Electronic Permitting & Licensing System
An enterprise-grade digital transformation platform for government entities to streamline the issuance of permits and licenses with automated workflows, digital signatures, and real-time status tracking.
Use Cases
Applicants can create permit/license applications through a multi-step wizard interface, uploading required documents and providing necessary information organized by application type. The system guides users through each step with validation and progress indicators, allowing them to save drafts and submit when complete. Once submitted, applications enter an automated workflow where Clerks perform initial triage and document completeness checks, Officers conduct technical verification and background checks, and Directors provide final approval authority. Applicants receive real-time status updates and notifications throughout the process, can view their application history, and download digitally signed licenses once approved. Staff members access role-specific dashboards showing their assigned tasks, workflow queues organized by priority, and comprehensive application details with transition history. The workflow engine supports automated state transitions with policy-based authorization, allowing backward movement for corrections when needed. Administrators have full system oversight with user management, configuration settings, comprehensive audit logs, and system statistics. The platform handles various application types with flexible schema definitions, supports file attachments with secure storage and scanning capabilities, and implements queue-based processing for resource-intensive operations like PDF generation and digital signing. Perfect for government permit offices, licensing departments, regulatory agencies, and organizations requiring secure, compliant, and traceable permit/license issuance with full workflow automation and audit capabilities.
Key Features
- Multi-Step Application Submission Wizard with progress tracking
- Role-Based Workflow Engine with automated state transitions
- Digital License Generation with PKCS#7 cryptographic signatures
- Real-Time Audit Logging with immutable records
- Role-Based Access Control (Applicant, Clerk, Officer, Director, Admin)
- Workflow State Machine (Draft → Submitted → Review → Approved → Issued)
- Document Upload with secure storage and scanning
- Real-Time Status Tracking and notifications
- Queue-Based Asynchronous Processing for PDF generation
- macOS-Inspired User Interface with Tailwind CSS
- Policy-Based Authorization for workflow transitions
- Comprehensive Application Management dashboard
- Workflow Queue Management for staff members
- Digital Signature Verification with QR code support
- Flexible Application Types with JSON schema definitions
- File Attachment Management with secure storage
- User Management and role assignment
- System Configuration and settings management
- Comprehensive Audit Trail with user actions
- API Endpoints with OpenAPI documentation
Architecture
Built with Laravel 12 (PHP 8.3+) following Domain-Driven Design (DDD) principles within a Modular Monolith architecture, enabling clear separation of business logic into domain modules (Applications, Workflow, Identity, Licensing) while maintaining a single deployable unit. The backend implements the Repository-Service Pattern with SOLID principles, ensuring thin controllers that delegate to service classes containing business logic, with repositories abstracting database access. The application uses MySQL 8.0+ for persistent data storage with optimized indexes for workflow queries, Redis for caching workflow statuses and configuration data, and queue-based processing for asynchronous tasks. The frontend combines Blade templates for server-rendered views with Alpine.js for lightweight interactivity and Vue.js for complex multi-step form wizards, styled with Tailwind CSS v3.4+ for a modern macOS-inspired design system. Authentication is handled through Laravel Breeze with session-based authentication for web interfaces and Laravel Sanctum for API access, implementing role-based access control (RBAC) with granular permissions stored in JSON format. The workflow engine implements a state machine pattern with policy-based authorization, ensuring only authorized users can perform specific transitions, with all state changes logged to workflow_transitions table for complete auditability. PDF generation uses barryvdh/laravel-snappy (wkhtmltopdf) for high-fidelity rendering, with digital signatures implemented using PKCS#7 (Cryptographic Message Syntax) for legal validity. The system includes comprehensive audit logging middleware that captures all mutating actions (POST/PUT/PATCH/DELETE) with user context, IP addresses, and request details. Queue workers process heavy operations like PDF generation and digital signing asynchronously, with distinct queues for different priority levels (default, high, licensing). The architecture supports horizontal scaling through stateless API design, implements proper error handling and validation, and includes comprehensive testing with Pest PHP and PHPUnit. Deployment uses Docker containers with multi-stage builds, Railway for cloud hosting with automated CI/CD, and includes proper environment configuration for production security.
Security & Performance
Security is implemented through multiple layers including Laravel Breeze authentication with secure session management, role-based access control (RBAC) with granular permissions stored in JSON format, and policy-based authorization ensuring users can only perform actions permitted by their role. The system implements comprehensive audit logging with immutable records capturing all mutating actions, user context, IP addresses, and request details, providing complete traceability for compliance requirements. File uploads are stored in secure, non-public directories with randomized filenames and scanning capabilities (integration-ready), preventing unauthorized access and ensuring data integrity. Digital signatures use PKCS#7 cryptographic standards with secure certificate storage (PFX/PKCS#12) in protected paths, ensuring legal validity and tamper-proof verification of generated licenses. The application enforces HTTPS connections in production with secure cookie flags, implements CSRF protection for all forms, and includes proper input validation and sanitization throughout. Performance is optimized through Redis caching for frequently accessed workflow statuses and configuration data, reducing database load and improving response times. The queue system enables asynchronous processing of CPU-intensive operations like PDF generation and digital signing, preventing request timeouts and improving user experience. Database queries are optimized with proper indexing on workflow transitions, application lookups, and user assignments, ensuring fast retrieval even with large datasets. The architecture implements efficient data structures for workflow state management, uses eager loading to prevent N+1 query problems, and includes proper pagination for large result sets. The system handles concurrent requests efficiently through stateless design, implements proper connection pooling, and includes monitoring capabilities for performance tracking.
Development & Deployment
The application is built using Laravel 12 (PHP 8.3+) with strict typing enabled, following Domain-Driven Design principles and SOLID architecture patterns. Development workflow uses Composer for dependency management, PHPUnit and Pest PHP for comprehensive testing (unit, feature, integration), and follows PSR-12 coding standards. The codebase is structured with a modular domain architecture separating Applications, Workflow, Identity, and Licensing modules, each containing Actions, Data Transfer Objects, Models, and Services. The frontend uses Blade templates for server-side rendering, Alpine.js for lightweight interactivity, Vue.js for complex form wizards, and Tailwind CSS for styling with a custom macOS-inspired design system. The application includes comprehensive API documentation using OpenAPI 3.0 (Swagger) generated with dedoc/scramble, supporting URI versioning (/api/v1/...). For production deployment, the application uses Docker with multi-stage builds for optimized image sizes, separating Composer dependencies, Node.js asset building, and final PHP runtime. The deployment leverages Railway's Railpack builder for automated Laravel detection and configuration, with MySQL database service for persistent storage and Redis for caching and queues. The Dockerfile includes automated migration execution and seeding on container startup, ensuring database schema is always up-to-date. Environment configuration uses .env files with secure defaults, and the application includes comprehensive error handling, logging, and monitoring capabilities. The entire system supports automated CI/CD through Railway with GitHub integration, enabling automatic deployments on code pushes with health checks and restart policies. The platform includes comprehensive documentation, deployment guides, and follows best practices for security, performance, and maintainability.