for the job, or to a lawyer. This page cannot replace that answer.
Related guides and tools
- Architecture timestampingThe TimeBinder hub for architectural drawings and models
- Planning and building permit submissions: keep a dated recordWhat to keep when a permit or planning set is lodged
- Planning or DA submission drawingsDate the exact sheets before you lodge
- AI visualisation handoff checkerA checklist for how a generated image is labelled before you send it
- AI CAD add-in checklistA checklist before you install an AI add-in beside CAD files
- GlossaryPlain definitions of fingerprint, SHA-256 and existed no later than
- All free toolsPrivate, in-browser tools
Date the exact set you will lodge
Add a layer of protection against AI and human fraud and disputes: a dated, checkable record of the exact drawings, kept beside the source and the terms you may later need to show.
- Open the app and sign in with email or Google.
- Add your files. They stay on your computer.
- Seal them and download your Proof of Time certificates.
First Pooled TimeBind free, no card, then from US$5. See pricing.