Building Permit in Morocco: A Foreign Owner’s Guide to the Permis de Construire

Yes, you need a building permit in Morocco (permis de construire) for almost any new build, extension or structural change in towns, their outskirts and approved subdivisions, and a foreign owner applies the same way as a Moroccan one: through a registered architect, at the commune, and in most places now online.

The official deadlines are short, but the file only moves once the plot’s zoning, title and plans are in order.

I’m Anis Chity, I live in Marrakech and I’ve bought four properties in Morocco, so this guide sticks to what the official texts say and what a buyer should ask before paying for land or a house.

My first purchase in Marrakech, a ground floor apartment with a rented shop, worked out, but I relied heavily on trust and on a local contact.

Today I would never pay for a plot or a house without seeing its planning and permit papers first.

This guide is general information based on Moroccan texts checked on 23 October 2026, not legal advice. Local rules vary by commune, so confirm your project with a registered architect, the commune’s urbanism service or a Moroccan lawyer.

Do you need a building permit in Morocco for your project?

In most cases, yes: Law 12-90 on urban planning forbids any construction without a building permit inside urban perimeters and special purpose zones, and also in some areas outside them, such as strips along main roads and the coast (Law 12-90, article 40).

The same article covers changes to existing buildings when the planning rules apply to them, so an added floor or a new room counts as construction.

The Law 12-90 text linked here is the official version published on the Ministry of Justice portal, and Law 66-12 amended parts of it in 2016, so your architect should confirm the current wording for your plot.

Rural areas follow an older dahir on rural agglomerations, which also provides for a permit, so ask the commune before assuming a village plot is exempt (Decree 2-18-577, article 2).

The 2019 general construction regulation lists the other authorisations you may meet (Decree 2-18-577, articles 1, 2 and 5):

• Permis de réfection: for minor works on an existing building.
• Permis de démolition: for knocking down all or part of a building.
• Permis de régularisation: for buildings that do not comply with the rules.
• Permis d’habiter or certificat de conformité: issued at the end, before you can use the building, and covered in a separate part of the regulation.

Can a foreigner apply for a building permit in Morocco?

Yes. The decree defines the applicant (pétitionnaire) as the owner, or a person who has the owner’s agreement or another document that justifies the request, and nationality is not a condition (Decree 2-18-577, article 5).

The file can be lodged by the applicant, by the architect who designed the project or by any person properly authorised to do it (Decree 2-18-577, article 34).

The real foreign buyer problem is rarely the permit itself, it is the land: it must be titled in your name, sit in a zone where building is allowed, and not be agricultural land that foreigners cannot buy.

Before you look at any plot outside a town, read our guide to the AVNA certificate for land outside urban perimeters.

Do you need an architect for a building permit in Morocco?

In towns, delimited centres and their outskirts, yes.

Law 12-90 makes it compulsory there to use an architect in private practice and specialised engineers (Law 12-90, article 50).

Outside those areas, an architect is compulsory only for public buildings or buildings used by the public (Law 12-90, article 51).

When the total floor area is 150 square metres or less, the architect is only required for the design, not to follow the works (Law 12-90, article 54).

Above that, the architect is also responsible for following the works until completion (Law 12-90, article 53).

This matters at the end: when an architect directed the works, the architect’s certificate of conformity can replace the commune’s final inspection (Decree 2-18-577, article 49).

Architect and engineer fees are separate from the permit tax, and you will find typical ranges in our full budget for building a house in Morocco, including architect fees.

What should you check before you buy the plot or file anything?

Start with the note de renseignements urbanistiques (NRU), the urban planning information note.

Any interested person can ask the urban agency for it where an approved planning document exists, and it states how the land can be used under that document (Decree 2-18-577, article 6).

The agency must issue it within two working days of the request (Decree 2-18-577, article 7).

Read it carefully, because the same article says the note is based on the data you supplied and is in no case an approval in principle of your project.

In other words, a good NRU tells you the zone allows a house, but it does not promise you a permit for your plans.

Two warning signs in Law 12-90 deserve a question before you sign anything:

• No zoning plan: where no plan d’aménagement or zoning plan fixes the land use, the commune can delay its decision on a permit for up to two years (Law 12-90, article 45).
• No water or sewage: a permit is refused if the plot is not connected to sewage and drinking water, unless the services grant a waiver (Law 12-90, article 47).

