How to Get a Building Passport for a Private House in Ukraine
Apply for Ukraine's building passport for a qualifying private, garden or country house. Check the 500 m² limit, required plans, free filing and 10-day deadline.
UA Ukraine
Housing & Property ~ 11 min read
12 FAQ
Updated 2026-09-02
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A building passport in Ukraine is used for qualifying construction on a household, garden or country-house land plot. It can cover an individual residential, garden or country house of no more than two storeys, excluding the attic floor, and up to 500 m², together with related outbuildings, garages, engineering-protection, landscaping and improvement elements. The authorized local urban planning and architecture authority issues the passport free of charge within 10 working days after receiving the required application package. You must submit a development-intentions scheme and, where relevant, documents proving land or existing-property rights that are not already registered, co-owner consent and cultural-heritage information. Applications can be filed electronically through the Unified State Electronic System in the Construction Sector or another integrated state system, or on paper personally, through a CNAP or by post. The building passport itself does not yet authorize construction: before starting building work, the customer must submit the statutory notification of commencement of construction works.
What you need
- Application for issuance of a building passport in the prescribed form.
- A copy of the document proving ownership or use of the land plot, a superficies agreement or the relevant testamentary document if the real right to the land is not registered in the State Register of Rights to Immovable Property.
- A scheme of intended development of the land plot showing the location of buildings and structures, distances to neighboring plot boundaries and neighboring objects, engineering networks and structures, facades, floor plans with dimensions and the planned engineering systems, including autonomous systems where applicable.
- Project documentation, if the customer has chosen to prepare it; a separate construction project is optional for objects covered by a building passport.
- Consent of the land co-owner or co-owners to construction where new objects will be placed on jointly owned land.
- For reconstruction or major repair, a copy of the ownership document for the existing real-estate object if that ownership is not registered in the State Register, plus consent of co-owners where the object is jointly owned.
- For new construction, information about cultural-heritage regime-forming objects and land-use restrictions within the plot, where such objects or restrictions exist.
- Copies submitted with the application must be certified by the customer or the customer's representative.
Eligibility
A building passport is intended for development of household, garden and country-house land plots where the proposed construction falls within the statutory building-passport parameters. It can cover an individual residential house, garden house or country house that is no higher than two storeys, excluding the attic floor, and has an area of no more than 500 m², together with associated household buildings and structures, garages, engineering-protection works, landscaping and improvement elements. The development must comply with local planning documentation, building rules and applicable heritage-protection restrictions. The applicant must have the relevant legal basis to act as the construction customer for the land or existing property.
How to do it
- Confirm that the planned house falls within the building-passport limits: an individual residential, garden or country house no higher than two storeys excluding the attic floor and up to 500 m².
- Check your legal right to the land. If the right is already registered in the State Register of Rights to Immovable Property, the authority can use the registered information; if it is not registered, prepare the applicable ownership, use, superficies or testamentary document.
- Prepare the scheme of intended development showing the house and other structures, distances, neighboring objects, utilities, facades, floor plans, dimensions and planned engineering systems.
- Obtain co-owner consent where the land is jointly owned and new construction is planned. For reconstruction or major repair of jointly owned existing property, obtain the required property co-owner consent.
- Add project documentation only if you have chosen to develop it. For construction covered by a building passport, preparation of a separate construction project is optional.
- Submit the application electronically through the Unified State Electronic System in the Construction Sector or another integrated state system, or submit the paper package personally, through a CNAP or by post with an inventory of contents.
- The authorized local urban planning and architecture authority checks the proposed development against local planning documentation, building standards and applicable restrictions.
- Receive the building passport within 10 working days if the application is complete and the development intentions comply with the applicable rules. The original building passport is created electronically in the Register of Construction Activities; a paper copy can be provided on request.
- Obtain any necessary technical conditions for utility connections independently.
- Before beginning construction, submit the required notification of commencement of construction works. Only after that notification is submitted in accordance with the statutory procedure does the building passport serve as the basis for performing the construction works.
When do you need a building passport?
A building passport is the simplified planning document used for development of household, garden and country-house plots when the planned object stays within the limits set by Ukrainian law.
It defines the urban-planning and architectural requirements for locating and constructing the proposed buildings on the land plot.
The procedure covers an individual residential house, garden house or country house that is no higher than two storeys, excluding an attic floor, and has an area of up to 500 m². Associated household buildings and structures, garages, engineering-protection elements, landscaping and site improvements can also be included.
What are the 500 m² and two-storey limits?
