Skip to content
MiPRFácil
ESEN
Housing

The plan step by step: from seed file to frame

Last reviewed: September 7, 2026 — VerifiedOGPe

In short

Rule 2.8.8 of Joint Regulation No. 9473 puts in order everything the earlier rules explain separately. There are six steps. First, open the standard’s seed file and save it under the name corresponding to the case number assigned by the SUI. Second, select the layer of the element to be drawn, and do it every time a new element is started: since each element must go in its assigned layer, plans will not be accepted with different elements in the same layer or with elements placed in the wrong layers. Third, draw, with PLINE and not LINE for linear work, closing polygons by their end points and using no arcs. Fourth, insert one block per entity and fill its attributes: if there are two structures, the structures block is inserted twice. Fifth, fill in the Control Stations Certification, which sits at coordinate 0, 0, 0 of the seed file. And sixth, create the plan’s frame per the standard’s requirements. The same rule carries the list of the nineteen layers of the fundamental elements, with their description in Spanish and English, their line style and their thickness in millimetres.

External link

Go to the official site

You'll leave MiPRFácilOpens in a new tab

docs.pr.gov

What is it?

It is Rule 2.8.8 of Chapter 2.8 of Joint Regulation No. 9473, the last of the Plan Drawing Standard. The earlier rules say how the layers are named, how each element is drawn, how the attributes are filled and how the file is delivered; this one says in what order all of that is done, and carries the layer list to hand.

Who can do it?

It applies to the professionals who prepare plans governed by the Plan Drawing Standard and submit them to the permit process through the Unified Information System.

Requirements

Documents you need

Cost

Check the current cost with the official agency.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: Step 1: open the seed file and name it with the case

    File preparation: open the seed file that forms part of the standard and save it under the name corresponding to the case number assigned by the SUI. You do not start from a blank file or your own template: the seed file is the one carrying the layers, the per-layer symbology, the attribute blocks and the CEC already in place.

  2. Step 2: Step 2: change layer every time you change element

    Layer selection: select the layer corresponding to the element to be drawn. Since each element must be drawn in its assigned layer, plans will not be accepted with different elements in the same layer or with elements placed in the wrong layers. This step must be done every time a new element is about to be drawn. The Regulation’s example: if you are drawing a parcel’s boundaries and switch to drawing a structure’s boundary, you must select the structure boundaries layer. But if after that structure you must draw another because the plan contains more than one, you would not have to change layer, since you are still drawing the same element.

  3. Step 3: Step 3: draw with PLINE and close the polygons

    Creation of graphic elements: draw the elements composing the plan, each in its own layer. To draw linear elements you must use the PLINE command, not the LINE command. To create polygons you must use PLINE, making sure to close the polygon by connecting all its end points. Other permitted commands are CIRCLE, RECTANG, POLYGON and ELLIPSE. Arcs must not be used to create polygons. Point elements, such as control points, must be inserted with the corresponding symbol and their assigned attributes filled.

  4. Step 4: Step 4: one block for every entity

    Block insertion: insert the block corresponding to each entity, one for each. If there are two structures on the plan the structures block must be inserted twice, and each inserted block must correspond to a different structure, which entails filling each block’s attributes once inserted. The insertion point must be within the area the entity covers and not on its boundaries in the case of polygons. For linear elements such as street centres, the insertion point must be on the line representing the road. And for point elements, the block’s insertion point must fall on that point’s coordinate.

  5. Step 5: Step 5: fill in the CEC at coordinate 0, 0, 0

    Control Stations Certification: fill in the information requested in the CEC, located at coordinate 0, 0, 0 of the seed file. It is the step that documents with what equipment and methodology the project was georeferenced, and the one that must afterwards also be delivered as a signed and sealed PDF.

  6. Step 6: Step 6: the frame

    Frame: create the plan’s frame in compliance with the requirements established in the standard. It is the workflow’s last step, and it comes after everything else.

