Design Service Disclosures

Last updated: October 15, 2026

This page explains, in plain terms, what we are, what we do, and what we leave to others. It applies to every plan, modification, custom design and related service we provide.

1. We are not architects or engineers

Sillplate Plan Co. plans and drawings are prepared by a person who is not a licensed architect or professional engineer.

• Sillplate is run by Dominic Freed, a residential general contractor based in Troy, Missouri. He is a draftsperson and builder. He is not a licensed architect or professional engineer, and Sillplate holds no architecture or engineering license or certificate of authority.
• We provide house plans, residential design and drafting for one- and two-family dwellings. We do not provide architecture or engineering services, and we don't hold ourselves out as able to.
• We do not seal or stamp drawings, and nothing on our drawings is meant to look like a seal.
• We do not describe our plans as "architectural" or "engineered," because they aren't, and because those words are regulated.

2. The Missouri basis for our work

Missouri exempts design of privately owned one- and two-family dwellings from both its architecture licensing law and its engineering licensing law, on the condition that the documents state the preparer is not a licensed architect and not a licensed professional engineer (RSMo 327.101.2(5) and 327.191.2(5)).

That statement appears on every sheet of our drawings, our cover sheets, our proposals, estimates and invoices, and our plan listings.

Draft statement (for counsel review): "Prepared by Blank to fill in: [legal entity name] (Blank to fill in: [preparer name]), who is not a licensed architect and not a licensed professional engineer. Designed for a Blank to fill in: [one-family / two-family] dwelling under RSMo 327.101.2(5) and 327.191.2(5)."

3. What we draw, and what we decline

4. State-by-state limits

Whether a non-licensee may design a house for someone else differs by state. We reviewed the architecture and engineering laws of all 50 states (research dated October 15, 2026). That review is our research, not legal advice, and laws change. We sort states into three groups:

States where we sell. Both the architecture and engineering laws (or board rules) appear to exempt the houses we draw. We apply the state's disclosure requirements and still check local rules. Some of these states cap the exemption, and we enforce the caps:

• Michigan: 3,500 sf of habitable area or less.
• Nebraska: size limits set by statute and board rule.
• New Mexico: single-family, two stories or less.

States with an engineering-may-be-required notice. These states exempt houses from the architecture law, but their engineering law has no clear residential exemption, or the exemption has real limits. In these states:

• we sell only after counsel has reviewed that state;
• we deliver a version of the plan with calculated elements removed, and beams and headers specified from code or manufacturer tables;
• anything that needs calculation is noted "by a licensed professional engaged by the builder";
• we apply the state's required wording (for example, "NOT A LICENSED ARCHITECT" in Connecticut, or a signature and true occupational title in Kentucky and South Carolina);
• expect a licensed professional to be involved more often.

Restricted states: Arkansas, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey and New York. Our research indicates a licensed architect or engineer (or, in Nevada, a registered residential designer) is required for this work, or that the exemption doesn't fit our business. We don't sell build licenses or construction drawings for projects in these states. Study sets and referrals may be available.

The current status of every state is shown on each plan page and enforced at checkout. We may decline any order where we aren't confident the work is allowed.

5. Local rules can require a seal anyway

State law isn't the only layer. Cities and counties adopt their own building codes and may require sealed construction documents for new houses even where state law doesn't. Some areas issue no residential building permits at all.

It's your responsibility to call your local building department and find out whether sealed plans are required. If they are:

• we coordinate with a licensed structural engineer, who reviews the calculations in our plans, makes any adjustments necessary, and seals them;
• we incorporate the engineer's changes into our drawings;
• the engineer's fee is passed through at cost, with no markup. It's commonly $1,000 to $3,000, and ranges from about $500 to $5,000 depending on the home. Our coordination fee is $150 (see the terms below).

Terms when we coordinate a licensed professional. These apply whenever we coordinate an engineer (or an architect) for you:

• At cost. Their fee is passed through at cost, with no markup. We charge a $150 coordination fee.
• Only what's required. Their scope is limited to what your building department requires.
• You approve first. You see and approve their quote before any work starts.
• Their call. Their design decisions are their professional responsibility.
• One round of changes included. One round of incorporating their required changes into our drawings is included. Further rounds, or redesign they require beyond the original scope, are quoted before we start.

We never sell a "stamp." The engineer decides what they must do before they can seal, under their own licensing board's rules. Some states' rules require the licensee to give initial direction, supervise each step and be in direct contact with the client (in Missouri, 20 CSR 2030-13.010), so the engineer may need to be involved before the set is final.

6. Engineering and local adaptation by others

Our plans are drawn to the prescriptive provisions of the residential code identified on the cover sheet: span tables, header tables, foundation tables and the wall-bracing provisions. The following are by others:

• Roof trusses: designed by the truss manufacturer. Sealed truss design drawings are a deferred submittal.
• Engineered lumber (LVL, PSL, I-joists): sized by the manufacturer or supplier.
• Any structural element outside the prescriptive limits, and any element noted "by a licensed professional": designed by a licensed professional engaged by the builder.
• Foundations on problem soils (expansive clay, fill, high groundwater, rock) and soils reports or foundation letters where required.
• Site or plot plans and surveys.
• HVAC load and equipment sizing (for example, ACCA Manual J and S), by the HVAC contractor.
• Energy compliance modeling (such as REScheck), if the jurisdiction won't accept the prescriptive table on the plans.
• Mechanical and plumbing design, where required. In Virginia, electrical and mechanical system design is outside the designer exemption, so our electrical sheet there is a device layout only.
• Fire sprinkler layout, if a buyer elects the sprinkler option Missouri builders must offer (RSMo 67.281). That layout comes from a qualified sprinkler designer.

A local adaptation pass (a paid service) updates the code-reference sheet, design criteria, state disclosure and submittal checklist for your jurisdiction. It doesn't guarantee approval and doesn't replace a licensed professional where one is required.

7. No permit guarantee

We do not guarantee that any plan will be approved for a permit. Approval is the building department's decision. We draw to the code the jurisdiction has adopted as best we can determine it, and we respond to plan-review comments as your scope provides.

8. What the builder verifies

Before and during construction, the builder (with its licensed professionals) is responsible for verifying:

• the codes, editions and local amendments that apply, and the jurisdiction's submittal requirements;
• the site: survey, setbacks, easements, grading, drainage, utilities, flood zone and HOA covenants;
• soils and subsurface conditions, including bearing capacity, groundwater and rock;
• lot-specific design criteria marked VERIFY on the drawings, such as wind exposure;
• dimensions and field conditions, with discrepancies reported before the affected work proceeds;
• that manufactured components and products match the drawings and their listings;
• construction means, methods, sequencing and jobsite safety.

9. Other things you should know

• Independent review isn't a seal. We may have a second qualified person check a set for code coordination and constructability. That review isn't a licensed professional's review or seal and is never described as one.
• Images are illustrations. Each image starts from a 3D model built from the plan, then gets an AI realism finish; images are realistic renderings from each plan's 3D model, and the built home may vary. Finishes, furniture and landscaping are shown for illustration. The plans and drawings themselves are drafted by a person.
• Turnaround times are typical, not promises. They run from complete inputs and an approved floor plan, and don't include your decision time, licensed professionals or plan review.
• Insurance. [OWNER: Once professional liability (E&O) coverage is bound, state the coverage here. Don't claim coverage until it exists.]
• Confidentiality. Client cost data, lot details and leads you share with us are kept confidential and used only to provide the services you ordered.

10. Questions

If you're not sure whether your project fits, ask before you buy: Blank to fill in: [contact email].

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Prepared by a person who is not a licensed architect or professional engineer.