Ghana - Apply for Construction Permit or License

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Procedure

Apply In-Person:

1. To Apply for Construction Permit or License in Ghana, the applicant must go to the Ablekuma West Municipal Assembly (ABWMA) contact link
2. The applicant must obtain the application form from ABWMA.
3. Applicant must provide all the necessary information in the application form.
4. The applicant has to make sure he or she has all the required documents that are required for this process to be successful and they can be found under the "Required Documents" section of this page.
5. Payment of appropriate fees should be made and that can be found under the "Fees" section of this page.
6. Obtain a survey plan from Survey Ghana.
   • One is to visit the Survey of Ghana offices in the ministry of land departments to obtain a survey plan. A survey plan from Survey of Ghana is a required document when applying for a building permit.
   • Applicant should then proceed to request for Registry number search.
   • Applicants are required to provide a proof of land ownership when requesting for the survey plan. One is shown the survey plan to confirm that it is the one they have requested for then issued with a payment authorization slip to go and pay for the survey plan.
   • Applicant are then to proceed and pay for Folio Registry number search:
   • Applicant will be required to produce an authorisation of payment for this service. His/her will be charged GHS 150 for the numbers search.
   • Confirm availability of survey plan and Pay for survey plan:
   • After the search is done and availability confirmed. Applicants are to pay GHS 650 for the survey plan.
   • This process takes one day to complete.
7. Obtain a project report from an EPA department.
   • Once the survey plan has been obtained, a licensed environmental expert must be hired to prepare a project report to be submitted to EPA.
   • The project report can take a period of 5 days to complete and costs approximately GHS .50, 000.
8. Obtain approval of the environmental impact study from EPA department.
   • Following the enactment of new Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act on February 27, 2009, companies now have to obtain approval of projects from the EPA. Projects of all risk categories are subject to approval and an environmental impact assessment.
   • It takes 30 days on average to get the approval. The cost is set at 0.05% of warehouse value, prior to February 11, 2009; the fee rate was 0.1% of warehouse value. It costs approximately GHS .10, 000 for an EIA study from EPA.
9. Obtain architectural plans approval notification
10. Submit architectural plans for signing
    • The drawings are reviewed by all the relevant departments simultaneously. Once the structural and architectural drawings are approved, they will be signed on by the governor.
    • When all signatures have been obtained, the approved plans are scanned and uploaded in the system so that they can be retrieved by the architect.
11. Visit the country's development and control and follow the following steps:
    • Submit structural plans
    • Obtain structural plans approval notification
    • Submit structural plans for signing
    • Obtain authenticated structural plans
      • With approved drawings, construction may start while the application for a building permit is being processed.
      • The following documents are to submitted for approval
    • project plans,
    • architectural drawings,
    • Location survey of property documents and others.
    • It takes approximately one day for approval. The approval is done free of charge.
12. Once the plans have been approved, the architect must submit hard copies of the plans to be stamped by the Nairobi City County, even after submitting the documents online.
13. The engineer must also do the same after the architect’s plans have been stamped. The engineer does not have to wait one month like the architect to bring in the hard copies.
14. It takes approximately ten days for approval. The approval is done free of charge.
15. The building company then has to register the proposed construction project with the National Construction Authority (NCA) and fill a project registration form providing details of the construction work.
16. It takes around a week to obtain the compliance certificate.
17. Upon submission of the application, the building company receives a temporary certificate that testifies the registration is under process.
18. The building company submits the project registration form to the authority with several documents listed below in this “required documents” section of this page.
19. The building company will then be issued with an invoice on the amount of levy it should pay the authority at selected bank accounts, which are posted on the NCA website. The levy is 0.5% of the total cost of the project (percentage applicable to projects with a value of over GHS .5, 000,000).
20. It takes approximately one day for approval. The approval is done free of charge.
21. Once the application has been made, there is a site-inspection to check for compliance of the construction site against the approved plans and the EPA clearance.
22. After this site inspection, the applicant will receive an invoice showing the amount to be paid.
23. Once payment is made, then a provisional certificate of compliance, valid for 90 days, is given to the applicant. If later, there are no violations of compliance, then the final compliance certificate will be issued
24. It takes approximately seven days for approval.

