Naqsha Pass: How to Get a Building Plan Approved by LDA, CDA and SBCA

In short

Get the plan approved before you build: Sindh's law and CDA's regulation both require the authority's approval first. A licensed architect signs the drawings; a structural engineer signs the structural part where the rules require one. You apply with your CNIC and ownership papers. LDA sends applicants to the eBiz Punjab portal, SBCA uses its Single Window Facility, and CDA's FAQ describes its One Window front office. After building, apply for a completion certificate. Ask for both documents before you buy a built house.

Naqsha pass is what most people call building plan approval: the development authority or municipal body checks your house drawings against its regulations and approves them before construction starts. In Lahore that is the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), in Islamabad the Capital Development Authority (CDA), and in Karachi the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA). This guide sets out each procedure from the authority's own pages, checked on 3 November 2026.

Why the naqsha pass matters

A house design (makan ka naksha) is a drawing; an approved plan carries the authority's approval for your plot. Coverage, height, setbacks and floors come from the authority's regulations, which differ by scheme, so we don't restate them. Our construction cost calculator states its own coverage assumptions, but your approved plan decides what you may build.

LDA (Lahore)

Who approves: LDA. Its home page links "Building Plan Approval" to eBiz Punjab, the Punjab government's online portal.

Documents: LDA's FAQ says the applicant submits an application "along with copy of ownership certificate, copy of CNIC, 4 original copies of building plan drawing along with A,B Form issued by an architect & copy of physical possession certificate." LDA then issues a fee challan, which you pay and submit. Its Application Requirements page adds structural and services drawings and asks you to confirm final checklists with the directorate.

Online: On eBiz, the "Building Construction" application has nine steps, from prerequisites to an undertaking. We walked to the location step on 3 November 2026 without submitting anything. For a residential building it asks for a KML file of the site's boundaries, the applicant's CNIC, the building plan, and title documents (a registered title deed, fard, allotment letter or lease deed with the lessor's NOC, and a power of attorney if a representative applies). A multi-storey building also needs a structural stability certificate from a PEC-registered engineer. The location step then asks for the district and a map pin; we stopped there. The portal's FAQ gives two times: "32 working days" in total when everything is complete, and, in another answer, 30 days for final approval. It says a residential approval is valid for 3 years. On 3 November 2026 its home page offered Maryam Ki Dastak facilitators to help with the form for Rs. 950.

Fees: LDA's FAQ, requirements and downloads pages give no fee figures; the fee is on LDA's challan. Its downloads page lists the Building and Zoning Regulations 2019, which we did not open.

Completion certificate: LDA's FAQ asks for the ownership document, CNIC, an original electricity or gas bill and an NOC from neighbours about a double-storey bathroom, plus a revised plan if you altered the building. eBiz also lists "Apply for Building Completion Certificate".

Building without approval: The eBiz FAQ says it "can lead to penalties, legal action, demolition orders, or denial of utilities like water and electricity."

CDA (Islamabad)

Who approves: CDA. Its FAQ says you apply on Forms A1 and A2, signed by the allottee or attorney, an approved architect and a structural engineer and validated by its Architecture Directorate, at the front office of its One Window Operation.

Documents: the forms with four copies of the building plans, the Estate Management letter showing the scrutiny fee was paid, your NIC, the allotment or transfer letter and the possession certificate.

Fees: CDA lists its scrutiny fees in its FAQ (checked 3 November 2026).

Online: CDA's FAQ describes a paper submission; its e-services site did not open for us on 3 November 2026. Dawn reported on 11 April 2026 that pre-approved building plans, decided by CDA's board in September 2023, were still not on its website. Commercial plans go to CDA's Design Vetting Committee, which approved 23 of 32 cases presented at four meetings (CDA, 25 August 2026).

Completion certificate: Forms B1 and B2 with four copies of a completion plan showing what was actually built, Estate Management and Revenue Directorate dues clearances, and a completion scrutiny fee at the approval rates.

Building without approval: CDA's Islamabad Residential Sectors Zoning (Building Control) Regulation, 1993, as published on its laws page, says: "Any construction started/carried out without prior approval of the Authority shall be liable to be removed (partly or wholly) at the risk and cost of the owner and or fine as prescribed in schedule 'E'."

SBCA (Karachi and Sindh)

Who approves: SBCA. Section 6(1) of the Sindh Buildings Control Ordinance, 1979 says: "No building shall be constructed before the Authority has, in the prescribed manner, approved the plan of such building and granted no objection certificate for the construction thereof", on payment of the prescribed fee. Additions and alterations count as construction. Section 6(2) says no such building shall be occupied before SBCA has issued an occupancy certificate.

How to apply: SBCA's How To Apply sheet sends plans for all residential plots, whatever their size, through its Single Window Facility, except plots under clause 25-9 of the Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations 2002 and Katchi Abadi plots. Your lessor (KDA, KMC, Karachi's LDA, MDA, the cooperative societies' registrar or your society) forwards the plot through its portal, the planning agency verifies it, and a licensed professional submits the proposal online, with the fee paid by e-payment. You then hand in the hard copies.

