The short version
File in iMS — it is the city’s only intake. An FR permit is a Fire Division permit: the Building Division’s permit techs do not process fire permits and will tell you so in writing. When corrections come back, every open issue needs its own brief written response submitted with the corrected package in the Plan Room — revised plans alone do not close an issue.
What needs a permit
Fire alarm work in Richmond — new systems, modifications, and device work in commercial and institutional buildings — files as an FR-series permit with the Richmond Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Division through the city’s iMS portal. Start with the Fire Division, not the building counter: the permit techs’ written answer to fire questions is “We cannot assist with Fire Division permits. Please contact them directly.” Our working example: a fire alarm modification at 2851 Salesian Ave (Salesian College Preparatory), filed for the installing contractor (NexTech) in 2026.
Fees
Richmond assesses its plan check and permit fees on the record in iMS under the city’s fee schedule, and correction cycles are billed reviews — so the cheapest Richmond file is the one that clears in the fewest cycles. The city’s fee is quoted from the record when it posts, never guessed in advance.
Our fee is published and flat: $250 Hotline (filing only) or $495 Complete Package (filing + corrections until issued + city-fee coordination + delivery). The city’s fee is separate and goes to the city.
The steps
- File in iMS — the only intake. The city’s own rule: “The City of Richmond now only accepts applications through our online permitting system, IMS.” There is no email intake for fire plans and no parallel fire-only filing, so the package that goes in has to be right.
- Plan check. The record opens under a Plan Check banner in iMS, with the city’s Digital Plan Room holding the plans and the review issues on the same record.
- Fire Review. Fire plan review is a Fire Department function, executed by the city’s on-call contract review bench (Council Resolution 77-26, May 26, 2026 — 4Leaf, BPR Consulting Group, and CSG Consultants). Everything reaches the reviewer through the city, never directly: the bench’s own instruction is that revised plans and responses “must be submitted directly to the City of Richmond. Do not send revised documents directly to the reviewer.” On our file, Fire Review was approved September 30, 2026.
- Corrections — answer every issue, in writing, in the Plan Room. Richmond’s rule, from the city’s iMS notice: “all identified issues will require a brief text response/acknowledgment that must be submitted along with corrected plans and documents as a new review package with the Plan Room.” Each open issue gets its own response, submitted with the corrected package.
- Final Review and issuance. After the discipline reviews complete, a staff-side Final Review closes the record and the permit issues. A clean file is one where the reviewer has approved and every Plan Room issue carries its submitted response — read both states, not just the banner.
The two clocks every Richmond applicant should know
- 180 days from filing. Under CBC [A] 105.3.2, adopted by Richmond (RMC 6.02), an application is deemed abandoned 180 days after filing unless it has been pursued in good faith or a permit has issued. Written extensions (up to 90 days each) are available from the Building Official for justifiable cause. Our file was filed May 12, 2026 — its 180-day mark is November 8, 2026 — and continuous documented pursuit is what keeps a file alive. If a file will run long, protect the date in writing before it arrives.
- 180 days from plan-review approval. Richmond’s RMC 105.3.2.1 also expires applications with no permit issued within 180 days of the plan-review-approval notification. Approval starts a second clock — it does not stop time.
Inspections & closeout
The permit record carries a Fire Final inspection (type 920 in iMS), which is scheduled once the permit issues — it cannot be booked off an unissued record. Fire inspections run through the Fire Prevention Division. Keep the issued permit and the approved set on site for the final; the permit closes on the Fire Final sign-off.
Local resources
- iMS portal — the city’s only application intake; the Digital Plan Room on the same record holds plans and issues.
- Fire Prevention Division (the owning desk for fire permits) — 510-307-8031 · 510-307-8037 · [email protected] · 450 Civic Center Plaza.
- Fire Marshal’s office — Dante J. Wiley, Fire Marshal, 510-307-8090; the office owns the contract review bench.
- Building Division (building permits only — not fire) — 510-620-6868 · [email protected].
- iMS Helpline (ci.richmond.ca.us/iMSHelpline) — for portal-mechanics questions.
Start here — published, flat, no demo.
Order your Richmond fire permit online: $250 Hotline or $495 Complete Package. Already filed? Track it free.
Written from PermitsPros’ filed Richmond case FR26-000043 (2851 Salesian Ave), filed 2026. Processes and fee schedules change — figures and rules are from the city sources and record cited on this page. Not legal advice.