Basic permits have a locked order — and most people find out after building

The shortcut first, before you spend anything

If your business rents space in a building or complex whose operator already holds the location, environmental and building approvals — you very likely do not need to obtain basic permits at all, and can go straight to your business licence.

Most tenants stop here. Ask the building operator before you budget for anything.

If you are building your own premises, renting a bare shophouse, or using your own land — read on.

The order

Four basic permits, and the order locks:

1. Location suitability (KKPR). Whether your business activity may be carried out at that point. This is the first door. If your location is not zoned for it, nothing after it can move.

2. Environmental approval. The form it takes scales with impact — from a simple self-declaration to a full assessment. The form itself asks for proof of location suitability, so it literally cannot be filled in before step 1 is done.

Two things people assume are separate, but sit inside this step:

• Traffic impact analysis (andalalin) — folded into the environmental document, not standing on its own.
• Hazardous waste storage permit (TPS LB3) — now attached to the environmental approval or the business identity number, not a separate licence.

3. Building approval (PBG). The replacement for the old IMB. It must exist before you build.

4. Certificate of functional worthiness (SLF). After the building stands, before it is used.

Only after that can your sector licence be issued.

The expensive mistake

The one we see most: the building is already up, and only then the permits are started.

This is not simply being late. The building approval is a permit to construct. Applying after the building exists means seeking approval for something already there — and if the building turns out not to comply, it is the building that has to change, not the permit.

The second mistake: signing a long lease before checking location suitability. If it turns out your activity is not allowed at that point, you are bound to a lease for premises you cannot use.

On timing

If everything runs to the official schedule, this chain takes about 66 working days — and that excludes the time you spend preparing documents.

"To the official schedule" deserves underlining. Two points in this chain have no statutory time limit at all, and that is exactly where projects stall: issuance of the building approval at regional level, and the traffic impact assessment for high-impact categories.

All of these permits are issued by regional government. Speed differs between regions, and reality is often slower than the rules. Do not build a project schedule that assumes a smooth process.

What you can do before talking to anyone

1. Ask the building operator whether its basic permits are complete. If they are, you may be finished here.
2. Check the zoning before signing any lease.
3. Do not build before the building approval is issued.
4. Budget more time, not the minimum. The steps with no statutory deadline are the ones that slip most.

Written 2026-07-28. Rules change — if you are reading this long after that date, confirm before you act on it.