Occupancy permit and certificate of conformity in Morocco: how to get them

Your house is finished, but you cannot legally move in or get permanent utility connections until the municipality has issued the occupancy permit (permis d'habiter). Here is the procedure as it stems from the texts in force, and what varies from one municipality to another.

What is the difference between an occupancy permit and a certificate of conformity?

They are the same administrative act, with a different name depending on the building's use. Both certify that the completed building matches the building permit and the approved drawings.

A mixed-use building (shop on the ground floor, flats upstairs) falls under both regimes: the municipality will tell you which document or documents will be issued.

When should you apply for the occupancy permit?

Only once all the authorised works are finished. The application serves as the declaration of completion: it is what starts the legal time limit. According to the press (Hespress, August 2025), the Ministry of the Interior asked municipalities to stop issuing partial occupancy permits and to require the site to be formally closed. If you were planning to live on the ground floor before finishing the upper floor, check before moving in.

Special case: in a subdivision where the developer (lotisseur) builds the houses itself, the occupancy permit can only be issued after provisional acceptance (réception provisoire) of the subdivision (art. 57 of Law 12-90).

Which documents are required?

The general building regulations (règlement général de construction, RGC, art. 48 and 49) require a short file:

• an application addressed to the president of the municipality, serving as the declaration of completion of works;
• the certificate of conformity from the architect who supervised the works, where applicable: it then replaces the inspection visit;
• the certificate of conformity from the telecommunications services, for buildings subject to the telephone-line requirement (art. 44 and 56 of Law 12-90).

The RGC also provides a template declaration of site closure and completion of works signed by the architect (Annex 9). In practice, many municipalities ask for additional documents: copy of the building permit and the "ne varietur" stamped drawings, site logbook (cahier de chantier), photos of the façades, certificates from the engineer or inspection firm (bureau de contrôle), tax receipts. This list varies by municipality: have it confirmed by the planning department or on the Rokhas platform, through which applications are now filed.

How does the procedure work, step by step?

1. Conformity check by your architect: heights, levels, setbacks, façades and use, compared with the permit.
2. Filing the application at the municipality's registry (bureau d'ordre) or one-stop shop (guichet unique), against a numbered, dated receipt (online filing in municipalities connected to Rokhas).
3. Convening the inspection committee (commission de récolement, with representatives of the prefecture or province and of the municipality), unless the architect's certificate replaces it.
4. Site visit and official report (procès-verbal): the committee checks that the works match the drawings and the permit.
5. Decision by the president of the municipality: issue or refusal.

What are the time limits?

If nothing has been issued within the month, Article 55 of Law 12-90, as amended by Law 66-12, allows you to refer the matter to the governor of the prefecture or province, who may step in for the president of the municipality under the conditions of Article 76 of Organic Law No. 113-14 on municipalities. In reality, timelines depend on the municipality's workload and on how complete the file is.

How much does an occupancy permit cost?

Law 12-90 and the RGC set no fee for issuing it. Still, check with your municipality whether any local charges or receipts are required. The real expense for an individual who builds their own home is the social solidarity contribution on self-supplied construction (livraisons à soi-même, art. 275 of the General Tax Code, Code général des impôts), calculated on the covered area of each dwelling:

Example: a 320 m² villa is taxed on 320 m² at 60 DH, i.e. 19,200 DH. According to the specialist press (Bladi, June 2025), the final return must be filed with the tax authority (DGI) within 90 days of the occupancy permit: have this deadline confirmed by your tax office. For the overall budget, use our free construction cost estimator and read our guide to building permit fees and taxes.

Why is an occupancy permit refused?

• Unauthorised floor or volume: extra storey, enclosed terrace, mezzanine not shown on the permit.
• Altered façade: openings moved, overhangs (encorbellement), materials or colours contrary to the municipal order.
• Setbacks or height not respected under the zoning plan.
• Change of use (a garage turned into a shop, for example) without authorisation under Article 58.
• Unfinished works or site not closed.
• Incomplete file: architect's certificate or telecom documents missing.

A refusal must state its reasons. Depending on the discrepancy found, the remedy is to bring the building into line (removing the addition), an amended building permit (permis modificatif) where the change can be authorised, or, for non-compliant buildings, a regularisation permit (permis de régularisation), which then stands in for the occupancy permit. Note: the two-year window for regularisation applications reopened by Decree 2-23-103 (published in May 2023) appears to have closed in May 2025, with no extension found to date: check with the municipality and the Urban Agency (agence urbaine) that an application is still admissible before starting the process. See our guide to works permits and penalties.

Occupancy permit, utility meters and land title: how are they linked?

Utility connections. Utility boards and distributors generally require the occupancy permit for a permanent water and electricity connection. For electricity, a decision published in the Official Bulletin in July 2019 allows, in structured areas, a connection based on a residence certificate (certificat de résidence) for a dwelling that has a building permit but not yet the occupancy permit. Practical conditions vary by distributor.

Land title and splitting. To sell a flat or create separate titles (co-ownership, copropriété), notaries and the Land Registry (Conservation foncière) commonly ask for the occupancy permit. The exact requirements depend on the transaction: have them confirmed by your notary or the ANCFCC.

Penalty. An owner who occupies a building without an occupancy permit or certificate of conformity faces a fine of 2,000 to 10,000 DH; if they make it available to third parties (renting, lending, selling), the fine is 10,000 to 100,000 DH (art. 75 of Law 12-90, as worded by Law 66-12).

What is the architect's role?

In urban municipalities and their peripheral zones, the legal assignment of an architect registered with the Order of Architects (Ordre des architectes) includes site supervision and checking conformity "until the occupancy permit or certificate of conformity is issued" (art. 53 of Law 12-90). It is the architect's certificate that makes the inspection visit unnecessary. It engages the architect's liability: a serious architect will not sign it if the building departs from the approved drawings. Architect fees normally cover this phase; check your contract.

For a project in the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region, CITURBAREA, a registered architect's practice based in Kénitra, provides site supervision through to the occupancy permit. Tell us about your project or start with a free estimate. See also the steps to build a house and our guide to the building permit.

Frequently asked questions