Those who wish to be certified as a Peer Reviewer must provide an application along with a resume and a list of five (5) Montgomery County projects in which they were involved within the last ten years. Completed applications should be emailed to [email protected] and/or to [email protected].
If qualified, the candidate will be asked to complete a questionnaire in the related discipline, and to review a plan to identify significant deficiencies. If successful, DPS will approve the candidate’s certification for the Peer Review Program and general training will be provided.

Once certified as a Peer Reviewer, the name and contact information for that individual will be posted on the DPS web site. Applicants may select the Peer Reviewer of their choice from the list of certified individuals and contact the Peer Reviewer directly for information related to fees, expected review timeframes and other expectations related to the service they will provide. The applicant will pay peer viewer fees directly to the peer reviewer, not to DPS.

DPS will not recommend any particular Peer Reviewer and has no role in negotiating fees charged or services provided by the Peer Reviewer.

The Peer Reviewer will be responsible for:

• Receiving plans directly from the design professional or applicant; the Peer Reviewer will not have access to the DPS ProjectDox software.
• Reviewing all plans and related documents to determine conformance with codes and design standards and sending comments to the applicant’s design professional
• Recommending final design plans are ready for formal submission to DPS
• Collecting fees from their clients and meeting mutually agreed upon deadlines

Once the Peer Reviewer determines no further corrections are needed, the applicant or their design professional will submit the permit application and plans to DPS for review. DPS permitting fees will be assessed and the DPS plans examiner will perform a full review for code compliance. Once plans are approved, all fees and bonds are paid, and any other documentation required is provided, DPS will issue the permit.

The following must be agreed upon and negotiated directly with the Peer Reviewer:

• Fees and costs related to the Peer Reviewer’s services
• Services provided, including expected timelines for review
• Means and methods for coordination of plans between the design professional and Peer Reviewer
• Fees must be paid directly to the Peer Reviewer

The Peer Reviewer will be responsible for:

• Receiving plans directly from the design professional or applicant; the Peer Reviewer will not have access to the DPS ProjectDox software
• Reviewing all plans and related documents to determine conformance with codes and design standards and sending comments to the applicant’s design professional
• Recommending final design plans are ready for formal submission to DPS
• Collecting fees from their clients and meeting mutually agreed upon deadlines

DPS will be responsible for:

• Certifying qualified Peer Review candidates
• Providing candidates general training related to the review of plans for Montgomery County code compliance
• Providing Peer Reviewers resource materials to include documentation, design guidelines, manuals and links to DPS web site pages or web sites of outside agencies
• Evaluating and documenting Peer Reviewer performance to determine continued eligibility in the program
• Revoking a Peer Reviewer’s certification when performance issues are identified