Permits
How long does a building permit take in Germany? Deadlines, deemed approval and a realistic timeline for plot buyers
How long a German building permit takes: deadlines and deemed approval in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and NRW, municipal consent and a timeline for buyers.
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For simplified applications filed in North Rhine-Westphalia from 1 September 2026, silence can result in deemed approval. The state building ministry’s circular of 5 October 2026 distinguishes a six-week decision period from a three-month deemed-approval period. They run in parallel. They require complete plans and the necessary statements and participation, or expiry of the relevant participation deadlines. Three months are not added after six weeks.
There is no single German permit timetable: the applicable state code, procedure and missing documents determine when the clock starts. This guide compares Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and NRW and explains how to build a purchase timetable around the authority’s confirmed dates. For the application documents, see Building permit and pre-application. Legal position 2 November 2026.
Key terms
| German | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Baugenehmigung | building permit | covers both planning and building control aspects |
| Bauantrag | permit application | filed with the lower building authority |
| untere Bauaufsichtsbehörde | lower building authority | the district office (Landratsamt) or the city |
| vereinfachtes Verfahren | simplified procedure | the usual route for a family house |
| Genehmigungsfreistellung | exemption from permit | build after notifying the municipality, if it does not object |
| Genehmigungsfiktion | deemed approval | permit treated as granted after a deadline |
| Bauvoranfrage / Vorbescheid | preliminary enquiry / preliminary decision | binding answer to specific questions before you buy |
| Einvernehmen der Gemeinde | municipal consent | needed when the municipality is not the building authority |
| Untätigkeitsklage | action for failure to act | court action when the authority does not decide |
Source: Figures from this guide, documented under “Sources”
An application is normally prepared and signed by a person entitled to submit building documents in that state (bauvorlageberechtigt), typically an architect or engineer. If you plan to use an architect from your home country, ask the building authority early whether he or she meets the state's requirements, or work with a German partner office. Correspondence will be in German.
Three clocks that run one after another
- Completeness check. The authority checks whether all documents are there. If something is missing, it asks for it, and the next clock does not start.
- Decision period. The authority should decide within a set time, after involving the municipality and specialist agencies (nature conservation, monuments, roads).
- Deemed approval. In some states and procedures, the application counts as approved once a period expires without a decision. The legal basis is the state building code together with § 42 a of the state administrative procedure act.
Deadlines in three states
Bavaria
For predominantly residential construction or alteration, or a change of use creating housing, in the simplified procedure under Art.59 of the Bavarian Building Code (BayBO), Art. 68(2) BayBO applies Art. 42 a of the Bavarian Administrative Procedure Act with modifications. The lower building authority checks completeness within three weeks. If it requests nothing within that time, the deemed-approval period starts three weeks after the application was received and lasts three months. The authority can extend it under Art. 42 a(2), sentences 3 and 4. Deemed approval applies to applications filed from 1 May 2021. Where the municipality's consent under the federal "Bau-Turbo" (§ 36 a of the Federal Building Code, BauGB) is required, the period ends no earlier than one month after the municipality's decision reaches the authority, according to the Bavarian implementing notes. See Bau-Turbo under section 246 e BauGB.
Exemption from permit (Art. 58 BayBO). Where a project lies within a development plan and meets the other conditions of Art. 58, you may start building one month after submitting the required documents to the municipality, unless the municipality declares within that month that a permit procedure is to be carried out. The City of Nuremberg explains this from the builder's side, and whether the municipality asks for a procedure is at its discretion. The Bavarian Administrative Court of Appeal held that this declaration is not a challengeable administrative act (VGH München, order of 6 Dec 2021, 9 ZB 18.782).
Baden-Württemberg
Under § 54(5) of the state building code (LBO), the authority must decide within two months, or within one month in the simplified procedure. Ask the authority which completeness check applies under the current code.
In a reply to the state parliament, the state government acknowledged that missing these deadlines has no direct procedural consequence (Drucksache 17/10296). Since 28 June 2025 there has therefore been a deemed approval for applications in the simplified procedure: § 58(1 a), first sentence, no. 1 LBO together with § 42 a(2), first sentence, of the state administrative procedure act. The period is three months, deliberately longer than the one-month decision period (Drucksache 17/10128). The authority must notify you without delay, in writing or electronically, once the approval is deemed granted. Until then you can waive deemed approval (§ 58(1 a), second sentence); towns such as Bretten provide a form.
