Which approvals you need for a building permit (fire, health, environment, utilities)

One of the most common questions before submitting an authorization file is "which avize (approvals/clearances) do I need?" — and the correct answer is not a universal checklist, but one that is specific to your project. The good news is that you don't have to guess it: the exact list of approvals and consents is set out for you directly in the certificat de urbanism (urban planning certificate).

Where the list comes from: the urban planning certificate

First and foremost, keep the basic principle in mind: the certificat de urbanism (CU, urban planning certificate) lists the avize and consents you need for the autorizație de construire (building permit). The architect does not "invent" the list, nor do you take it from an article on the internet — it follows from what the local authority requires for that particular plot and that particular type of construction.

That is precisely why the list varies considerably from one project to another, depending on:

• the type of construction (single-family home, multi-unit building, commercial space, industrial hall, etc.);
• the size and capacity of the building (floor area, number of storeys, number of occupants);
• the location — an ordinary area, a protected zone, the vicinity of a historic monument, the proximity of an airport, a major thoroughfare, and so on.

In other words, not every project requires every aviz. A small single-family home, as a rule, needs a far more limited set of approvals than a multi-unit building or a public-use facility. This is why the first practical recommendation is simple: check the exact approvals listed in the urban planning certificate, not in a generic list.

Typical categories of approvals and consents

Although the concrete list differs, the approvals that come up most often, depending on the case, fall into the following groups.

Specialist approvals (safety and health)

• Fire safety (ISU, the fire-safety inspectorate) — required, as a rule, for certain categories and capacities of buildings; not for all single-family homes.
• Public health (DSP, the public-health directorate) — the approval of the public-health directorate, requested for certain types of use.
• Environment — depending on how the project is classified, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (Agenția pentru Protecția Mediului).

Approvals from utility providers

To connect the building to networks, the urban planning certificate may require approvals from the operators for:

• water and sewerage (the local operator);
• electricity (the area distributor);
• natural gas (where applicable, if the project provides for a connection);
• waste management.

Access and siting

• Road access — the approval of the road administrator (the municipality, the County Council, or CNAIR (the national road authority), as the case may be), for access from the property to the public road.
• Special siting approvals, where applicable: protected zones or historic monuments (Direcția Județeană pentru Cultură, the County Directorate for Culture), the vicinity of airports (the aviation authority), defence / civil protection, and the like.

Indicative table: who issues what

The following table is indicative — always confirm what applies to you from the urban planning certificate for your own project.

How approvals are obtained

The logical order of the documents helps you understand where the approvals fit into the journey:

1. The urban planning certificate — lists the required approvals and consents;
2. The project — the technical documentation is drawn up;
3. Obtaining the approvals — based on the project, they are requested from each relevant institution;
4. Attaching them to the file — the approvals obtained accompany the authorization file.

Each aviz is therefore requested after the urban planning certificate and on the basis of the project, from the institution responsible for that field. Each institution has a statutory deadline to respond — as a rule, around 15 days for approvals falling under Law 50/1991. Be aware, however, that any request for further information stops the clock and restarts it only once you have responded. For some approvals, tacit approval applies — if the institution does not respond within the statutory deadline, the approval may be deemed granted, under the conditions provided by law.

Why approvals are the hardest stage to estimate

Unlike the steps that depend on a single authority, approvals depend on several institutions, each with its own pace of work. For this reason, they are usually the stage with the least predictable duration in the entire journey toward the permit. The practical takeaway: start early and track them closely, in parallel wherever possible.

This is where the role of an architecture practice comes in. Starting from the urban planning certificate, we identify exactly which approvals your project requires, prepare the documentation each institution asks for, and follow up on every request through to issuance — including the statutory deadlines and the moments when tacit approval can work in the project's favour. That way you avoid the situation in which a single overlooked approval blocks the entire file.

In short

There is no fixed list of approvals valid for any construction: it follows from the urban planning certificate and depends on the type, size, and location of the project. Some buildings require fire safety, public health, or special siting approvals; others, far fewer. What matters is to start from the correct document and to treat the approvals as the stage to plan for first — because, as a rule, it sets the pace of the entire schedule.

If you want the overall picture, we have laid out the journey in the building permit: the 5 steps, and as for the real timelines, in how long a building permit takes.