Building permit in Morocco: application, steps and topographic plan

When is authorisation mandatory?

Law No. 12-90 on urban planning lays down the rule in Article 40: it is prohibited to build without a building permit (permis de construire, رخصة البناء):

• in urban municipalities, delimited centres and their peripheral zones, as well as in special-purpose zones;
• outside these perimeters and rural settlements with a development plan for rural settlements: along roads and railways other than municipal ones, to a depth of one kilometre from their centre line, and along the maritime public domain for five kilometres;
• in all authorised subdivisions.

A permit is also required to alter an existing building on points covered by the regulations. A decree may extend it to other areas or categories of buildings (Article 42). In rural settlements, the permit falls under the Dahir of 25 June 1960 on the development of rural settlements, and follows the same general building regulations.

The permit is issued by the president of the municipal council (Article 41). The substantive rules (zoning, height, setbacks, land outside a development plan) are detailed in the guide Development plan, zoning, Taamir. In practice, never assume that rural land is exempt: ask the municipality and the urban planning agency (agence urbaine) before any purchase.

Architect, engineers, surveyor: who does what

The architect. In urban municipalities, delimited centres, their peripheral zones and special-purpose zones, the use of an architect in private practice and of specialist engineers is mandatory for any new construction (Article 50). The use of an architect registered on the roll of the Order is a condition for obtaining the permit. Outside these perimeters, the obligation covers public buildings or buildings open to the public (Article 51).

Article 53 entrusts the architect with the design, the plans filed with the municipality, the consistency of the technical studies with the project and the monitoring of the works up to the occupancy permit. Article 54 reduces the architect's mandatory role to design alone for buildings whose total floor area does not exceed 150 m².

The specialist engineers (reinforced concrete engineer, in practice a structural design office) draw up the structural and stability plans, required before the permit is issued, and monitor the execution of the corresponding works (Article 53). The fire safety note is approved by the architect, the engineer and a technical inspection office (bureau de contrôle technique), each for their own part.

The surveying engineer (ingénieur géomètre-topographe) carries out the topographic survey of the land and, on site, sets out the building. He does not design the house and issues no authorisation.

The application file

The documents are set by Joint Order No. 337-20 of 21 January 2020, issued in application of the general building regulations (règlement général de construction) approved by Decree No. 2-18-577 of 12 June 2019 (Official Bulletin No. 6874 of 16 April 2020). It distinguishes between main documents, required at filing, and supplementary documents, to be provided before issue. A file without all the main documents is inadmissible; the absence of a supplementary document cannot justify a rejection (Article 37 of the regulations).

• Main documents: the signed application; a certificate of ownership (certificat de propriété) or, failing that, any title proving ownership or the right to build; the ANCFCC plan specifying the boundaries for registered land, or a topographic survey if it is not registered; a location plan; the architectural plans of all levels at 1:100 at least, the ground floor showing the street building line, the dimensions of the plot boundaries and the pavement level; elevations, block plan, sections; a copy of the architect's contract where it is mandatory; a fire safety note and a note on energy performance.
• Supplementary documents: an information sheet, signed and with the signature certified; the engineers' structural plans; a copy of the building line report (constat d'alignement) if the building borders a public road; a site logbook (cahier de chantier); the receipts for fees for services rendered; and, for certain buildings, a telecommunications connection file.
• Number of copies: eight.

The planning information note (note de renseignements urbanistiques) is not on this list, but it is the note that sets the rules applicable to the land: request it before starting the plans. To understand the difference between the ANCFCC plan and a topographic survey, see the guide Cadastral plan, title plan, topographic plan.

Filing, Rokhas and examination

Where to file. The file is filed with the mail registry office (bureau d'ordre) of the municipality, or of the one-stop shop for urban planning authorisations (guichet unique des autorisations d'urbanisme) in municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, against a numbered and dated acknowledgement of receipt. In smaller municipalities, the examination is prepared by a prefectoral or provincial urban planning committee (Articles 10, 15 and 34 of the regulations). The file may be filed by the owner, the architect or an authorised representative. The regulations provide for electronic procedures: this is the Rokhas platform (rokhas.ma), on which the architect generally files and tracks the file.

Small and large projects. Residential buildings with a height of no more than 15.50 m and no more than R+3 fall under “small projects”; in a subdivision that has been accepted, the threshold is 18.50 m and R+4 (Annex 3). Their file is submitted to the examination committee as soon as it is filed, which deliberates at the same sitting (Article 19). “Large projects” (subdivisions, taller buildings, establishments open to the public, buildings outside a zone covered by a plan, medinas…) are sent to the committee within 3 working days, which rules within 15 working days of receipt of the file (Article 18).

The committee brings together representatives of the prefecture or province, the municipality and the urban planning agency. The authorisation cannot be issued without the opinion of the urban planning agency, which the president of the municipality must comply with (Article 39). The report is sent to the president within 3 working days. If changes are requested, the president informs the applicant within 2 working days, and the time limits start again from the filing of the corrected plans (Article 41). The authorisation, with the plans stamped “ne varietur”, is notified within 2 working days of the decision (Article 44).

Silence and validity. Law No. 12-90 provides that, failing a reply within two months of filing, the permit is deemed granted (Article 48). The permit lapses if the foundations have not been started within one year (Article 49): do not obtain a permit too early if the financing is not ready.