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Required Documents

Submission of the application:

• Title Clearance form duly signed by appropriate authority (certification of ownership)
• Building Permit application forms duly completed on behalf of the applicant
• Four (4) sets of Architectural drawings including site and block plans scale of 1/20 or 1/40 showing the position of the building(s) and other work on site and duly signed by a Registered Architect or Building professional.
• Four (sets) of Structural drawings of the building at an appropriate scale duly signed by a Structural Engineer if it is multi storey.
• Business Operating Permit (for organizations).
• Property Rate duly paid
• Transfer Certificate of Title
• Architectural plan
• structural plans
• clearance application form
• Civil/structural permit
• Electrical permit
• Mechanical permit
• Sanitary permit
• Plumbing permit
• Electronics permit
• Fire Safety Clearance

Bill of quantities

• contractor’s registration certificate
• Quantity surveyor’s practicing certificate
• Architect’s practicing certificate
• Engineer’s practicing certificate
• survey plan

Office Locations & Contacts

Location: Accra
Address: Ablekuma West Municipal Assembly (ABWMA)
HP5Q+7W Accra, Ghana.
Phone number- +233 30 290 9400
Digital address: GA-506-0620
P.O. Box DS 931, Dansoman, Accra, Ghana.
Contact number- 0202820699/ 0302 909400/ 0302 305076
Social welfare hotline- 0302-291-7569
Email id: [email protected]
Contact link
Location link

Eligibility

• Citizens /organizations are eligible for getting a construction permit license.
• The following people/construction industries are eligible for construction/Building Permit.
  • civil engineering
  • structural engineering
  • architecture
  • building services
  • building surveying
  • quantity surveying
  • construction management

Fees

• Request for Folio Registry number search GHS 150
• For survey plan GHS 650
• EPA approval fees GHS 10,000.00
• Building permit fee is based on the size of the building. The estimated cost is GHS.21, 000/sq. The fees are as follows:
• Building plan approval fee: 1% of the estimated cost of construction
• Construction sign board fee: GHS.25,000
• Application fee: GHS.5,000
• Inspection of building file: GHS.5,000
• Occupation certificate: GHS .5,000
• NCA levy is 0.5% of the total cost of the construction project.

Validity

• Construction permit validity is for 1 year.

Documents to Use

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Sample Documents

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Processing Time

• It takes approximately 90 days for approval.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
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Instructions

Please provide other instructions related to the certificate/documents.
E.g. The state office holds birth records since January 1908.

Required Information

• Name of Owner
• Contact Address
• Type of Occupancy
• Sstructural permit
• Application for Final Inspection Form.
• Form for Connection of New Premises (Water and Sewerage).
• Occupancy Certificate Process Card.
• Supporting Documents
• Site map

Need for the Document

• Building permits are mainly about safety. By enforcing construction standards, they give he/she and the other occupants of the building the best chance to avoid fire, structural failure or something as simple as a child getting his head caught between stair posts.
• If applicants decide to move, the permit process also protects future owners.

Information which might help

• The purpose behind building permit is to give reasonable assurance that a home is safe from structural failure, fire hazards from electrical and heating systems, electrical shock, and health risks. The permits provide a permanent record of the work performed and inspections conducted on the project.
• The first reason to obtain a building permit is that it's illegal not to. If he/she fails to get a permit for work that requires it, he/she can be fined. He/she may be forced to remove a building or tear out completed work.
• It keeps his/her insurance valid. Building done without a permit can mean that his/her insurance company may not honor your policy. A fire resulting from work without a permit could leave him/her holding the bag. If someone falls off a deck that was built without a permit, his/her liability insurance may not cover his or her injuries
• It’s valuable when he/she sell his/her home. If he/she performs work without a permit, he/she can assume a potential buyer will know about it. The permit process is a matter of public record. In addition, he/she may be required to sign a Property Disclosure Statement, in which him/her have to reveal all problems or defects in the property. Having all the necessary permits makes the sale proceed much more smoothly

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
E.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

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Others

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