Permit Prep / Washington / Clark County

Source-checked naming workflow

Clark County ProjectDox Drawing File Naming & Plan Splitting

Clark County Community Development publishes filename rules for plans uploaded to ProjectDox (Clark County LMS). Permit Prep splits your combined plan set into one PDF per drawing sheet and names each file in that pattern, in your browser.

Naming pattern

• All plan files must be uploaded as single-page PDFs. Multi-page plan files are rejected.
• Every plan filename starts with a numeric order value so the sheets display in the right order — the order listed on the title sheet, cover sheet or table of contents.
• Plans prepared by a designer or design professional: order number, sheet number, then sheet name / brief description, e.g. "003 A101 Reference site plan".
• Plans without a designer, index or cover sheet: order number then a brief description of the page, e.g. "001 Site plan".
• Do not include dashes or these special characters in the file name: - _ & % ? / # * $ ! @ ^ + = { [
• The county's tip: keep file names to 40 characters or less — abbreviations are acceptable.
• To insert a page between two existing pages, start the name with a decimal order value, e.g. 001.1 between 001 and 002.
• Plan sheets must be uploaded in landscape orientation; incorrect orientation is rejected.
• Supporting documents — calculations, reports, narratives — stay multi-page in the Documents folder and are named by what they are, with no leading order number.

How to name plan files for Clark County ProjectDox

1. Put your sheets in the order listed on the title sheet, cover sheet or table of contents — the leading number follows that index order.
2. Split the set so every plan sheet is its own single-page PDF. Clark County rejects multi-page plan files, and plan files may not be zipped.
3. Start each filename with the order number, then the sheet number when your set has one, then the sheet name or a brief description: 003 A101 Reference site plan.pdf. Without a designer's index, order number plus description is enough: 001 Site plan.pdf.
4. Leave out dashes and the county's listed special characters ( - _ & % ? / # * $ ! @ ^ + = { [ ) and keep the whole name to 40 characters or less.
5. To insert a page between 001 and 002, name it 001.1 — the existing page numbers stay as they are.
6. Upload plan sheets landscape, 11"x17" to 24"x36", as smart/vector PDFs with layers and calibration intact, and keep the upper-right stamp area clear.

Permit Prep does the splitting and the filename pattern. You still confirm the items under "Check these yourself" — those are not things software can verify for you.

What applies where

• Scope: Permits reviewed by Clark County, Washington Community Development. Cities inside the county, including Vancouver and Camas, run their own permit systems and rules.
• Stage: Plan upload for electronic plan review. Revised sheets are re-uploaded under the same plan page.
• Upload portal: ProjectDox (Clark County LMS)

Check these yourself

• Reserve the county's electronic approval stamp area in the upper-right corner of every drawing: 2" x 2" on 8.5"x11" and 11"x17" sheets, 3" x 3" on 22"x34" and 24"x36" sheets. Permit Prep never scales, crops or covers a drawing to create that space.
• Sheet size must be 11"x17" minimum to 24"x36" maximum for plan sheets.
• Plans must be smart/vector PDFs — text searchable, with layers and saved calibration. Clark County does not accept scanned raster plans from design professionals.
• Each sheet needs an independent, clearly labeled scale, and the file must carry its saved calibration. Permit Prep does not change scale, calibration, layers or drawing content.
• Keep the layer count under 100 and purge extraneous layers before you export the PDF.
• Match the leading order numbers to your own sheet index — Permit Prep numbers sheets in page order, which is usually but not always the same.

What the source does not say

• Clark County's pages state a 40-character tip, not a hard maximum, so Permit Prep warns instead of blocking.
• The pages do not state a maximum file size for plan files.

Frequently asked questions

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