Ask the seller and check the NRU for both before you sign a compromis.

Also have your notary check two documents, because the permit file will need them:

• The certificat de propriété: it shows who owns the plot and what is registered against it. You can request the ANCFCC certificat de propriété before you pay anything.
• The cadastral plan: it shows the registered limits and surface, which your architect needs for the site plan.

For examples of how zoning, height limits and floor ratios cut down what you can build, see how zoning and COS limit what you can build on a Marrakech plot.

How does the building permit application work, step by step?

The usual path for a house looks like this.

1. Get the NRU for the plot from the urban agency.
2. Sign an architect contract with a registered architect.
3. Prepare the plans and engineering studies with the architect and engineers.
4. File the application at the commune’s bureau d’ordre or at the single window, against a numbered and dated receipt (Decree 2-18-577, article 34).
5. Review by an instruction committee that brings together the prefecture or province, the commune and the urban agency.
6. Decision by the commune president, who issues the permit with the plans stamped “ne varietur”, meaning they cannot be changed (Decree 2-18-577, article 43).

The permit can never be issued without the urban agency’s mandatory opinion (Decree 2-18-577, article 39).

A single window for urban planning authorisations exists in communes with more than 50,000 inhabitants, while smaller communes, such as many rural communes around Marrakech, use a prefectural or provincial planning committee unless a single window is created at the commune’s request (Decree 2-18-577, articles 10, 15 and 16).

Which documents usually go in the file?

The exact list is fixed by a ministerial order, but your architect will typically ask for the application form, the certificat de propriété and cadastral plan, site plans, architectural drawings, the engineers’ studies, the architect contract and a copy of your passport.

Ask at the start whether any document must be legalised or translated, because that is where files from abroad lose time.

What is Rokhas?

Rokhas is the national online platform for urban planning authorisations.

A 2020 circular from the Interior Ministry, as reported by the press, asked governors to make it the single channel for filing, reviewing and issuing permits, and about 1,000 local authorities were already using it at the time (Bladi, 2020).

How long does a building permit take in Morocco?

The decree sets short official deadlines, counted in working days.

Sources: Decree 2-18-577, articles 7, 18, 19, 41, 42, 46, 50 and 51.

If the committee asks for changes, the official deadlines only start again when you file the corrected plans (Decree 2-18-577, article 41).

Reality is slower. The same 2020 press report said some communes were averaging more than 150 days for building permits, against a target of 30 days (Bladi, 2020).

Plan in months, not days.

How much does a building permit cost in Morocco?

The permit itself costs the construction tax, which is set by Law 47-06 on local taxation.

Source: DGCT, guide to Law 47-06 as amended, articles 53 and 54. Each commune sets its own rate within these bands.

As an illustration, a villa with 200 covered square metres would pay between 4,000 and 6,000 dirhams in construction tax.

The tax is paid once, when the permit is issued, and a later modified permit is taxed only on the additional square metres.

This is only the tax: the architect, engineers, topographer and any service fees come on top, and they are by far the larger part of the bill.

Do renovations and small works need a permit?

Minor works on an existing building, and seasonal or occasional installations, use the permis de réfection rather than a full building permit (Decree 2-18-577, article 20).

It is filed at the commune and handled by the commune’s urbanism service, without the other agencies’ opinions, and issued within 10 working days (Decree 2-18-577, article 46).

It is valid for six months and cannot be renewed, so do not request it until your builder is ready (Decree 2-18-577, article 47).

As a rule of thumb, works that change the height, footprint, structure or use are likely to need a full building permit, so get the urbanism service’s answer in writing before you start.

Changing the use of a building, for example turning a shop into a flat, needs the commune president’s authorisation after the urbanism administration agrees (Law 12-90, article 58).

In an apartment building, works on the common parts also need the co-owners’ approval through the syndic.

In a medina, heritage rules can add opinions and conditions, so speak to the commune before you promise yourself a roof terrace or a new opening.

When I judge a deal, renovation needs are one of the things I weigh against the price, and the permit question is part of that cost.

How long is the permit valid, and what must you do on site?