  7. Step 7: The nineteen layers, by name

    The same rule carries the list of layers of the fundamental elements, with descriptions in Spanish and English, line style and thickness in millimetres. They are: V-ANNO-CERT, the Control Stations Certification; V-BLDG-FTPT, structure; V-CTRL-HORZ, V-CTRL-HVPT and V-CTRL-VERT, the horizontal, horizontal/vertical and vertical control points or stations; V-GRAD-AFTR, topography of the depth after dredging or cutting; V-PROP-ESMT, servitudes; V-PROP-ESMT-CONS, conservation servitude; V-PROP-IDEN-ADJA, annotation of adjoining properties; V-PROP-RWAY, land cession; V-PROP-LINE, adjoining owners; V-ROAD-CNTR, road or path centre line; V-TOPO-MAJR and V-TOPO-MINR, major and minor contour lines; V-WETL-SVLT, V-WETL-SSLV and V-WETL-ZMT, the three coastal layers; and V-BLDG-OLC and V-PROP-OLC, the open location codes of the structure and of the parcels.

  8. Step 8: Where the source contradicts itself

    A note on the source, in four points. One: the element-creation step writes the command as "PLYNE" on one line and as "PLINE" on the next. Two: the certification step refers to information "about the CPG" and sends the reader to the section that is the CEC. Three: the layer-change example names the structure boundaries layer as V-BLDG, but this same rule’s layer list holds no V-BLDG; the structure one is V-BLDG-FTPT. Four, and this one asks for the most care: in the layer list, the three coastal layers do not line up with their descriptions — V-WETL-SVLT appears as the maritime terrestrial zone limit, V-WETL-ZMT as the rescue zone and V-WETL-SSLV as the coastal surveillance servitude. We publish the pairings as printed and do not guess which column is the wrong one. Also, V-GRAD-AFTR figures among the nineteen layers although the table of fundamental elements lists no element of dredging or cut depth, and the V-PROP-ESMT row carries an English description where the line style belongs, leaving that layer with no printed style.

  9. Step 9: What we do not publish

    The layer list also carries a colour column in RGB values. In the copy we read those values lost their separators — things like "2,550,255" and "2,552,550" appear — and there is no telling whether that is 255,0,255 or 25,50,255. We publish no colour value: in the seed file they come already assigned by layer, which is where they should come from. Nor do we reproduce the symbol list of Section 2.8.8.2, which survives only as a partial image of a much longer table, with several file names damaged.

Where to do it

The workflow runs in the CAD program over the standard’s seed file, and the finished plan is submitted through the OGPe’s Unified Information System in DWG and PDF.

How long it takes

Check the current processing time with the official agency.

What to do if something goes wrong

If the plan comes back over layers, it is almost always step two: an element stayed in another’s layer because the layer was not changed when it was started. If a block landed on a polygon’s boundary instead of inside it, move it. And if the file is named differently from the SUI case number, rename it before submitting.

Common mistakes

  • Starting from your own file instead of the standard’s seed file.
  • Drawing two different elements without changing layer between them.
  • Using LINE instead of PLINE for linear elements.
  • Closing polygons with arcs.
  • Inserting a single block when there are several entities of the same element.
  • Leaving the CEC unfilled because it sits out of view, at coordinate 0, 0, 0.
  • Saving the file under a name that is not the SUI case number.

Frequently asked questions

How often must I change layer?

Every time you start a new element. If you are still drawing the same element — a second structure, for instance — you do not change layer.

What happens if I mix elements in one layer?

The rule says it plainly: plans will not be accepted with different elements in the same layer or with elements placed in the wrong layers.

What is the plan file called?

With the case number assigned by the SUI. The CEC in PDF carries that same number followed by a hyphen and the acronym CEC.

Which is the structures layer?

In this rule’s layer list it is V-BLDG-FTPT. The text’s example calls it V-BLDG, a name that does not appear in that list; we flag it and do not correct it.

Official sources

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

Last verified

September 7, 2026

MiPRFácil is an independent informational website and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Government of Puerto Rico or any government agency.

MiPRFácil does not submit applications on your behalf.

Was this guide helpful?

Did you find out-of-date information?

Did you find out-of-date information?

No account needed. We don't ask for personal data.