There is no permit that applies only to Riyadh: a facility in Riyadh gets its environmental permit from the permits and licences platform of the National Center for Environmental Compliance (NCEC), like any facility in the Kingdom. Construction projects inside Riyadh city, however, carry extra dust-control requirements. This guide puts the steps in the order you actually go through them, with the documents and service time for each, as the Center publishes them.
Step 1: classify the activity
Everything starts with the environmental classification form, because the category decides which study you need and how long the review takes. For this service the Center asks for:
- The completed environmental classification form.
- The investor's ID and commercial registration, or the unified number for non-government entities without a commercial registration.
- The national address of the activity's site.
- Supporting technical attachments, if the Center asks for them.
Published service time: ten working days.
Step 2: the study your category needs
- Category 1: an environmental management plan, plus a rehabilitation plan for the activities the regulation names.
- Category 2: an environmental impact assessment.
- Category 3: a scoping report first, then an environmental impact assessment once the report is approved.
In every category, the study must be prepared by a service provider licensed by the Center.
Step 3: the construction permit
You apply before any construction work, attaching your category's study and an undertaking to implement its findings and recommendations. Published service time by category:
- Category 1: ten working days.
- Category 2: 30 working days.
- Category 3: 60 working days.
The construction permit is valid for three years.
Step 4: the operating permit
You apply before the facility starts operating. Category 1 facilities attach an updated operating environmental management plan, with a service time of ten working days. Category 2 and 3 facilities attach an environmental audit study from a licensed provider, with a service time of 30 working days. The Center sets the operating permit's term between three and six years.
If your activity changes
Any change in the activity's type or size needs the right permit. To amend an existing permit, the Center asks for the valid permit, a request explaining the type, reasons and scope of the change, and the supporting drawings and regulatory and technical documents.
Specific to Riyadh city: dust
The Center announced dust-control requirements for construction projects in Riyadh city of at least 2,000 square metres, including dust suppressants with daily spraying. Riyadh's dust-control guide asks for a dust management plan at least 30 days before site preparation begins, and no dust-generating work before the plan is approved. If your project is construction in Riyadh, schedule the dust plan with the construction permit, not after it.
What usually delays a permit?
- An incomplete or inaccurate activity description in the classification form, so the request is returned or the category changes.
- A study from a provider the Center has not licensed, which is not accepted.
- Starting construction before the permit is issued, or changing the activity before amending the permit.
- Leaving the dust plan for a Riyadh project until site start is close.
The service times above start once the application is complete; they do not include the time to prepare the study itself.
How we help
Our office is in Ishbiliyah, Riyadh, and we are an environmental consultancy licensed by the Center. We review your activity and estimate its category before you apply, prepare the classification form, the study and the dust plan when needed, and follow the application on the platform until the permit is issued. About our Riyadh office.