If you’ve pulled a permit in Georgia recently, you’ve sat in a queue. Commercial projects in Gwinnett, Cobb, and DeKalb can wait weeks — sometimes months — for mechanical and energy plan review. For a developer or GC managing a schedule, that wait is a direct cost. What most people don’t know: Georgia law gives licensed PEs an alternative. House Bill 493, signed in 2019, authorizes a qualified PE to perform the same plan review the county would — privately, on your schedule.
Key principle: Under HB 493, a licensed PE performs the same mechanical, plumbing, and energy code review the county would perform — and issues a signed professional opinion the jurisdiction accepts in lieu of its own staff review.
What Is HB 493?
HB 493 amended Georgia’s State Minimum Standard Codes to let local jurisdictions accept plan reviews performed by a licensed Georgia PE in lieu of their own staff. It is not a loophole — it is an explicitly authorized pathway created to address plan review backlogs. Counties opt in individually. The most active jurisdictions include Gwinnett, Cobb, DeKalb, and the City of Atlanta.
How It Works
Confirm participation
Verify your local building department accepts HB 493 reviews and that your intended reviewer is prequalified in that jurisdiction.
Engage a prequalified PE
The reviewing engineer must hold a current Georgia PE license and be prequalified by the specific county — requiring credentials, E&O insurance, and a written application to the building department.
PE reviews your drawings
Mechanical, plumbing, and energy compliance drawings are reviewed against the IMC, IPC, and IECC plus local amendments. Deliverable: a signed professional opinion letter and findings report.
Submit to the county
The signed review package goes to the building department with the permit application. The county accepts the professional opinion and issues the permit without repeating the review.
Why This Matters for Your Schedule
A standard county mechanical review in a high-volume Georgia jurisdiction can take two to eight weeks during peak construction seasons. A private PE review under HB 493 typically runs three to ten business days from receipt of complete drawings. For a contractor managing a lease commencement date, or a developer with carrying costs on a construction loan, that difference is measurable in dollars — and in whether the business opens on time.
Kiddio Engineering is actively pursuing HB 493 prequalification in Gwinnett, Cobb, DeKalb, and the City of Atlanta. If permit timing is critical for your next project, contact us before you submit — not after you get comments.