Permits: Setup, Public Applications & Payment Collection

Command Established handles the full permit lifecycle — from an applicant submitting a burn permit request on your website to your reviewer approving it, collecting the fee, and issuing a certificate. This article walks through setting up your permit program from scratch: defining permit types, configuring fees, publishing application forms, and managing the review workflow.

If you're specifically looking for how to connect Stripe for payment collection, see Setting Up Stripe for Permit Invoice Payments.

Setting Up Permit Types

Permit types define the categories of permits your department issues. Go to Permits > Permit Types to create them.

Using the IFC Catalog

If you're starting from scratch, you can load a pre-built catalog of approximately 28 permit types based on the International Fire Code. Go to Permit Types and click Load IFC defaults. This populates common types like operational permits (hot work, flammable storage, LP gas), construction permits (fire alarm, sprinkler, hood suppression), and special event permits.

You can edit any loaded type to match your department's naming and requirements. The catalog can only be loaded once, into an empty department — it won't overwrite types you've already created.

Creating a Custom Type

Click New permit type and configure:

• Name — what the applicant sees (e.g., "Open Burning Permit", "Fireworks Display Permit")
• Code — short uppercase identifier used in permit numbers (e.g., BURN, FIRE-DISPLAY). The code appears in the permit number format: BURN-2026-00042.
• Permit class — operational, construction, burn, temporary, or other
• Duration — annual, seasonal, project-based, event-based, daily, or custom
• IFC section (optional) — reference to the applicable International Fire Code section

Type Settings

Each type has additional configuration options:

Setting Up Fee Schedules

If your department charges for permits, set up fee schedules before publishing application forms. Go to Permits > Fee Schedules.

A fee schedule is a list of line items that define what gets billed when a permit is approved. Each line item has a type:

• Flat — fixed amount (e.g., $50.00 application fee)
• Per unit — amount multiplied by a permit field (e.g., $0.50 per gallon of flammable liquid stored)
• Tiered — price varies by quantity band (e.g., first 100 gallons at $0.50/gal, 101-500 at $0.35/gal)
• Percentage — percentage of another line item (useful for add-on fees)
• Percentage of subtotal — percentage of the running total (useful for taxes or surcharges)

Per-unit and tiered line items can calculate against permit fields like square footage, occupant load, device count, tank capacity, material quantities, and requested days.

Once you've created a fee schedule, link it to a permit type by editing the type and selecting the schedule. When a permit of that type is approved, an invoice is automatically generated with the calculated line items.

Publishing a Public Application Form

Public forms let applicants submit permit requests directly from your department's website — no login required. Go to Permits > Forms to create one.

Building the Form

1. Click New form and select which permit type it's for
2. Choose a URL slug — this becomes the form's public URL (e.g., burn-permit → commandestablished.com/p/your-dept/permits/burn-permit)
3. Add questions — each question maps to a field type:
   • Short text, long text, select, multi-select, checkbox, yes/no
   • Date, phone, email, address
   • File upload (for insurance certificates, site plans, etc.)
   • Signature capture
4. For each question, optionally set:
   • Required — must be answered to submit
   • Maps to — which permit field this answer populates (applicant name, email, location, description, dates, etc.)
   • Show when — conditional visibility based on earlier answers
5. Click Publish when the form is ready

Questions with a "maps to" field automatically populate the corresponding permit field when submitted. Questions without mapping appear as additional information in the permit description.

How Public Applications Work

1. Applicant fills out the form and submits — no account needed
2. Verification email is sent to the applicant's email address
3. Applicant clicks the verification link — this confirms the email is real and makes the application visible to your reviewers
4. Unverified applications are automatically archived after 7 days — this prevents spam from cluttering your queue

After verification, the applicant receives a status page link where they can check their application's progress, view invoices, and pay online.

The Review Workflow

Permits move through a defined lifecycle. Here's the typical flow:

Draft → Submitted → Under Review → Approved → Issued

Working Through the Queue

1. View submitted permits — open Permits and filter by status to see what needs attention
2. Claim a permit — click a submitted permit and claim it for review. This assigns you as the reviewer so other staff know it's being handled.
3. Review the application — check applicant info, location, description, uploaded documents, and any material quantities or project details
4. Approve or reject — approve to move forward (auto-generates an invoice if a fee schedule is linked), or reject with a reason that's emailed to the applicant

Issuing a Permit

After approval (and payment, if applicable):

1. If the permit has an invoice, click Send Invoice to make it visible to the applicant and send the payment link email
2. Once payment is received (or if there's no fee), click Issue on the approved permit
3. The system sets the issuance date, calculates the expiration based on the permit type's duration, and generates a certificate
4. A certificate email is sent to the applicant with a PDF attachment
5. The permit status page updates for the applicant

If the permit has a fee schedule and Stripe is connected, permits auto-issue when all invoices are fully paid — no manual issuance step needed. But the invoice must be sent first (draft invoices are not visible to applicants).

Other Actions

• Renew — for permit types that allow renewal, create a new permit linked to the original with one click
• Revoke — cancel an issued permit with a reason (the applicant is notified)
• Reassign — transfer a permit under review to a different reviewer

Collecting Payments

When a permit with a fee schedule is approved, an invoice is automatically created. The invoice includes calculated line items based on the fee schedule and the permit's details.

Online Payments (Stripe)

If your department has Stripe connected:

1. Staff clicks Send Invoice to make it available to the applicant (draft invoices are not visible)
2. Applicant receives a payment link email and clicks "Pay Online" on their status page
3. They're redirected to Stripe Checkout to pay by credit card, debit card, or ACH
4. Payment is recorded automatically via webhook
5. If all invoices on the permit are paid, the permit auto-issues

Manual Payments

For in-person payments (cash, check, card swipe), click Record payment on the invoice and enter the amount, method, and reference number. The invoice status updates accordingly.

Revenue Tracking

Go to Permits > Revenue to see collections broken out by permit type, payment status, and date range. This gives your department a clear picture of permit revenue.

Conditions

Conditions are requirements that appear on the issued permit certificate. They serve as the terms the permit is subject to — "Fire extinguisher must be present on site", "Burning permitted only between 8 AM and 6 PM", "Notify dispatch 30 minutes before ignition".

Set up condition templates on the permit type so reviewers have a ready-made library of conditions to choose from. Reviewers add, edit, or remove conditions on individual permits before issuance.

Common Setups

Open Burning Permits

Type: Burn permit, seasonal duration Fee schedule: Flat $25 application fee Form questions: Applicant name, address, phone, email, burn location, burn dates, materials to be burned, site map upload Conditions: "Must have water source within 50 feet", "No burning on red flag days", "Notify dispatch before ignition"

Special Event Permits

Type: Event permit, event duration Fee schedule: Flat base fee + per-unit by expected attendance Form questions: Event name, organizer info, venue, dates, expected attendance, site plan, insurance certificate upload Conditions: "Fire watch required if attendance exceeds 250", "Emergency exits must remain unobstructed", "Pyrotechnics require separate permit"

Construction Fire Safety Permits

Type: Construction permit, project duration Fee schedule: Tiered by square footage Form questions: Project address, contractor info, scope of work, building plans upload, insurance certificate Conditions: "Fire alarm system must be tested and certified before occupancy", "Sprinkler system inspection required" Settings: Requires inspection, requires insurance, requires location

Frequently Asked Questions