In the regular procedure the City decides within 8 weeks of receiving your application. The forms, the check and the decision letters are in Dutch, so this page explains the system and the words you will meet.
What the omgevingsvergunning covers
An omgevingsvergunning can cover two separate tests. The building activity (bouwactiviteit) checks whether the work is safe and healthy under the national building rules, the Bbl. The planning activity (omgevingsplanactiviteit) checks whether it fits the location: size, position, use and appearance, as set in the City's omgevingsplan (environment plan).
Something can be permit-free for one test and not for the other. A dormer, for example, is always permit-free on the technical side, while the planning side depends on where it sits and how big it is. Even permit-free work must still meet the Bbl and Dutch neighbour law.
Examples of work that needs a permit in Amsterdam: a renovation, extension or roof terrace, new window frames, solar panels or a roof window, work on a listed building or in a protected cityscape, and changing the use of a building.
How to check and apply: the Omgevingsloket
All checks and applications go through the Omgevingsloket, the national online permit desk. Its Vergunningcheck asks questions about your address and plan and tells you whether you need a permit, a notification (melding) or nothing; it takes 15 to 30 minutes. Keep the PDF with the outcome.
We never promise in advance that something is permit-free. The outcome depends on your address, the status of the building and the exact dimensions. If you want to deviate from the omgevingsplan, you can first submit a concept request (conceptverzoek) to hear whether it has a chance, before paying for a full design.
Who prepares and submits the application for your project is agreed per project and set out in the quote.
Welstand and protected cityscapes
Welstand is Amsterdam's design code for the outside of buildings, set out in the welstandsnota "De Schoonheid van Amsterdam". The Commissie Omgevingskwaliteit advises the City on it. For common plans such as dormers and extensions there are standard criteria; if your plan meets them, the review is simple. A plan that follows an earlier approved example on the same block, the trendsetter, also gets a simple review.
Nationally protected cityscapes in Amsterdam include everything inside the Singelgracht, Berlage's Plan Zuid and the protected area in Amsterdam-Noord. The City also protects areas such as Oud-Zuid, the Admiralenbuurt and Betondorp. Work on listed buildings and in protected cityscapes is always tailor-made, although some rear-side work, such as a dormer on the rear roof of a building that is not listed, can be permit-free.
On top of that, the districts Oost, Zuid and West have their own rules for roof extensions, dormers, roof terraces, extensions and balconies. Check them before a design is made.
Apartments: VvE consent is separate from the permit
In an apartment building, a permit from the City does not replace consent from your VvE (Vereniging van Eigenaars, the owners' association). The VvE decides on shared parts such as the roof, façade, load-bearing walls and main drain pipes. Your splitsingsreglement says which parts are shared.
Get the VvE decision first. A permit for a roof extension is of little use if the owners' meeting does not allow it.
Fees and decision times in 2026
Amsterdam changed its permit fees on 1 October 2026. You now pay two amounts over the same construction costs: 0.76% for the technical part, minimum €100, and 1.81% for the planning part, minimum €233. Between €75,000 and €250,000 the rates become €570 plus 1.05% and €1,357.50 plus 2.44% over the excess. The city council adopted this on 2 September 2026.
Design review (welstand) and rainwater are no longer separate items in the new fee table. What can come on top is a deviation from the omgevingsplan: €565.50 for a minor deviation (kleine buitenplanse omgevingsplanactiviteit) and €5,655 in other cases. A notification is free. You receive the bill after the decision.
In the regular procedure the City decides within 8 weeks of receiving your application. The term is 12 weeks only when the consent (instemming) of another authority is required for your plan, IPLO explains; advice from another body does not lengthen it. The extended procedure takes 6 months. Each term can be extended once by up to 6 weeks. After the decision there is an objection period of 6 weeks.
If the city misses the deadline, you still have no permit
A late decision does not give you a permit. Under the Omgevingswet the rule that silence produces a permit is switched off, so you always need an actual decision before work can start. The regular term is eight weeks from the day the city receives your application, with one extension of up to six weeks that the city has to announce within the original term.
The money side works in your favour in two cases. If the city concludes during the process that your plan needs no permit at all, Amsterdam refunds the fee in full. If your application is set aside because documents were missing, the refund is 85 percent. That is a good reason to get the drawings right the first time, and not to apply for a permit you do not need.
Unsure about the outcome of the permit check? You can file a conceptverzoek, a formal pre-application, for €350, or €500 when a joint review table is involved. That amount is later deducted from your permit fee.
What to arrange besides the permit
Besides the permit itself, these points come up when you prepare a plan, whether or not a permit is needed.
- Talk to your neighbours before you apply. The City calls this participation and asks how you involved them.
- Rainwater: the separate rainwater ordinance (Hemelwaterverordening) lapsed on 31 October 2024. Its rules on storing rainwater now sit in the Omgevingsplan Amsterdam and can apply when you add a storey or enlarge the built-up area. Check per address in the omgevingsplan or with the Vergunningcheck.
- Ground lease (erfpacht): if you renovate or change the use of the building, you also need to adjust your ground lease contract.
- Street works: a skip or scaffolding on the street needs an object permit, applied for at least 7 working days in advance.
- Site sign: with an omgevingsvergunning a site sign of at least A3 must hang at least a week before work starts, with the duration of the work and a contact person.