Permit Wizard Customer Says, “That Was Easy!”

“That was easy!” This is how Salim Bhabrawala explained his experience using the new DCRA Permit Wizard. DCRA launched the Permit Wizard in March, and Bhabawala was the first customer to apply for and receive a permit using this new application.

In a recent conversation, Bhabalawa said he was thinking about doing renovations to his kitchen but wasn’t sure what type of permit he needed. A few days later, he received an email from DCRA announcing the new feature and decided to give it a try.

Bhabrawala said the process was very simple. “I have gone through the in-person permitting before, and that can be a long process. This quick and smooth process was very refreshing,” explains Bhabrawala, who was able to receive his kitchen renovation permit within one business day.

Despite his success, Bhabrawala did acknowledge one glitch: there was nowhere to list that Bhabrawala would be completing the project himself. After submitting his plans, he quickly received a call from Virnder Bhogal from DCRA’s Homeowner Permit Resource Center alerting him that his project team information appeared to be missing. Bhogal guided Bhabrawala through the process to indicate he would be completing the improvements himself. Problem solved!

Since the launch of the Permit Wizard in early March, more than 1,110 projects were created in the new online application system to begin the permit process. We hope they have the same success launching their projects as Bhabrawala.