How do you request the permits for a property?

Anyone may view the permits for a property, including people who do not live there and are not the owner: that is provided for by freedom of information (openbaarheid van bestuur). You do not need to live in the municipality or give a reason. A copy of the building plans is in principle only given to the owner, or to someone with the consent of the owner and the architect: plans are protected by copyright.

Where the permits are kept

Since 2018: in the Omgevingsloket. The Inzageloket shows the files, with the plans under a watermark.
Before that: at the municipality (the environment or spatial planning department), which keeps a register of permits for each plot, or in the city archive.

A purchase involves other points too, such as the EPC and the renovation obligation and checking whether a house is permitted. What a report on an address costs is listed under Perceelscan pricing. You can work out the taxes on a purchase for free with the registration duties calculator and the property tax calculator.

What to include in your request

Request it by letter, email or web form from the municipality or the archive that holds the file. State:

the address and, if you know them, the cadastral plot number and the year of construction;
which document you are looking for (a permit, the plans, an official report);
whether you want to view it or want a copy;
your name and address.

Time limit and cost

The municipality replies within twenty calendar days, exceptionally within forty. Viewing and explanations are free; for a copy it may charge a reasonable price. If it refuses, you can appeal to the appeals body for freedom of information (Beroepsinstantie openbaarheid van bestuur).

Digital archives

Antwerp: in FelixArchief you search for and order the building files of the city and the districts online. For plans less than 75 years old, the archive asks for proof of ownership or the architect’s consent.
Ghent: Archief Gent shows the building files by appointment in the reading room; only owners receive a digital copy. You need the address and, for a property from before 1962, also the year of construction and the client who commissioned it.
Elsewhere: the municipality’s environment department tells you where the file is kept.

What the Perceelscan shows

Every environmental permit since 2018 on the plot and at the neighbours, with the date, the works, the status and a link to the file in the Inzageloket. You request an older file from the municipality.

In the other regions

In Brussels: What is in the renseignements urbanistiques?
In Wallonia: How do you know whether a house in Wallonia has its permits?

Sources

Check it for your address

Updated on 17 October 2026