For municipalities in Eastern Ontario
Your permits went online. The paper files didn’t.
Permit files, plans and council records are kept for decades, and the Clerk has to find them when asked. Digitized and indexed, they become a search, not a trip to the storage room.
Already trusted with the records of the Township of Carling.
Why it matters
Business days to answer a request, by law. Since 1 July 2026, municipalities have 45 business days under MFIPPA, up from 30 calendar days. Every request still starts the clock, and finding paper files is what uses it up.
Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Ontario, as amended by Bill 97 (in force 1 July 2026)
Lost per person every week searching for documents that can’t be found, before a single one has to be recreated.
IDC Information Worker Survey
To answer a file-related query once records are indexed, down from days. Our clients’ words, not ours.
Utility Structures Inc.
What we scan
Every box in the back room, made searchable.
Files in any condition: stapled, flagged, folded or bound. We prepare them by hand, scan them, reassemble them if you want the paper back, and OCR every page so a single name or file number finds it.
- Building permit files
- Large-format plans and drawings
- Council and committee minutes
- By-laws
- Property and assessment files
- Planning applications
“We received all the hardcopies of the documents back in the same condition they were sent with nothing being lost or damaged … We recommend Yes We Scan to other municipalities and agencies.”
Trusted with the records of
- Municipality
Conservation
Security services
Engineering
Business
Large-format
Plans, maps and drawings. Scanned just as carefully.
Building plans, survey maps and engineering drawings are scanned, named to your convention and delivered with the rest of your files. Quoted on request.
Ask for a large-format quoteQuestions
Asked before the first box.
Can we start small?
Yes. Start with one box of old permits through the free trial, then scale to a full project.
How are we billed?
An agreed rate per page, in a written quote. Invoices come with the deliverable, and you can check the work before you pay.
Free checklist
Paper records and the access-request clock
Seven checks to make sure paper files never put an access request at risk.
- Map where each type of record lives: permits, planning files, council records, property files.
- Time how long it takes today to find an old permit file from request to desk.
- Rank record types by how often they’re requested, and start with the top of the list.
- Choose the fields your staff search by, such as roll number, address and permit number, and index by them.
- Keep a chain of custody for every box that leaves the office.
- Confirm your retention by-law before any original is destroyed.
- Store the digital files where the clerk’s office can search them on day one.
The free trial box
Start with one box of old permits.
Give us a bankers box of typical records. We will scan and OCR them into searchable PDFs, named to your specifications, and return them within two business days.
Or call Robert: 613-223-7359
For organizations with a real project. Free Trial Terms apply.