A permit lapses if the foundation works have not started within one year of its issue (Law 12-90, article 49).

Before the works start, you must display the references and the date of the permit on site (Law 47-06, article 56).

Build to the stamped plans: any change in height, volume, position or surface needs a modified permit first.

What happens at the end: do you need a permis d’habiter?

Yes. The owner cannot use the building until the commune issues a permis d’habiter, or a certificat de conformité for a non residential building (Law 12-90, article 55).

You must declare that the works are finished, and the permit is issued after a final inspection, or on the architect’s certificate when an architect directed the works.

If the permis d’habiter is not issued within one month of your completion declaration, the same article lets you ask the local authority to step in.

For what this document proves and how buyers check it, see what the permis d’habiter proves and how buyers check it.

What happens if you build without a permit in Morocco?

Law 66-12, promulgated on 25 August 2016 and published in Bulletin officiel no. 6501 in September 2016, amended the control and penalty rules of Law 12-90 (summary of Law 66-12), and press reports at the time described a much stricter system (Le360, 2016).

Press reports describe how the new system works:

• Controls: controllers can carry out surprise site visits, and the law relies on agents with judicial police powers (FNH, December 2016).
• Site closure: when a breach is found, works are stopped, and if the person responsible for the works contests the stop order, the site can be closed immediately and machines and equipment seized (FNH).
• Time to correct: the law gives between 10 days and one month to put the breach right, after which the administrative authority can order demolition (FNH).
• Penalties: fines were raised and prison sentences introduced, notably for repeat offences (FNH; Le360, 2016).
• Demolition procedure: an implementing decree published in the Bulletin officiel in February 2020 gave urban planning controllers judicial police status and set out the demolition procedure, including a 48 hour notice for the owner to leave the premises (Le360, February 2020).

We do not quote fine amounts here, because the figures reported in the press were for the bill before final publication.

The old text already treated the owner, the contractor and the architect as co-authors of an offence (Law 12-90, article 76), and you should assume the owner stays exposed.

So a contractor who says “you don’t need a permit for that” is not taking the risk off your shoulders.

A permis de régularisation exists for non compliant buildings, but it is not automatic, and you should never buy on the promise that one will be granted.

Confirm the current fines and procedure with a Moroccan lawyer before you buy any property with unpermitted works.

Buying a house someone else built or extended: which permit papers should you ask for?

If you buy a finished house, you inherit its permit history, good or bad.

On my first purchase, the ground floor apartment with a rented shop, my attention was on the price and the rented shop, not on planning papers.

Today, for any property where a seller has added a floor, closed a terrace or turned a space into a shop or a flat, I would also ask for the permit papers before paying anything.

• The building permit and its stamped plans.
• The permis d’habiter or certificat de conformité.
• A simple comparison between the plans and what exists: extra floors, rooftop rooms, closed balconies, a pool, or a change of use.
• The name of the architect who signed the project.

If something on site is not on the plans, ask the notary how it affects the sale before you sign a compromis or pay a deposit.

These checks sit alongside the wider due diligence checks before you pay, including the title, charges and taxes.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get a building permit in Morocco?

The official deadlines are counted in working days, but incomplete files and requests for corrections slow everything down. In 2020 some communes were reported to average more than 150 days, so plan for several months.

How much does a building permit cost in Morocco?

The tax for a house is 20 to 30 dirhams per covered square metre, minimum 1,000 dirhams, before professional fees.

Can a foreigner get a building permit in Morocco?

Yes, if you own the land or have the owner’s agreement, and your architect can file for you.

What happens if I build without a permit?

Since Law 66-12, expect site closure, fines, possible prison for repeat offences and demolition at your cost.

Can I buy a house with an extension built without a permit?

You would inherit the problem. Ask for the permit, the stamped plans and the permis d’habiter, and have the notary and a lawyer review any gap before you pay. Régularisation exists in the texts but is never guaranteed.

What is the safest next step before you build or buy?

Before you sign for any plot, get the NRU and a registered architect’s opinion on what you can actually build there.

Before you pay for a house with additions, ask for the permit, the stamped plans and the permis d’habiter, and compare them with what you see.

If the papers do not match the building, slow down until your notary has explained the consequences in writing.