What is an available licensing system?

This is how planning and building licensing begin today in Israel
The technological innovations that we encounter almost everywhere have now also reached the building licensing department of the Planning Administration.

If until recently, property or land owners had to submit applications for building permits only by visiting the local authority, today it is possible to use a website that includes extensive information regarding the various requirements for submitting building permits, as well as the option to submit them online. Get to know the "Available Licensing" system.

How did "Available Licensing" begin?
In 2006, the government decided, following the recommendations of a committee that examined compliance with the building code in Israel, to establish an online website where building permit applications would be efficiently managed.

The "Accessible Licensing" system, which was established as part of a large-scale government project that makes various government offices accessible to the public ("Accessible Government"), has become a tool that makes it easier for every resident to obtain the relevant individual information for building permits for a private or public house, for changes to an existing structure or for the start of a luxury home construction project or any other new project.

We will briefly review the site and discover how it changes the way applications have been submitted so far.

Purpose of the online site
The purpose of the site is to accompany all stages of building licensing but also to help resolve bureaucratic "traffic jams" and streamline the process of the execution stages of the various project approvals while creating a uniform interface in every municipal authority in the country (with some consideration for municipal bylaws).

Since its inception, the system has helped shorten the time it takes to obtain permits, automatically transferring information between different departments and saving the documents and forms that were submitted so that it can also be returned to in the future and examined whether approval was indeed received for a change or deviation in the designation or structure of a particular real estate project.

How was the application for a permit submitted until work began on the site?

Until the site was established, it was necessary to wait for documents to be transferred between contractors and homeowners through the Land Registrar and the Registrar of Engineers, contractors, the Israel Land Authority, and of course the planning and construction committees.

Today, when each of the entities has secure access to the system for the relevant content, it is easier to expedite actions that previously took weeks or even months.

Today, all you have to do is select the relevant area of ​​difficulty and transfer information to the various authorities through experienced request editors who upload the necessary documents for each type of request to the system.

Professionals (such as engineers, architects, engineers or Contractors) can also create a user account in the system and submit the relevant applications to them.

Building inspectors can send a query for registration in the register or, if work is being performed that is exempt from a permit, it can be reported in an organized manner to the local authority (according to the law, some work that does not require a permit will still require this report).

How much does it cost?
There is no charge for using the site, but the application for the various building permits involves a fixed fee (which is also paid when submitting the permit application manually).

The site also has a neat calculator that includes the amounts of the fees so that the cost of the permits can be estimated before the project is carried out.

It should be noted that the price is different if the application is submitted in a full procedure or in an abbreviated way. After you have prepared the application, you can pay the fee online and upload the forms and documents online.

In conclusion, an available licensing site is a huge source of information in the field of building permits in Israel, as well as a tool used by professionals and property owners to submit a wide variety of applications For permits with a click.