Approval exemption procedure for residential buildings, garages, and parking spaces according to § 63 BauO NRW 2018
This page was translated from German using artificial intelligence. The translation may contain errors or inaccuracies. In case of doubt, the German original version prevails.
For certain residential buildings, no building permit is required within the scope of a development plan. This applies if the project complies with the provisions of the development plan, the development is secured, and the municipality does not request the implementation of an approval procedure within one month.
Within the scope of a development plan, you do not need a building permit for the construction or modification of residential buildings of medium and low height, including their ancillary buildings and facilities, if
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the project does not contradict the provisions of the development plan,
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the development is secured in the sense of the Building Code, and
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the municipality does not declare within one month after receiving the building documents that the approval procedure should be carried out.
Application Documents
We recommend consulting an architect for your application.
As of 01.09.2026, the documents can only be submitted online to the district building authority. Please use our online portal for this purpose.
Online service
The application must generally be submitted with the following construction templates:
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Site plan M 1:500
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If the site plan is not prepared by a publicly appointed surveyor, a current cadastral map extract and an extract from the German base map must always be included
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Construction drawings M 1:100
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Building description
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Structural engineering proofs
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Details about development
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Survey form
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Proof of the design author's planning eligibility and
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in individual cases, an official site plan
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A declaration by the design author must be attached, stating that the project complies with fire protection regulations
For residential buildings with more than two apartments, before construction begins, proof of the building's structural stability reviewed by a state-certified expert and proof of sound and thermal insulation prepared or reviewed by a state-certified expert must be provided.
For medium-height residential buildings, it must also be reviewed and certified by a state-certified expert that the project meets the fire protection requirements.
Procedure in the Approval Exemption (§ 63 BauO)
Projects that meet the requirements of § 63 BauO NRW do not require a building permit. The building supervisory authority receives the documents digitally and forwards them to the responsible city or municipal administration. The city or municipal administration can decide within one month whether to process this application under the exemption procedure or refer it to the building permit procedure. In such cases, the jurisdiction shifts to the building supervision of the Oberbergischer Kreis, which then decides on the application. If the application remains under the approval exemption, construction can begin after one month. If the city or municipal administration notifies in writing before the end of this month that the project is exempt from approval, construction can start immediately upon receipt of this notice.
Important Notice
The review of the application documents is limited to determining whether the project falls under the approval exemption.
No legal review of the documents is conducted. This means that in the approval exemption process, the builder bears sole responsibility for ensuring that their construction project complies with the stipulations of the development plan and public legal regulations.
