Can you build without a permit? Enter your address
Rules checked on 5 August 2026
For a dormer at the back, a roof window and solar panels the answer is set nationally in the Bbl: stay within the measurements and it is permit free, and no municipality can override that. For an extension, shed, canopy and a fence that same rule has sat in the municipal environment plan since 2024, which started everywhere with the same national text. Enter your address, we look up what kind of building it is, and you get a yes or a no with the measurements attached.
Step 1 of 2. What do you want to build?
One click. You can change it right after.
Step 2 of 2. Where is it?
Pick your address from the list. We look up the building details ourselves and show the answer straight away.
Your address goes straight to the government's open address service and is not stored by us.
Pick a plan and an address from the list, then you get the answer straight away.
Why this check works differently
Every other Dutch building tool asks you for the details. Year of construction, type of home, floor area, whether it is a listed building. All of that is already in public registers.
We start from your address and look it up: year of construction and floor area from the BAG, plot size from the Land Registry map, and whether you live in a protected townscape or next to a national monument from the Cultural Heritage Agency. Only then do you see the questions that actually matter.
What this check does not do
We answer the question of whether your structure fits the permit-free rule. What we do not do is measure: we do not have your drawings and we cannot measure your garden. That is why the measurements are spelled out in full in the result, so you can hold them up against your own plan.
One thing really does depend on your municipality. For an extension, shed, canopy and a fence over 1 metre the rule has sat in the environment plan since 2024. That rule started everywhere with the same national text, so in most municipalities it still reads exactly as we show it. Something else only applies if your municipality has amended that article.
What happens to your address
While you type, the letters go straight from your browser to the PDOK address service, which is run by the Dutch government. We do not see it.
When you press the button we fetch the public building data to build the indication. We store your address nowhere: no database, no cookie, no log line. The result page is set to noindex, so search engines do not pick it up. Only you decide who gets the link.
Frequently asked questions
Is this check free?
Yes, and there is no sign-up behind it. We use open government data, so it costs us almost nothing either.
Can I build on this without contacting the municipality?
For a dormer at the back, a roof window and solar panels, yes: those sit in the Bbl and your municipality cannot override them. For an extension, shed, canopy or fence the answer is yes as long as your municipality has not amended the national standard rule, and that is the only thing left to look up. In both cases you do hold your own measurements up against the list in the result, because those we cannot measure for you.
Why do you know more about one structure than another?
Because the Environment and Planning Act treats them differently. A dormer at the back, a roof window and solar panels sit in the Buildings Decree (Bbl) and apply across the Netherlands. An extension, shed, canopy and a fence over 1 metre sit in the transitional rules of the municipal environment plan.
Do you keep my address?
No. The input sits in the URL so you can pass the result on, but nothing is kept on our side. No database, no cookie, no log line with your address.
Where does the data about my building come from?
Year of construction, floor area, use and the number of addresses in your building come from the BAG. Plot size comes from the Land Registry map. Protected townscapes and national monuments come from the Cultural Heritage Agency. All through PDOK, all public.
I live in an apartment, can I use this check?
You will get a result, but be careful. In a stacked building your home is not a stand-alone main building and you usually have no rear garden zone of your own. The roof belongs to the whole building. Your owners' association has to be involved, and that is entirely separate from the municipality.
What this is based on
The rules come from the Informatiepunt Leefomgeving, the Dutch government's official guidance on the Environment and Planning Act. Checked on 5 August 2026. Each result names the article it rests on.
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