Who this article is for: Authority users.
Overview
Permits are created in a five-step wizard: Template Selection, Limits, Sample Report Configurations, Fill Form, and Review & Sign. You define the permit's discharge limits and sampling requirements inside the wizard itself — there's no need to set anything up on outfalls beforehand. If you prefer to create limits and sample report configurations on outfalls first, that still works too: the wizard will offer them for selection.
Before you begin
You need at least one permit template (managed under Configuration > Templates).
The Industrial User must already exist in the system.
To start: go to Permitting in the left sidebar and click New Permit.
Step 1: Template Selection
Pick who and what this permit is for, and when it runs.
Field | Required | What it is |
Industrial User | Yes | The IU this permit is for — a searchable list. |
Permit Name | No | An optional custom name. |
Select Permit Template | Yes | One of your configured permit templates. |
Effective Date | Yes | When the permit takes effect. |
Expiration Date | Yes | When it expires. Must be later than the effective date, and the permit can't run longer than 5 years — you'll see "The permit duration cannot exceed 5 years." if it does. |
Click Next. The permit is created in Draft status — from here on you can leave with Save and exit and pick up where you left off.
⚠️ Changing the permit template or the Industrial User after you've started clears the limits and sample report configurations you built in Steps 2 and 3, along with the form content, because they no longer apply to the new selection. Settle the template and IU before doing detailed work.
Step 2: Limits
Build the permit's discharge limits. This step is active when your template includes a limits table; if it doesn't, the step tells you so and you can move straight on.
Click Add Limit and choose:
New Limit — create a limit right here. Pick the outfall, analyte, limit type, values and units, definition, and rationale. The limit is created on the outfall and added to the permit in one step.
Select Available Limits — choose from the limits already on this IU's outfalls. You'll only see limits that are active, new, available, or upcoming, that the template can display, and that aren't already on the permit.
To take a limit off the permit, select its row and click Remove. This takes the limit off the permit only — the limit itself stays on its outfall, whether you created it here or picked it from the outfalls.
Limits you created in the wizard can be edited by clicking their row.
Step 3: Sample Report Configurations
Build the permit's sampling requirements. Like Limits, this step is active when the template includes a sample report table.
Click Add Configuration and choose:
New Configuration — create a configuration without leaving the wizard. The window walks you through three screens: Details (name, outfall, who it's assigned to, lab report and chain-of-custody requirements, periods, schedule), Requirements (sampling specifications, calculated results, flow reporting), and Review.
Add Available Configuration — choose from configurations already on this IU's outfalls that are available to be attached.
Each industry-assigned configuration needs a schedule before you can continue. Click its Schedule button to open Set Schedule, which supports recurring schedules (by interval and frequency — week, month, or year) or specific dates. Every date must fall inside the permit's effective–expiration window from Step 1.
Authority-assigned configurations can appear here too (when the template uses the authority table); they're display-only and never block you.
To take a configuration off the permit, select its row and click Remove. One you picked from the outfalls goes back to being available and its schedule is cleared; one you created in the wizard is deleted.
Step 4: Fill Form
The permit template renders as an editable document with your limits and sampling requirements already filled into its tables.
Complete the template's form fields (terms, conditions, narrative sections). Some fields may be read-only, depending on the template.
To change the document's text itself, click Edit Document Text — it opens a protected editor that keeps the form fields intact.
System tables are read-only, but you can hide individual rows from a table using the row's visibility toggle. Hiding a row only affects that table — the limit or configuration stays on the permit. This is useful when a template shows the same table more than once, each with a different subset.
Every limit and configuration from Steps 2 and 3 must be visible in at least one table before you can continue — an error tells you which ones are missing.
For how templates and system tables work, see Understanding Permit Templates and System Tables.
Step 5: Review & Sign
The system generates a PDF preview of the finished permit. Review it in the viewer — you can move through pages, zoom, and search.
To activate the permit:
Type your name in the Type Your Name field (it unlocks once the PDF is ready; the Date/Time fills in automatically).
Click Finish.
Not ready to sign? Click Save and exit — the permit is saved in Pending status, and you can come back to sign later.
After signing
If the effective date is today or in the past, the permit becomes Active immediately.
If the effective date is in the future, the permit becomes Upcoming and turns Active automatically on the effective date.
The permit's limits are finalized, its sample report configurations activate, and sample reports are generated from the schedules you set.
The signed PDF is available on the permit detail page.
Saving, resuming, and deleting a draft
From Step 2 onward you can leave with Save and exit at any time. The permit stays in Draft (or Pending, from Step 5). Open it again from the permits list and the wizard resumes with everything preserved — dates, limits, configurations, schedules, and form content.
If you go back and change the permit's dates after setting schedules, the wizard re-checks every schedule against the new window and flags any that no longer fit — fix those before continuing.
To discard a draft, click Delete Permit (available on every step). Configurations you attached from outfalls become available again; ones created in the wizard are deleted; limits picked from outfalls stay on their outfalls.
Troubleshooting
Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
"The expiration date must be later than the effective date." | The dates are reversed or equal | Adjust either date |
"The permit duration cannot exceed 5 years." | The term is too long | Bring the expiration date within 5 years of the effective date |
Can't continue past Sample Report Configurations | An industry-assigned configuration has no schedule, or a schedule falls outside the permit dates | Click Schedule on each flagged row and set dates inside the permit window |
Can't continue past Fill Form | A limit or configuration isn't visible in any table | Un-hide its row in a table, or remove it from the permit in Steps 2/3 |
"Signature is required" | The name field is empty | Type your name in Type Your Name |
The signature field is grayed out | The PDF preview is still generating | Wait for the preview to finish |
FAQ
Can I change the template after starting? Yes, but it resets your work. Switching the template — or changing the Industrial User — clears the limits and sample report configurations you added in Steps 2 and 3 as well as the form content, because they were tied to the previous selection. Settle both before doing detailed work.
What if the effective date is in the future? The permit is created with Upcoming status and becomes Active automatically when the effective date arrives.
Can I save and come back later? Yes. Click Save and exit on any step from Step 2 onward. The permit stays in Draft (or Pending, from Step 5) and can be resumed from the permits list.
Is there a maximum permit duration? Yes. A permit cannot run longer than 5 years from its effective date, consistent with standard pretreatment program requirements.
Do I have to set up limits and sampling requirements before creating the permit? No. You can build both inside the wizard in Steps 2 and 3. If they already exist on the IU's outfalls, the wizard offers them for selection instead.