Digital building permit application: A feasibility study for a shared services solution in the Netherlands

Abstract

Realizing complete digital intake and processing of building permit applications has been a long time challenge for many governments. Especially the processing of digital drawings and plans constitutes a major obstacle. In 2004 legal barriers to communicate digitally between government and applicants have disappeared in the Netherlands. A group of local governments used the momentum to study the feasibility of a large scale introduction of the intake of digital building permit applications by using a shared services concept. The feasibility study contained technical, economical, juridical and demand site feasibility aspects. This paper reports especially on the demand site feasibility. The paper is mend to present a case study about the readiness of both applicants and local governments in the Netherlands to deal with building permit applications in a digital way.