Answers to the most common questions from field contractors.
A pad certification (also called a rough grade certification or as-graded letter) is a formal report certifying that rough grading meets the approved grading plan. It must be signed and sealed by a licensed civil engineer or geotechnical engineer registered in the state where the project is located. Grading contractors cannot self-certify their own work. Surveyors can perform as-graded surveys but typically cannot certify drainage compliance or sign the certification letter without civil engineering registration. In California, the geotechnical engineer often certifies fill compaction in a separate letter while the civil engineer certifies grades and drainage.
The most common standard is plus or minus 0.10 ft (1.2 inches) from the design pad elevation shown on the approved grading plan. Some jurisdictions allow plus or minus 0.15 ft. California tends to be the most stringent - Orange County requires plus or minus 0.10 ft with no exceptions. Texas cities vary: most accept plus or minus 0.15 ft. Arizona (Maricopa County) requires plus or minus 0.10 ft. Verify the specific tolerance with the local building department before beginning grading, as working to the wrong tolerance can result in a rejected certification even if your shots are internally consistent.
A complete pad certification report must include: project identification (address, tract number, lot numbers), reference to the approved grading plan (plan number and approval date), as-graded elevations at each required measurement point (typically 5 per lot: front left, front right, center, rear left, rear right), the corresponding design elevation from the grading plan at each point, deviation (as-graded minus design), pass/fail determination for each lot at the applicable tolerance, drainage compliance statement (confirming positive drainage away from all foundations per IRC R401.3 or local code), GPS coordinates (required in many California and Arizona jurisdictions), and PE signature and seal.
The most common rejection causes are: missing GPS coordinates when required by the city, no drainage slope documentation (the cert must confirm drainage, not just elevation), deviations noted in the report without corresponding corrective action documentation, referencing the wrong grading plan version, PE not licensed in the state, and poor scan quality or illegible handwritten entries. Some cities also reject certifications that do not use their specific required form - check whether the city has a required format before preparing the submission.
Review time varies significantly: 2-5 business days for smaller cities and many Texas and Arizona jurisdictions. 2-4 weeks for busier cities in major metropolitan areas. Up to 6-8 weeks for some California jurisdictions, particularly in the Bay Area and Southern California during peak building permit season. Submittals with missing information are returned without review, restarting the clock. Submitting at the beginning of the week avoids the weekend delay that affects Monday submittals in jurisdictions that do not have weekend processing.
Yes, in virtually all US jurisdictions. Grading contractors cannot self-certify their own rough grade work. The certification must be signed by a licensed civil engineer or geotechnical engineer. Some jurisdictions allow the PE of record on the grading plan to certify based on field observation notes provided by the contractor, but the PE must independently verify (or spot-check) the data before signing. Do not submit certifications signed only by a grading contractor - they will be rejected and can create liability issues for the engineer of record.
Positive drainage means the ground slopes away from the foundation on all sides. IRC R401.3 requires a minimum slope of 6 inches in the first 10 feet from the foundation (approximately 5% slope), then 2% minimum slope to the lot line or drainage facility. To verify: set up a level or total station at the foundation corner, take elevation shots at 2-foot intervals extending away from the structure to 10 feet, then at the lot line. Calculate slope at each interval. All intervals must show a positive (downward) slope away from the structure with no flat spots or reverse slope.
Per IRC R401.3: minimum 6 inches of fall in the first 10 horizontal feet from the foundation (approximately 5% slope in this zone), then 2% minimum slope beyond 10 feet to the lot line or drainage swale. The 6-inch requirement applies to all sides of the structure, not just the downhill side. Many building departments have adopted stricter requirements: the California Building Code references these minimums but some jurisdictions (particularly in Southern California hillside areas) require steeper grades. Always verify with local building department requirements.
Yes. RTK GPS rovers are widely used for residential pad elevation surveys and achieve accuracy of plus or minus 0.05 ft with good RTK network coverage - adequate for the plus or minus 0.10 ft tolerance standard. GPS also automatically records northing and easting coordinates with every shot, which is increasingly required by building departments. The limitation is sky obstruction: GPS loses accuracy under tree canopy or adjacent to tall structures. For urban infill lots with significant overhead obstruction, a total station is more reliable. Most grading contractors use GPS for open subdivisions and keep a total station available for obstructed lots.
A rejected pad cert means the building permit cannot be issued for the affected lots. The typical process after rejection: the engineer of record revises and re-submits the certification (possibly requiring a field re-survey if data is missing or the grading was outside tolerance), the building department processes the re-submittal (typical review time resets), and the permit is issued once the certification is accepted. During this time, framing and structural work cannot begin. For production builders, a single-lot rejection that delays permit by 2-3 weeks costs $1,000-3,000 per lot in carrying costs and schedule impacts.
Sitemark captures lot elevations, calculates deviations, verifies drainage, and generates the complete certification package your PE needs to sign and submit.
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