North Rhine-Westphalia
Under §71(1)BauONRW as in force from 1 September 2026, the authority must acknowledge receipt and check completeness within ten working days. If identified gaps are not filled within the deadline set, the application is treated as withdrawn; the applicant must be warned of this consequence. For applications in the simplified procedure under § 64 BauO NRW filed from 1 September 2026, deemed approval under § 74(3) applies. Applications filed earlier do not become deemed approvals just because they are still pending after that date. The City of Cologne issues a certificate of deemed approval automatically and without delay. Waiver is possible.
Side by side
| Bavaria | Baden-Württemberg | North Rhine-Westphalia | |
|---|---|---|---|
| completeness check | 3 weeks | formerly 10 working days | 10 working days (version from 1 Jan 2024) |
| decision period, simplified procedure | handled through deemed approval | 1 month | 6-week processing period |
| deemed approval | 3 months | 3 months | 3 months according to Münster |
| for applications filed from | 1 May 2021 | 28 June 2025 | 1 Sep 2026 |
| waiver possible | yes | yes | yes |
Source: Figures from this guide, documented under “Sources”
The other 13 states have their own rules. Ask the lower building authority for its information sheet; many district offices publish one.
Why you might waive a deemed approval
A deemed approval is not a checked permit. You get no decision with conditions that a bank, insurer or later buyer can rely on, and if the project breaches public law, the risk is yours. If you finance with a German bank, ask early whether it accepts a certificate of deemed approval or wants a formal permit. For many foreign buyers who plan to sell or let later, a formal decision is worth the extra weeks.
The municipality: two months for its consent
Where the municipality is not itself the building authority, the authority needs the municipality's consent for projects under §§ 31 and 33 to 35 BauGB, that is for exceptions and exemptions from a plan, infill plots without a plan, and the outer area (§ 36(1) BauGB). Under § 36(2), second sentence, consent is deemed given if not refused within two months of the authority's request. What counts is when the refusal reaches the authority. A formal deferral of the application interrupts the period. For the Bau-Turbo, the municipality has three months to refuse its approval (§ 36 a BauGB).
Council committees meet on fixed dates. The municipality's council information system (Ratsinformationssystem) lists meeting dates and agendas; you can see there when your case can be heard at the earliest.
How long it actually takes: official figures
The Hessian ministry’s reply to parliamentary question 20/997 records 139 days for Darmstadt’s simplified procedure under §65 HBO and 237 days for its §66 procedure in 2018. These are historical figures from Hesse. They are not a forecast for a 2026 application in NRW. The original table also shows differences in how authorities collect statistics, including offices reporting no usable figures.
237 days is roughly eight months. Before committing funds, ask your own authority whether the plans are complete, which consultations remain outstanding and whether your particular procedure qualifies for deemed approval. An old average cannot replace those answers or a suitable long-stop date in the purchase contract.
Worked timeline: a family house in NRW
Assume a simplified application is received on 2 November 2026. Following a request for documents, the plans become complete on 30 November. In this example the last required participation statement arrives on 1 December, with all other prerequisites met.
| Stage | Assumption or calculation | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Application received | assumed receipt | 2 Nov 2026 |
| Plans complete | assumed completion | 30 Nov 2026 |
| Last required statement | assumed event starting the periods | 1 Dec 2026 |
| Simplified decision period | six weeks from the relevant event | 12 Jan 2027 |
| Deemed-approval period | three months from the same event | 1 Mar 2027 |
The periods run in parallel. These dates are arithmetic on assumed events, without interruptions or special rules; they are not an authority’s confirmed timetable. If a required statement is late, or refused municipal consent has not been lawfully replaced, the prerequisites must be reviewed again. Ask the authority for a written calculation. Before building you still need the required certificate and must meet the separate commencement requirements.
At an assumed rent of€1,400 a month, three additional months cost€4,200. Commitment interest only adds to that if your finance contract provides for it. This budget calculation does not predict the actual decision date.
Planning a purchase around the permit
Two questions matter to a buyer: can the plot be built on at all, and how long until you may start? Only a preliminary decision (Vorbescheid) answers the first question bindingly. If the plot is not in an area with a clear development plan, apply before you sign. How long a preliminary decision stays valid in Baden-Württemberg (three years, § 57 LBO) and Bavaria (four years, Art. 71 BayBO) is explained in the Buying land in Germany guide, section 3.6.
- Check the plot (weeks 1–2): development plan or infill status, protected areas, access and services, registered public-law obligations (Baulasten).
- File a preliminary enquiry (from week 2), with the seller's consent, through your architect. For an infill plot, the municipality's two-month consent period applies here too.
- Sign with a condition or right of withdrawal: you may withdraw if no positive preliminary decision with defined content exists by a fixed date. Build in a buffer: completeness check plus two months for municipal consent plus time for the decision.