Reorganisation under way: Law No. 64-23 (Official Bulletin No. 7533 of 10 August 2026) creates twelve regional urban planning and housing agencies which are progressively taking over the tasks of the urban planning agencies. The name of the body you deal with may change; the municipality remains the place of filing.

The site: setting-out and monitoring

Once the permit has been obtained, the first technical step is setting-out (implantation): transferring to the ground, with markers, the exact position of the building as shown on the authorised plans. No text specifies who carries it out, but a mistake at this stage is paid for with demolition. A surveying engineer checks in particular:

• the boundaries of the land and the condition of the boundary markers, compared with the title plan;
• the building line on the public road and the setbacks required from the road and from the boundaries with neighbouring plots;
• the dimensions and orientation of the building footprint, its column grid lines;
• the reference level (threshold, pavement), on which the permitted height and water drainage depend.

The architect and the engineers then monitor the works, each for their own part (Article 53). The site logbook, attached to the file, is kept on site. Any change to the project (an additional level, an enlarged footprint, a moved façade) requires a new authorisation: the official permit template expressly provides for this.

End of works: occupancy permit and land title

The building may only be used after obtaining the occupancy permit (permis d'habiter, رخصة السكن) or, for another use, the certificate of compliance (certificat de conformité) (Article 55 of Law No. 12-90). The application, which serves as the declaration of completion, is filed with the municipality or the one-stop shop (Article 48 of the regulations).

The permit is issued after an inspection of the completed works (récolement): a committee (prefecture or province, municipality) checks that the building complies with the plans and the permit. If the works were directed by an architect, the architect's certificate of compliance (attestation de conformité) replaces the inspection (Article 49). The president notifies the date of the visit within 3 working days of filing; the report is submitted to the president within 2 working days of the visit, and the president decides within the same time limit (Articles 50 and 51).

Updating the land title. The title plan describes the land as it was marked out. After construction, it may be useful to bring it into line with reality, before a sale, a loan or a partition. Decree No. 2-13-18 (Article 17) provides for this an updating of the title plan to match the situation on the ground (mise en concordance du plan foncier avec l'état des lieux), on the basis of a technical file drawn up by a surveying engineer registered with the ONIGT and checked by the cadastre department. Ask the land registry (conservation foncière) for the documents required (in practice the occupancy permit is requested). For a building divided into apartments, see the page Co-ownership.

Buildings without authorisation: the risks

Law No. 66-12 on the control and punishment of offences in urban planning and construction, published in Official Bulletin No. 6501 of 19 September 2016, rewrote Title IV of Law No. 12-90 on penalties. Its implementing Decree No. 2-19-409 was published in February 2020. In summary:

• offences are recorded by judicial police officers and authorised urban planning inspectors, who draw up a report;
• works in progress may be stopped immediately;
• the demolition of irregular buildings may be ordered, at the offender's expense;
• fines are provided for building without a permit, failure to comply with the permit (height, siting, area) and occupation without an occupancy permit; the project owner, the contractor, the architect or the engineer responsible for the offence may be prosecuted as co-perpetrators.

The exact amounts and procedures appear in the articles of Title IV of Law No. 12-90 as worded following Law No. 66-12; consult the consolidated version published by the General Secretariat of the Government. An irregular building may, depending on the case, be the subject of an application for a regularisation permit (permis de régularisation), provided for by Article 40 of Law No. 12-90 and examined under the “large projects” procedure; it is never automatic.

Common pitfalls

• Starting before the permit: even for the foundations only. This is precisely the offence targeted, and it then blocks the occupancy permit, the connection to networks and the sale.
• Wrongly measured setbacks: a boundary wall taken for the boundary, a moved marker, and the building encroaches on the setback or on the neighbour. Have the boundaries checked before setting-out.
• The forgotten building line: a road widening provided for in the development plan (plan d'aménagement) reduces the buildable area. The building line report and the planning information note reveal it.
• Untitled land: a permit remains possible with another title of ownership and a topographic survey, but the boundaries are not guaranteed. For a purchase based on a melkia, read the guide Melkia or land title.
• The lapsed permit: if the foundations have not been started within the year, you must file again.
• Changes during the works: an additional floor or area without a new authorisation makes the building non-compliant.

Example: a Moroccan living in France (MRE) buys a titled plot in Fez to build a house with a ground floor plus two storeys (R+2). He appoints an architect, who files the application on Rokhas; a surveying engineer carries out the survey, then sets out the building before the foundations; the family on site monitors the works with the architect. To prepare for these steps, see the Building page.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Law No. 12-90 on urban planning (consolidated version) — General Secretariat of the Government
• Decree No. 2-18-577 of 12 June 2019 approving the general building regulations and Joint Order No. 337-20 setting the required documents (Official Bulletin No. 6874 of 16 April 2020) — Official Bulletin (copy from the Settat Urban Planning Agency)
• Decree No. 2-13-18 of 14 July 2014 on land registration formalities — ANCFCC
• Law No. 66-12 on the control and punishment of offences in urban planning and construction (Dahir No. 1-16-124, Official Bulletin No. 6501 of 19 September 2016), Arabic text — Ministry of Justice (adala)
• Rokhas, platform for filing and tracking urban planning authorisations — Rokhas
• Law No. 64-23 establishing the regional urban planning and housing agencies (Official Bulletin No. 7533 of 10 August 2026) — Le Matin, 2026

This guide provides general information, up to date as of the date shown. It does not replace the official texts or a professional review of your file. Ask us about your situation.