The building permit under the new Code — deadlines, the National One-Stop Shop, emergency procedure

Law no. 169/2026 (the Code of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and Construction) keeps the general deadline for issuing the building permit, but brings three new elements: the emergency procedure, digital filing through the National One-Stop Shop and the obligation to sign digitally filed documents with an electronic signature.

The general deadline

30 calendar days from the filing of the complete documentation (art. 273) — unchanged from the old Law 50/1991.

Emergency procedure — new

At the owner's request, the local public authority can issue the building permit in at most 7 working days, for a special fee set under art. 484 of the Tax Code. Useful for investments with tight commercial deadlines, where 30 calendar days could block a construction schedule.

The National One-Stop Shop

The documents needed for the permit can be filed with the competent authority or through the National One-Stop Shop, part of the national platform for urban and spatial planning and building permits, as it becomes operational. The permit can be sent to the applicant in digital format through the same platform.

Digital documents and electronic signature

• The documents can be filed on paper or digitally.
• If filed digitally, they must be signed with a qualified or advanced professional electronic signature, both by the applicant and by all the specialists involved (designer, design checker, technical expert), in line with each one's right to practise.
• A digitally signed document has the same legal value as a paper document.

What happens if the documentation is incomplete

If the authority finds that the documentation is incomplete or needs clarification, it must notify the applicant only once, in writing, within at most 10 working days of registration, listing all the deficiencies. The time given to complete it cannot exceed 3 months from the notification.

Who signs the permit

The building permit is signed by the mayor (or the president of the county council, as the case may be) or an authorised person, by the secretary general and by the chief architect or the person responsible in the field, plus the person appointed to prepare it. The approvals, agreements and, where applicable, the single agreement are annexed to the permit and become part of it.

The substantive condition for issuing it

The building permit is issued only if the design, prepared by specialist technical teams and checked by licensed design checkers against the applicable essential requirements, complies with the urban planning regulations in force — with the exceptions for the simplified notification procedure, which applies to certain categories of low-impact works.

What it means in practice

For a client whose construction schedule is pressed by a financing contract or a building season, the emergency procedure (7 working days) is a real option to consider from the very start of the discussion about documents and costs. For everyone else, the deadline remains 30 days — with the caveat that filing a complete application the first time, without later additions, is still the most efficient way not to lose time at the clarification stage.