Documents: a valid CNIC of the owner or attorney, two passport-size photographs, six sets of proposed plans showing elevation and section, the site plan, and ownership documents.

Timeline: "After complying the objections and observations if any, the approval shall be issued within 15 days," or within 5 days if you use one of SBCA's pre-approved designs, which the procedure lists for 60, 80, 120 and 240 square yard plots. A bungalow on a plot up to 399 square yards with up to ground plus two floors is Category I.

Fees: SBCA's fee notification (Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations (Amendment) 2023, Sindh Government Gazette of 26 January 2023) sets the residential scrutiny fee at Rs. 16.50 per square foot in FBR valuation categories I, A-I, II, III, IX and X, and Rs. 12.00 in categories IV to VIII.

Rates as of January 2023.

Completion certificate: Under SBCA's notification of 24 January 2020, a Category I completion certificate is issued within 15 days once requirements are met. You submit the notice for completion and permission for occupation, the approved permit with plan, CNIC, a photograph and six sets of the plan. Permits can be tracked on SBCA's file tracking page.

Elsewhere: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other cities

KP's Local Government department says a city's local area development authority approves building plans there, and elsewhere the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) does. It lists 10 days for a residential approval, by the Assistant Municipal Officer, and links the LGKP Online Building Map Approval portal, which needs an account to log in. Outside these areas, ask your development authority or TMA for its own procedure.

Before you buy a built house

Ask the seller for the approved plan and the completion certificate, and check that the floors built match the plan. Whether a society is approved is a separate question: look it up in our housing scheme checker and go through Check before you pay. See also SBCA's town offices in Karachi, CDA news for October 2026 and LDA approved societies in Lahore.

Frequently asked questions

Naqsha pass kaise karwayein?

Hire a licensed architect to draw and sign the plan, gather your CNIC and ownership papers, and apply to your authority: eBiz Punjab for LDA, CDA's One Window front office, or SBCA's Single Window Facility through a licensed professional.

Makan ka naksha pass karwane ki fees kitni hai?

SBCA's notification of January 2023 gives Rs. 16.50 or Rs. 12.00 per square foot, depending on the FBR valuation category. CDA lists its fees in its FAQ (checked 3 November 2026). LDA issues its fee as a challan.

Building plan approval Lahore mein kitna time lagta hai?

The eBiz Punjab FAQ gives a total of 32 working days when all documents, drawings and fees are complete and there are no objections; another answer there says 30 days for final approval.

Is a house design from the internet an approved naqsha?

No. A design becomes an approved plan only when your authority approves it for your plot. SBCA offers pre-approved designs for some plot sizes, but you still apply for approval.

Is my society approved?

That depends on the authority's list, which changes. Check it in the housing scheme checker.

Sources

1. Sindh Buildings Control Ordinance, 1979, sections 6(1) and 6(2) (SBCA's gazette copy, checked 3 November 2026) sbca.gos.pk
2. SBCA: Submission of Automated Construction Permit through the Single Window Facility, How To Apply (checked 3 November 2026) sbca.gos.pk
3. SBCA: Required Documents for Approval of Proposed Building Plan (checked 3 November 2026) sbca.gos.pk
4. SBCA: Categories of Development Works, Table 3.1 (checked 3 November 2026) sbca.gos.pk
5. SBCA: Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations (Amendment) 2023, scrutiny fees, Sindh Government Gazette, 26 January 2023 sbca.gos.pk
6. SBCA: Notification of 24 January 2020, Approval of Completion Plan of Category-I buildings sbca.gos.pk
7. SBCA: FAQs, Single Window Facility and construction permit tracking (checked 3 November 2026) sbca.gos.pk
8. CDA: Frequently Asked Questions, requirements for approval of building plans and completion certificate (checked 3 November 2026) cda.gov.pk
9. CDA: Islamabad Residential Sectors Zoning (Building Control) Regulation, 1993, paragraph 6 (from CDA's laws and regulations page, checked 3 November 2026) cda.gov.pk
10. Dawn: Delay in CDA's pre-approved building plans raises questions (11 April 2026) dawn.com
11. CDA: CDA Approves 23 Commercial Building Plans, Moves to Streamline DVC Process (25 August 2026) cda.gov.pk
12. LDA: Frequently Asked Questions, approval of building plan and completion certificate (checked in a browser on 3 November 2026) lda.gop.pk
13. LDA: Application Requirements, Building Plan Approval (checked in a browser on 3 November 2026) lda.gop.pk
14. LDA: Downloads, Building and Zoning Regulations 2019 and amendments (checked in a browser on 3 November 2026) lda.gop.pk
15. eBiz Punjab: Application For Building Construction, Required Documents step with its FAQs tab, reached by searching 'Building Construction' on the home page (checked in a browser on 3 November 2026) ebiz.punjab.gov.pk
16. LDA: home page, Building Plan Approval link to eBiz Punjab (checked in a browser on 3 November 2026) lda.gop.pk
17. Local Government KP: Approval of Building Plans (checked 3 November 2026) lgkp.gov.pk
18. LGKP Online Building Map Approval portal (checked 3 November 2026) bca.lcbkp.gov.pk