The process of obtaining a building permit is broken down into eight steps:

1. Application for Technical Specifications for Cities.
You must have your parcel measured and undertake a geodesy and cadastral survey in order to receive approval on the UTS. Within 20 days of receiving your application, urban technical specifications will be supplied.

2. Creation of the Building’s Conceptual Design.
A licensed engineering firm will create the building’s conceptual design and outline specifications based on the issued urban technical standards.

3. Obtaining the Chief State Architect’s or Chief Local Architect’s Permission.
The chief architect’s job is to safeguard and promote architectural excellence and urban compatibility in new construction.
Within 15 days, he will provide his consent.

4. Development and Review of the Building’s Final Design.
The building’s Final Design must be reviewed by a registered auditing firm with at least four civil engineers to ensure that it complies with the approved urban technical standards and the Conceptual Design. After inspecting the structure, the office must provide written approval within 15 days.

5. An Agreement With the Contractor and an Agreement with the Engineering Supervisor.
Sign the contract for the contractor and engineering supervision.

6. Notification of Construction Work.
Within 15 days following the commencement of construction, a notification of building works is sent to the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism’s Inspection Directorate. The inspection authority will verify the floor area ratio, the lot coverage ratio, the number of floors/height of the structure, and its relationship to the building line during this time period.

In addition, the authority will request:

• A copy of the final design (stamped);
• A positive review report of the final design;
• Evidence of liability insurance of the design engineer who created the final design or of the responsible reviewer who examined the final design;
• Contractor agreement;
• Engineering supervision agreement;
• Evidence of ownership right over land or another right to construct on the property or evidence of ownership right over the structure, as well as approval of the conceptual design by the chief state architect or the chief city architect;
• If the building is near the shore, evidence of paid utility costs;
• Evidence of paid payments for the regional water supply system.

7. At the building site, there will be an information board.
An information board with information regarding the start and finish dates of construction, the firms and supervisors participating in the project, and a 3D generated image of the building’s future appearance.

8. Registration of the property in the Real Estate Cadastre.
The application must be submitted to the Cadastre within 15 days of the date of the engineering supervisor’s final report, which includes a written statement that the structure was built in accordance with the reviewed final design, that it is safe to use, and that it can be used for its intended purpose.

Note that if the city technical standards have already been provided, the procedure will begin at point 3.

The adoption of the Spatial Plan and the Plan of General Regulation of Montenegro is the most significant new feature of the Draft Law on Planning and Construction.