Case Study: Oklahoma City achieves paperless, faster electronic plan review and permitting with Accela

Digital Plan Review Drives Efficiency in Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City’s planning department, serving a sprawling 621-square-mile jurisdiction with 19 staff and 45 inspectors, struggled with a slow, paper-based permit and plan-review process that required three hard-copy plan sets and linear routing between departments. The COVID-19 shutdown, a sudden surge in permit demand and a 25% reduction in review staff forced the city to rapidly move away from in-person submittals while many applicants lacked internet access or familiarity with online systems.

The city fast-tracked implementation of DigEplan integrated with Accela, supported by TruePoint Solutions, using expedited training and customer tutorials to ease adoption. The new digital workflow enabled simultaneous, centralized reviews, eliminated bulky paper storage and duplicate printing, sped up stamping and revisions, supported remote work, and delivered faster real-time feedback—improving efficiency for both contractors and residents.

Oklahoma City

Scott Wise

Chief Plans Examiner