Building Permit Process Description

Step Process Name Process Description Government Processing Time Government Fees Required Documents
1 Engage Engineering Offices Property owners must engage an Engineering office [click here] licensed by Kingdom of Bahrain’s “The Council for Regulating The Practice of Engineering Professions”, to prepare all necessary drawings and documents required to apply for a building permit. The engineering office shall perform all necessary tasks to obtain a building permit on behalf of the property owners.
2 Obtain Pre-Approval There are special cases in which applicants must first obtain a pre-approval before starting the process of applying for a building permit. These cases are outlined in “Special Cases Requiring Pre-Approval” schedule [click here] Up to 10 working days (Excluding Urban Planning & Development Authority) As per “Documents required for Pre-approval per entity” schedule [click here]
3 Application review by another engineering office
Before submitting a building permit application, the engineering office must first submit all required drawings and documents to another engineering office (Same category or higher) to review and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and standards.
Once reviewed and approved, the applying engineering office must upload the documents into the Building Permit system and must select the engineering office(s) that reviewed them.
Note:
  • The engineering office that reviewed the documents has 7 working days to electronically verify that they have performed the review, otherwise, the applying engineering office must re-upload the documents.
  • Uploading the documents into the system does not constitute a formal submission of an application. Only after the electronic verification of the reviewing engineering office will the application be officially accepted and application number will be generated.
Facades and sectors engineering drawings
  1. Structural drawings
  2. Sewage engineering drawings
  3. Water network internal maps (if more than 5 internal plumbing drawings)
  4. Cross section drawing
  5. Any other engineering drawing
Other Required Documents:
  1. Letter from owner
  2. Copy of new title deed
  3. Copy of property owner’s (or his representative/ inheritors) ID cards
  4. Valid and latest Land Survey Certificate
  5. General Directorate of Civil Defense Form
  6. Traffic Impact Assessment Study (if applicable)
  7. Recent photo of the site
  8. Copy of Commercial registration and Industrial License (For parcels located within Industrial Zoned Lands managed by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism)
  9. Industrial Land Lease Agreement (For parcels located within Industrial Zoned Lands managed by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism)
  10. No objection Letter from Supreme Council for Environments (For Factories)
  11. Approval from Bahrain Tourism & Exhibitions Authority (For Hotels and Serviced Apartments)
  12. Approval from Ministry of Education (For Schools/ Universities)
  13. Approval from Ministry of Labor and Social Development (For Nurseries or Educational Institutes)
  14. Approval from the National Health Regulatory Authority (For Hospitals or Medical Centers)
  15. Approval from Ministry of Justice or Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (for Mosques)
  16. Approval from Ossis Property Developers BSC (For parcels within Amwaj Island)
4 Submitting building permit application Upon receiving an electronic verification from the reviewing engineering office that all drawings and documents comply with the regulatory requirements and standards, the system will generate an official application number, and will automatically route the application to the concerned government entities The system will automatically pull the same documents attached in step 3
5 Input By Government Entities Sanitary Engineering Planning and Projects Directorate (SEPPD) will receive an application to determine compatibility of connection and inform the applicant through the system on whether a Septic Tank is required or not Water Distribution Directorate (WDD) will determine availability of water network:
  • If the network is not available: WDD will inform applicants of the estimated connection date in the issued building permit
  • If the network is available but there is a mismatch in flow capacity, WDD will provide applicants with the expected connection date
Electricity Distribution Directorate (EDD) will determine electricity load availability and inform applicants through the electronic system the estimated connection date if the load is not available. EDD will also perform a site inspection to identify any cable network conflict, and inform applicants the following:
  1. if a “Customer Request” (CR) is required
  2. The cost of the CR
Up to 5 working days
6 Pay fees
Building Permit Fees: These fees are to be paid online via the building permit system.
Building Permit insurance Deposit: The deposit fees are to be paid online via the building permit system.
Infrastructure fees (if applicable): These cover fees for installing water and electricity (A third of the total capital contribution fees).
Civil Aviation Fees (If applicable): These fees are to be paid in the event the height of the building exceeds 30m from sea level. The fees are fixed at BD100.
  • As per building permit fee schedule [click here]
  • As per Capital Contribution Fees
7 Issue Building Permit electronically Once the building permit fees are paid, the system will instantaneously issue an electronic building permit. The building permit is valid for one year from the date of issuance Instantaneously after fee payment