The simplified building-passport route applies when the individual residential, garden or country house is up to 500 m² and is no higher than two storeys, not counting an attic floor.
If your proposed development falls outside the statutory building-passport parameters, do not assume this simplified procedure applies. A different urban-planning and project-documentation route may be required.
Which authority issues the building passport?
The passport is issued by the authorized local authority for urban planning and architecture that is competent for the relevant territory.
The authority prepares the passport in accordance with local urban-planning documentation and applicable construction requirements. The passport itself is created through the Register of Construction Activities within Ukraine's Unified State Electronic System in the Construction Sector.
What documents must you submit?
The core application package consists of the prescribed application and the documents needed to establish the proposed development and any rights that cannot already be verified in state registers.
- Land ownership or use evidence, a superficies agreement or the relevant testamentary document if the real right to the plot is not registered in the State Register of Rights to Immovable Property.
- A scheme of intended development of the land plot.
- Project documentation, if available.
- Consent from land co-owners where new construction is planned on jointly owned land.
- For reconstruction or major repair, ownership evidence for the existing property if its ownership is not registered, together with co-owner consent where applicable.
- Information about relevant cultural-heritage regime-forming objects and restrictions for new construction, where such restrictions exist within the land plot.
If you first need to verify whether property rights are already recorded, see how to get official property register information for real estate in Ukraine.
What must the development scheme contain?
The development-intentions scheme is not merely a rough sketch. The official procedure requires information showing how the proposed objects fit on the land plot.
It includes, as applicable:
- the location of proposed buildings and structures;
- distances to the boundaries of neighboring land plots;
- nearby buildings and structures on adjoining plots;
- engineering networks and structures;
- facades and floor plans with overall dimensions;
- the engineering-support systems planned for the property, including autonomous systems where relevant.
The authority uses these materials to determine whether the proposal complies with planning documentation, construction standards and applicable restrictions.
Do you need a full architectural project?
Not necessarily. For objects that qualify for a building passport, the official procedure states that development of separate construction project documentation is carried out only at the customer's request.
This does not remove the obligation to comply with construction standards or with the requirements recorded in the building passport. It also does not remove the requirement to submit the development-intentions scheme with the building-passport application.
Do you also need urban planning conditions and restrictions?
No. For construction that lawfully proceeds on the basis of a building passport, design is carried out without obtaining separate urban planning conditions and restrictions.
The building-passport procedure itself establishes the relevant urban-planning and architectural requirements for this category of development.
Can you apply for a building passport online?
Yes. The current procedure allows documents to be submitted electronically through the electronic cabinet of the Unified State Electronic System in the Construction Sector or through another state information system integrated with that cabinet.
The official construction-system portal continues to list issuance of a building passport among its available electronic construction services in 2026.
The separate Diia administrative-service guide currently shows the service as being updated, so the dedicated Diia presentation should not be treated as the only electronic route.
Can you submit the application on paper?
Yes. The statutory procedure expressly allows paper filing:
- personally by the customer;
- through a CNAP administrative service center; or
- by postal shipment with an inventory of the contents.
The same substantive document requirements apply regardless of the filing channel.
How much does a building passport cost and how long does it take?
Issuance of the building passport is free of charge.
The authorized urban planning and architecture authority must issue it within 10 working days from receipt of the application, provided the required documents have been submitted and the development intentions comply with the applicable rules.
Is the building passport electronic or paper?
The official original is electronic. The building passport is created exclusively through the Register of Construction Activities, receives a registration number and is signed by the head of the competent urban planning and architecture authority using a qualified electronic signature.
A paper copy may be provided if the applicant requests one, but the electronic document created in the register is the original.
Why can the application be refused or returned?
The authority returns the package when:
- the required document package is incomplete;
- the proposed development does not comply with local urban-planning documentation, construction standards or rules; or
- the customer submits a free-form request stating that they no longer wish to obtain the building passport.
The authority must send a reasoned notice identifying the grounds for return within a period that does not exceed the normal service deadline, after recording the relevant decision in the Register of Construction Activities.
What if the plot is in a heritage or protected area?
Building parameters must take account of statutory regimes applying to World Heritage properties and buffer zones, cultural-heritage monuments, protection zones, historic areas, historical-cultural reserves and protected archaeological territories.
For new construction, the application package includes information about regime-forming cultural-heritage objects and land-use restrictions within the plot where such restrictions exist.
Can you get a building passport without a cadastral number?
There is a temporary statutory exception relevant in 2026. Until 1 January 2028, certain plots formed before 1 January 2004 can be used for construction under a building passport without a cadastral number.
