Before you lodge planning or development application drawings, timestamp the exact PDF set. TimeBinder® makes a fingerprint in your browser. The files stay on your device. You get a checkable Proof of Time Certificate that shows each exact file existed no later than a recorded time. It does not show who drew them, who owns the copyright, or that a council must approve the application. Free to start.
Table of Contents
The routine: timestamp before you lodge
- Export the lodge set (drawing PDFs, schedule, planning report extracts you will attach).
- Optional. Check hashes with the free SHA-256 hash checker.
- Timestamp the set (up to 10 files or one zip). Your first Pooled TimeBind is free, with no credit card required.
- Save the Proof of Time Certificate with your archive.
- Then lodge on the planning portal.
- Amended drawings after an RFI are a new set. Timestamp before you re-lodge.
See how to timestamp a file, prove an AutoCAD DWG existed before a date, and who owns architectural drawings?.
Portal receipts vs file dates
A portal timestamp shows when the council system accepted a package. It does not always preserve every file byte you intended. Your own dated copy of the exact PDFs fills that gap. Keep the confirmation email or receipt with the certificate.
What a TimeBind shows, and what it doesn’t
A TimeBind shows that this exact file existed no later than the recorded time. It does not show authorship, ownership or copyright, and it does not replace statutory lodgement rules. This is general information, not legal advice. Check local planning requirements.
The same habit applies when AI may have helped draw the sheets. The free AI planning drawing checklist looks at the exact lodgement set, the source, and the current terms of any tool that will receive the files. It cannot decide an application.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Should consultants timestamp their own sheets?
Yes, each author should date what they issue into the combined set.
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One PDF of all drawings or separate sheets?
Timestamp what you lodge. If the portal wants one combined PDF, date that file.
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What about sketch plans before formal DA?
Timestamp those too if you share them with a client or neighbour. See protect your design before sending it to a client.
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Does this help if drawings are copied in another application?
It helps show your set existed by a date. Ownership and copying are separate legal questions.
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What does it cost?
Your first Pooled TimeBind is free, with no credit card required. After that, from US$5; ASAP is US$15. See plans and pricing
Timestamp your lodge set free
Show that this exact file existed no later than a recorded time. Files stay on your device. Get a checkable Proof of Time Certificate. Free to start. Open TimeBinder
2026 worked example: a development application
Illustrative example, not a real case.
A development application for a four-unit project is lodged through a council portal on 14 August 2026. Before uploading, the architect zips the 22 plans, shadow diagrams and the supporting statement into two zip files (a TimeBind holds up to 10 files, so a larger set is zipped), makes a TimeBind, and saves the certificate beside the portal’s lodgement receipt.
When council later asks for amended plans, the amended set gets its own TimeBind. That keeps the lodged version and the amended version separately dated. The portal receipt remains the record of what was lodged and when; the TimeBind shows that the files existed by the recorded time.
Reviewed 10 November 2026.