- File the permit application after transfer, or earlier with the seller's consent.
- Permit or deemed approval, then notify the start of works as required by state law.
A right to withdraw because the permit or preliminary decision fails exists only if it is written into the deed, so it has to be agreed before the notary appointment. The process is described in Notary process and closing.
What to do if the authority does not decide
After a few weeks of silence: write and ask for the status and the date from which the application is treated as complete. Every deadline depends on it.
If deemed approval applies: once the period has expired, ask for the certificate. Do not start building without it.
If no deemed approval applies: under § 75 of the Code of Administrative Court Procedure (VwGO), you can bring an action for failure to act if the authority has not decided within a reasonable time without sufficient reason. The action cannot be brought before three months from the application, unless special circumstances justify a shorter period. If the authority has a sufficient reason, the court suspends the case until a deadline it sets. A lawsuit rarely speeds things up as much as hoped, but it puts pressure on the authority. Speak to a specialist in administrative law first.
If the municipality refuses consent: without consent, the authority cannot approve. Under § 36(2), third sentence, BauGB, the competent state authority can replace consent that was unlawfully refused. You can challenge a refusal by objection or in court, depending on the state.
If you are abroad: appoint someone locally, usually your architect, as contact person for the authority. Requests for documents come with short deadlines, and in NRW an unanswered request can lead to the application being treated as withdrawn.
What the GrundCheck report shows
The GrundCheck report shows, for your parcel, whether a development plan applies or whether it lies in the inner or outer area, and which protected areas, flood and other hazard maps affect it, each with source and date, in English or German. From that you can tell which procedure is likely and which agencies will be involved, and therefore whether to expect a long procedure. It does not replace a preliminary enquiry or a permit and is not legal advice.
Check the development plan, protected areas and risks for your parcel in the GrundCheck report, from €29 → · See a sample report
This guide is a first orientation and not legal advice for your individual case.
A permit file shared with your advisers
Keep a short timetable file for your architect, seller and notary. Start with the application reference, responsible authority and precise procedure. Add the receipt, every request for missing documents and your dated replies. Keep the authority’s completeness notice beside its explanation of which consultations remain outstanding. Ask your architect to identify the event relied upon to start each period, rather than writing only “three months” in a spreadsheet.
Keep contractual dates in a separate column: finance approval, completion, any right of withdrawal and the last date for producing the preliminary decision required by the sale contract. Those dates do not automatically move with an administrative processing period. If the seller agrees to extra time, ask the notary to identify which conditions and dates are amended and which remain effective. Preserve the signed amendment with the original contract. A telephone estimate from the building office is useful for planning but should not be treated as a contractual extension. This file gives your advisers the evidence needed to assess the timetable; it does not establish an entitlement to approval.
Sources
- City of Münster, building control office, information sheet on deemed approval, versions of 21 Aug, 22 Oct and 28 Oct 2026, stadt-muenster.de (1); stadt-muenster.de (2); stadt-muenster.de (3); news "Neue Regeln für Bauanträge", stadt-muenster.de (4), retrieved via search engine, 2 Nov 2026.
- City of Cologne, deemed approval, stadt-koeln.de, retrieved via search engine, 2 Nov 2026.
- Bavarian Building Code, Art. 58 and 68, gesetze-bayern.de (1); gesetze-bayern.de (2); Bavarian Landtag document with implementing notes, bayern.landtag.de; District Office Altötting, information sheet, lra-aoe.de, retrieved via search engine, 2 Nov 2026.
- City of Nuremberg, exemption from permit, nuernberg.de; VGH München, order of 6 Dec 2021, 9 ZB 18.782, gesetze-bayern.de, retrieved via search engine, 2 Nov 2026.
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Code of Administrative Court Procedure (VwGO), § 75, gesetze-im-internet.de, retrieved via search engine, 2 Nov 2026.
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MHKBDNRW, Runderlass 5.10.2026, voller Text/full text, insbesondere pp.2–4: aknw.de, 2.11.2026.
- BauONRW 2018, amtliche Synopse/official comparison, aktuelle Fassungen/current versions §§71,74,90: bauordnung.nrw, 2.11.2026.
- LBOBaden-Württemberg, amtliche Fassung/official text: landesrecht-bw.de; Landtag, Fristen/periods: landtag-bw.de, 2.11.2026.
- BauGB§36: gesetze-im-internet.de (1); §36 a: gesetze-im-internet.de (2), 2.11.2026.
- BayVwVfGArt.42 a: gesetze-bayern.de, 2.11.2026.
- Hessischer Landtag, Drucksache 20/997, Originaltabelle/original table: starweb.hessen.de, 2.11.2026.