A permit filing is a fax out, a wait, and a fax back that says what to fix and by when. With Claude or ChatGPT connected to Fax.Plus through MCP, that becomes a routine: one word sends the filing after your OK and keeps its delivery report, another reads the county's reply and lists the corrections and the date to resubmit by, and a third shows where each filing stands. Below is the process, how to set it up once, and an example filing with simulated documents and fictional parties.
Everything here is an example. Change the prompts, the order and the times to fit how you work; nothing is set in stone.
Before you start
- Use an active Fax.Plus Basic plan or higher and an existing authorized Fax.Plus MCP connection.
- MCP is unavailable for accounts with Advanced Security Controls, including HIPAA and PHIPA configurations.
- Have the filing as a file and the county's fax number at hand.
- Use your application reference, not names or addresses, in prompts and comments.
Not connected yet? Start at the Fax.Plus MCP setup hub.
The process
Faxing is one step in a longer process. The steps marked Fax.Plus MCP are what the Fax.Plus connector does. The steps marked Optional are examples of other connectors you may already use: any connector you have set up in Claude or ChatGPT can be a step in your process, and the Fax.Plus connector is simply one part of it. The connectors do not talk to each other and Fax.Plus does not pass data to them: the assistant carries the information from one step to the next inside the same chat, because you told it to, and it asks for your OK before it changes anything. Whether an optional step works depends on your AI client and that connector.
- Fax.Plus MCP: you send the filing to the county after checking the number, the sending line and the page count.
- Fax.Plus MCP: the confirmation report for that transmission is collected, so each filing has its own record of when it was sent.
- Optional, for example Google Drive: the report is saved with the rest of the filing, after your OK.
- Fax.Plus MCP: the county's reply arrives and the assistant lists the corrections and every date exactly as written.
- Fax.Plus MCP: you approve, and the application reference is written into the reply's comment.
- Optional, for example Google Calendar: the resubmission date becomes a calendar event, after your OK.
- Fax.Plus MCP: you resubmit, and the new report is kept with the filing.
Set it up once
Instead of pasting the rules into every chat, keep them where every chat can use them, so that one word starts a routine. The prompts are the same in Claude and ChatGPT; the setup steps differ a little.
- Connect Fax.Plus. In Claude, add it under Settings → Connectors. In ChatGPT, add it as a custom MCP app: turn on Developer mode, then go to Plugins → Browse plugins, select +, then Create app → Create MCP App, and sign in with your Fax.Plus account. Step by step: Claude and ChatGPT. Connect any other connectors you use the same way.
- Keep the instructions in a Project. Create a Project in Claude or ChatGPT, name it after the desk, for example "Permit desk", and paste the instructions below into the project's instructions, filling in the parts in [brackets]. If a connector does not show up inside a project chat in your client, open a regular chat instead and paste the instructions as your first message.
- Start a chat, make sure Fax.Plus is selected for it (in ChatGPT, choose FaxPlus from the apps or type @), and type a routine name. The assistant runs the steps and stops at every change for your OK.
- Edit the instructions whenever the routine should change.
Interface labels and plan availability differ between clients, so check the current screens in yours.
Permit desk instructions
You are my permit desk for my Fax.Plus account. Rules: 1) Refer to filings only by the application reference I give you, never by name or address. 2) Before you change anything, such as a comment or a read status, show me exactly what will change and wait for my OK. 3) When you read a reply, list the required corrections and every date exactly as written. If a date is not on the page, say so; never work out a deadline yourself. 4) Leave out fax numbers unless I ask. 5) Send or resend a fax only when I ask for it in that message, and show me the recipient number, the sending line and the page count first. 6) If something fails, tell me what failed and check the current state before trying again. Routines, run one when I type its name. SUBMIT [application reference]: show me the number, the sending line and the page count for the filing I attach and send only after my OK; then get the confirmation report and tell me whether it shows success. REPLY [application reference]: read my newest received fax from the county; list the corrections required, any permit number and every date exactly as written; add the application reference as a comment after showing me the change and getting my OK. TRACK: list my sent faxes from the last 14 days with date, pages and status, and say which have a reply tagged. EVENING: list my sent faxes from the last 24 hours that failed, or say there are none; do not resend anything.
SUBMIT: send the filing and keep its delivery report
Type SUBMIT with the application reference and attach the filing. The assistant shows the recipient number, the sending line and the page count, and waits for your OK. After it is sent, the confirmation report records the date and time, the numbers, the pages and the status. A delivery report records the transmission; it does not mean the county has accepted the filing. Guide: Fax a signed document covers the send flow, Check fax delivery the report.
Submit the filing
Fax the document I attach to [county fax number] from my Fax.Plus number. Show me the number, the sending line and the page count, and wait for my OK before sending. Then get the confirmation report and tell me whether it shows success.
REPLY: read what the county sent back
Type REPLY. Example result for a simulated reply: application 2026-PR-0318, corrections required: electrical load calculation for the new range circuit and the contractor license number; resubmit by Friday, October 23, 2026; a permit number is assigned on approval. The assistant lists what the page says and does not work out any deadline of its own. Reading is read-only. Guide: Find and read a received fax.
Read the reply
Read my newest received fax from the county. List the corrections required, any permit number and every date exactly as written. Say so if a date is not on the page. Do not change anything.
REPLY, next: tag it with the application reference
The assistant shows which fax it would change and writes the application reference into the comment after your OK, then reads it back. Now the reply is findable by filing. Guide: Keep your fax inbox tidy.
Tag the reply
Add the comment [application reference] to my newest received fax from the county. Show me which fax you will change and wait for my OK, then read it back to confirm.
TRACK: where does each filing stand
Type TRACK for a quick overview of the filings you sent in the last two weeks, with their status.
Track the filings
Show my sent faxes from the last 14 days with date, number of pages and status. Leave out recipient numbers.
EVENING: the failed-fax check
A failed send is easy to miss before a deadline. Type EVENING; the assistant lists failed faxes with the reason, or says there are none. Guide: Resend a failed fax covers what to do next.
Failed-fax check
Show my sent faxes from the last 24 hours that failed, with the reason. If there are none, say so. If the check itself fails, say that instead. Do not resend anything.
Keep it safe
- Permit dates and requirements are the authority's. The assistant lists them as written on the page and never calculates a deadline for you.
- A delivery report records that the fax was transmitted. It is not the authority's acknowledgement that it accepted the filing.
- Do not leave a recurring task that sends or resends filings running without a person approving each send.
- Prompts that change your records or send a fax ask the assistant to show you the change and wait for your OK. Whether your client also asks for approval depends on its permission settings, so keep the Fax.Plus tools that send or change data on the setting that asks first.
- If a reply looks wrong, do not assume nothing happened. Check the outbox and sent faxes before you try again.
Related guides
Fax a signed document, check fax delivery, find and read a received fax and resend a failed fax cover the steps above. More prompts are in Fax Prompts with AI, recurring checks in Fax Automation with AI.
