How to Get a Building Permit in the Philippines

Seembu
3 min readOct 14, 2016

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As a construction newbie, do you want to know how to secure a building permit for your project? Do you want to know why do they want us to undergo a process in acquiring a permit? Here are the purpose, requirements and procedures of securing a building permit in the Philippines.

PURPOSE OF SECURING A BUILDING PERMIT

You might get frustrated in securing a building permit. Since, you need to fulfill the requirements, pay fees and wait for few days for your permit to be approved. Even if you get exhausted in the process, the securing a building permit assures quality and safety of your dream structures.

Simply, securing the building permit encourages the owner, architects and engineers to follow the codes, standards and minimum requirement for a building such as National Building Code of the Philippines (PD 1096), Fire Code of the Philippines (RA 9514), Accessibility Law (BP 344) and other laws that assures safety. Definitely, proper architectural, mechanical, structural, electrical and sanitary plans should abide the codes.

In addition, if you are get caught of building a house without securing a permit, the building officials will forcefully stop the construction until your permit has been issued or released. You will receive a notice to apply for the mandatory building permit.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SECURING A BUILDING PERMIT IN THE PHILIPPINES

The following are the requirements for securing a building permit:

\Properly filled-up application forms duly signed and sealed by engineers concerned:

  • Building Permit Forms (5 copies)
  • Electrical Permit Forms (3 copies)
  • Sanitary Permit Forms (3 copies)
  1. Five (5) complete sets of Detailed Plans
  2. For construction of two-storey building:
  • Structural Design Analysis — signed and sealed by Civil Engineer at every page
  1. For construction of more than two-storey building:
  • Boring and Plate Load Test
  • Seismic Analysis
  1. Proof of Property
  • Photocopy of Transfer Certificate if Title (TCT)
  • Photocopy of tax Declaration of Property-lot (Certified True Copy) — 5 copies
  • Photocopy of Current Tax Receipt (5 copies)
  1. If property is not registered under the name of the applicant:
  • Submit 5 copies of any of the following:
  • Contract of Lease
  • Contract of Sale
  • Affidavit of Consent of the Lot Owner for the construction of building/house
  • Deed of Absolute Sale
  1. Permit Billboard (0.60 X 0.90 Plywood with the following contents):
  2. Bill of Materials and Specification (5 copies) — signed and sealed by an engineer or an architect at every page
  3. Locational Clearance
  4. Photocopy of PTR # and PRC license of all concerned engineers and architects
  5. Clearance from the DPWH if the construction is located along National Highway
  6. DOLE Clearance

PROCEDURES OF SECURING A BUILDING PERMIT IN THE PHILIPPINES

1. Get a Requirements-Checklist and application forms from your municipal’s office (Office of the Building Official).

2. Go to the Office of the Building Official and submit the papers. They will tell you then where to go next, in this case Assessor’s Office. If you’re in the city hall, they usually have windows where you have to submit each folder of each set of forms. But in the provinces, each section are usually close to each other if not on the same unit.

3. You will be issued Acknowledgement Slip which bears the date of the status of your application. It’s usually around 10 working days.

If your application is approved and in compliant with the National Building Code, you’ll be given an Order of Payment to pay the necessary building permit fees.

4. Present the Order of Payment at the Treasurer’s Office and pay the fees. Fees range from P6,000 and above depending on the your construction size, municipality location and the assessment plan. Fees in the provinces are usually cheaper than in the cities.

5. Photocopy the OR (Official Receipt) and bring a copy to the Office of the Building Official releasing section.

6. After 5 working days, go back to the releasing section of the Office of the Building Official and claim your building permit.

Image via Pexels

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