The exception covers qualifying plots formed before 1 January 2004 that are owned or held in lifelong inherited possession by the construction customer, as well as qualifying plots in the customer's permanent use. For those cases, the absence of a cadastral number and state registration of the land right does not by itself prevent obtaining the building passport, acquiring the right to perform construction works or later commissioning the completed object.
Because this is a specific transitional exception, do not apply it to a newer or differently held land plot without checking that every statutory condition is met.
Who obtains technical conditions for utilities?
The building-passport authority does not obtain utility technical conditions for you. The official procedure states that technical conditions are obtained independently by the customer.
This can be relevant where the planned house will connect to electricity, gas, water, sewerage or other engineering infrastructure.
Can you start building immediately after receiving the passport?
No. Receiving the passport is not the final step required before construction begins.
Under the official procedure, after the customer submits the statutory notification of commencement of construction works in accordance with Ukraine's urban-planning legislation, the building passport becomes the basis for performing the construction works.
The Unified State Electronic System in the Construction Sector separately lists the notification of commencement of construction works based on a building passport as an electronic service.
What if your building plans change?
If your development intentions change but remain within the maximum permitted parameters, changes can be entered into the building passport.
The competent authority handles amendments under essentially the same conditions as issuance and has a 10-working-day period after receiving the required amendment package.
Do not simply build a materially changed layout and assume the original passport covers it. Check whether the changed location, dimensions or additional structures require the passport to be amended first.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using the building-passport procedure for a house exceeding the 500 m² area limit.
- Counting only full storeys while ignoring whether the proposed design actually fits the statutory two-storey rule.
- Submitting a vague sketch instead of a development-intentions scheme showing dimensions, distances, facades, floor plans and engineering systems.
- Failing to obtain the consent of other land co-owners where new construction is planned on jointly owned land.
- Submitting land or property documents unnecessarily when the relevant right is already registered, while failing to provide them when the right is not registered.
- Ignoring heritage, archaeological or other planning restrictions affecting the plot.
- Assuming a separate full construction project is mandatory for every house covered by a building passport.
- Assuming the building passport itself gives immediate permission to start work without first submitting the required construction commencement notification.
Frequently asked questions
What size private house can be built under a building passport in Ukraine?
The procedure covers an individual residential, garden or country house of up to 500 m² and no more than two storeys, excluding the attic floor, together with qualifying associated structures and site improvements.
How much does a building passport cost in Ukraine?
Issuance of the building passport is free of charge.
How long does it take to get a building passport?
The authorized urban planning and architecture authority must issue it within 10 working days after receiving the required application package.
Can I apply for a building passport online?
Yes. The statutory procedure allows electronic filing through the Unified State Electronic System in the Construction Sector or another integrated state information system.
Can I apply through a CNAP?
Yes. A paper application may be submitted personally, including through a CNAP, or sent by post with an inventory of contents.
Do I need a full architectural project for a house built under a building passport?
No. For objects covered by a building passport, preparation of separate construction project documentation is optional and is carried out at the customer's request.
Do I need urban planning conditions and restrictions as well as a building passport?
No. Construction design based on a building passport is carried out without obtaining separate urban planning conditions and restrictions.
What must the development-intentions scheme show?
It should show the proposed buildings and structures, distances to neighboring boundaries and objects, engineering networks, facades, floor plans with dimensions and the planned engineering-support systems.
Can a jointly owned land plot be developed under a building passport?
Yes, but for placement of new objects on jointly owned land the application package must include the consent of the land co-owner or co-owners.
Can I get a building passport if my old land plot has no cadastral number?
In certain cases, yes. Until 1 January 2028, a special transitional rule covers qualifying plots formed before 1 January 2004 that meet the statutory ownership, lifelong inherited possession or permanent-use conditions.
Can I start construction as soon as the building passport is issued?
No. Before starting construction, you must submit the statutory notification of commencement of construction works. After that notification is submitted under the applicable procedure, the building passport serves as the basis for the works.
Why can a building passport application be returned?
The official procedure allows return of the package if required documents are missing, the development intentions conflict with local planning documentation or building rules, or the applicant withdraws the request.
Official sources
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine - Order No. 103 on the procedure for issuing a building passport for development of a land plotDiia Guide - Issuance of a building passport for development of a land plotUnified State Electronic System in the Construction Sector - Official electronic construction servicesVerkhovna Rada of Ukraine - Law No. 2518-IX including the temporary rule for pre-2004 land plots without cadastral numbersRelated procedures
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