General contractor vs architect or civil engineer to submit plans

[Marcos Urvina]

I went to the dept of building & safety to ask about the permit process to build a 400 sq ft studio in my back yard so i can rent it out. They told me to get a civil engineer or architect to submit plans. I was under the impression that general contractors can submit plans also.My question is why would i go through a civil engineer or architect and not a general contractor?

[Raymond Dwyer]

General Contractors don't submit plans for permit. They sometimes have architects and engineers on staff, making them a design-build firm, but those architects or engineers are still the ones that submit it, even when on behalf of a larger company. General Contractors sometimes also process the permit application, but will still require drawings, signatures, and other documents by the architect or engineer of record.

Whole reason for this is that the jurisdiction the building is located needs to have a design professional held liable for any faults due to design, as opposed to the construction of that design which contractors are liable for.