The building application with all the necessary building documents and the completed survey form for the statistics on construction activity is submitted electronically by the building owner to the responsible building authority via the online service provided by the authority (in of the rule ViBa-BW). Deviations, exceptions and exemptions must be applied for separately.

The building authority checks within ten working days whether the building documents are complete and which other offices and departments need to be involved in the process. If the building documents are incomplete, the building authority will advise which additions are required. As soon as the building application and the building documents are complete, the expected date of the decision is communicated.

The building authority examines the building application exclusively with regard to

• the admissibility under building planning law
• compliance with the distance regulations
• compliance with other public law regulations outside of building law, insofar as these impose requirements for a building permit or the project is located in an outdoor area.

It consults the municipality, if it is not itself the building authority, and those bodies whose area of responsibility is affected. This is, for example, the monument protection authority if it is a cultural monument or the project has an impact on a neighbouring registered cultural monument.

If deviations, exceptions or exemptions are applied for that also serve to protect the neighbour, the municipality will notify the owners of the properties adjacent to the building plot (adjoining owners) within five working days of receiving the complete building documents at the instigation of the building authority. This gives them the opportunity to raise objections to the building project within four weeks.

Once all comments have been received and the building application has been reviewed, the decision is made: The building permit is granted, granted only with certain conditions and requirements or the building application is rejected.

Construction of the project may only begin once the building permit has been granted and the building permit, the so-called "red dot", has been issued.

A building inspection under public law only takes place if the building authority has expressly ordered this.

Note: Firing systems may only be put into operation once the authorised district chimney sweep has certified that they are fire-safe and that the combustion gases are safely discharged.