NOC in Abu Dhabi: from electricity and water to telecom and sewerage
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In Abu Dhabi the NOC is spoken of as one piece of paper that unlocks demolition, excavation or construction. The published name is different. On TAMM, the Department of Municipalities and Transport lists the route as Site Clearance and Approval, and defines it as obtaining site approvals including clearance of utilities’ assets within the plot, availability of utility services and clearance of buffer zones. So it is not a single certificate but a bundle of approvals from separate entities, each with its own network and its own conditions: TAQA Distribution, formed by merging Abu Dhabi Distribution Company and Al Ain Distribution Company, for electricity and water. etisalat for telecom. And TAQA Water Solutions, formerly Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company, for sewerage. This page follows the route as the authorities themselves publish it, and shows where a file stops at each one. At APPROVAL, a service of Royal Luxury Construction LLC, we prepare that file and carry it through every entity, within Abu Dhabi City Municipality.
Issuing authority
DMT — Department of Municipalities and Transport (Abu Dhabi Municipality) · TAMM — the Department of Municipalities and Transport Site Clearance and Approval service
The competent authority is the Department of Municipalities and Transport, and Abu Dhabi City Municipality, Al Ain City Municipality and Al Dhafra Region Municipality all sit beneath it. Abu Dhabi Municipality is the name in common use, but the municipality sits under the Department rather than replacing it, and DMT’s guide shows the services themselves differ between municipalities — some are not activated in Al Ain Municipality, some are activated in Al Dhafra only. We work within Abu Dhabi City Municipality only. The utility companies are not where you file: the application goes to the Department on TAMM, and the system is what distributes the plot to the entities for their site approvals. DMT’s guide names the permitted applicant service by service: either class of consultant — design or supervision — or the contractor for Site Clearance and Approval, and the design consultant alone for project registration.
The steps, in order
- 01
Register the project and open the file
The route opens with a construction project registration request. The system pulls the plot record from the GIS and licensing systems, checks the land use, then activates the Site Clearance and Approval service. The Department procedures guide states that a plot which is closed, or which has no infrastructure services on it, blocks completion of the project file request — unless the project is a developmental one with no infrastructure, which the guide carves out and allows to proceed. So the plot status is settled before design begins, not after.
- 02
File the Site Clearance and Approval request
The consultant or contractor submits the application with its documents, and the system distributes the plot to the entities for their site approvals. At each entity a technical coordinator studies the request and accepts or rejects it.
- 03
Electricity and water — TAQA Distribution
On TAMM, electricity and water appear as two separate line items inside the same service, and both still carry the Abu Dhabi Distribution Company and Al Ain Distribution Company names even though the two now trade as TAQA Distribution. DMT’s guide names the two approvals plainly among the preparatory and preliminary approvals: the electricity approval and the water approval on the executive drawings.
- 04
Telecom — etisalat
DMT’s guide lists the etisalat approval on the drawings among the preparatory and preliminary approvals — an approval of the design itself, not a notification that work is starting. The etisalat name then returns at the end of the project, among the per-entity completion certificate services the Department publishes.
- 05
Sewerage — TAQA Water Solutions
Alongside the sewerage approval on the drawings, the company publishes two standalone services on TAMM: issuing the sewerage connection point details drawing for the plot, and approving the creation of a new connection point for a plot that no existing point serves while a network runs in the area.
- 06
All approvals in, and what that unlocks
The Department guide states that when the request is accepted by all entities, new services are activated — among them the works permit request and the building permit issuance request. The demolition permit has a second stage that does not open until the first stage approvals are complete, at which point the contractor attaches the insurance certificate and the utility disconnection requests.
Documents required
- Letter of authorisation from the owner — for Site Clearance and Approval
- Clear photos from all the sides of the building — for Site Clearance and Approval
- Location map including site boundaries and dimensions — for Site Clearance and Approval
- A pledge — for Site Clearance and Approval
- The Department of Culture and Tourism requirements for the connection point — for Site Clearance and Approval
- A current final site plan for the plot, approved by the municipality — for the two sewerage connection point services
- The basement extension drawing from the municipality for commercial plots, with either TAQA Water Solutions approval of it or a letter from the assigned consultant stating there is no extension beyond the plot boundary — for the sewerage connection point service
- An approved existing-buildings conformity drawing and an approval certificate — for the demolition permit
- An insurance certificate and the utility disconnection requests — at the second stage of the demolition permit
The list above merges the documents of three services, and each item names the service it belongs to. DMT publishes the attachment detail for each service in a separate appendix, so these are published documents rather than a closed list.
Why applications get rejected
- The plot is closed, or has no infrastructure services on it. The Department procedures guide states that this blocks completion of the project file request, so the file never reaches the utility entities — unless the project is a developmental one with no infrastructure, which the guide carves out.
- Check the plot status and its services before you appoint the design office — not after the drawings are approved and the design fee is spent.
- A condition placed by one entity is still standing. The Department publishes a standalone service for satisfying the comments on planning site clearance approvals; its stated output is removal of the condition, and the request is routed to the entity that owns that condition to review.
- Know which entity owns each condition and clear it through the service built for that, instead of resubmitting the original request and hoping for a different answer.
- A commercial plot with an unresolved basement extension beyond its boundary. TAMM requires either TAQA Water Solutions approval of that extension, or a letter from the assigned consultant stating there is no extension outside the plot boundary.
- Settle the basement extension with your consultant before filing, and attach the letter or the approval in the first submission.
- A site plan that is out of date or not approved by the municipality. The services require a current, municipality-approved final plot plan and cap how old it may be, so the copy that served an earlier transaction may not serve this one.
- Refresh the site plan before filing, and confirm it is the approved final version rather than a coordination draft.
- Filed by someone without standing to file. The Department guide names the eligible applicant service by service: either class of consultant, design or supervision, or the contractor for Site Clearance and Approval; the design consultant alone for project registration; and the specialised demolition contractor for the demolition permit.
- File through a consultant or contractor registered and classified for the service in question, and confirm that classification when you appoint them, not at submission.
Common questions
Is the NOC a single document?
No. The Department of Municipalities and Transport publishes the route as Site Clearance and Approval and defines its output in three parts: clearance of utilities’ assets within the plot, the availability of utility services, and clearance of buffer zones. The approvals come from separate entities, each one answering for its own network.
What is the difference between TAQA Distribution and TAQA Water Solutions?
TAQA Distribution was formed by merging Abu Dhabi Distribution Company and Al Ain Distribution Company, and runs the electricity and water networks. TAQA Water Solutions is the former Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company under a new name, and runs sewerage. Two similar names, two entirely separate networks — an approval from one does nothing for the other.
What happens if the application is rejected?
The service pages state that the outcome arrives electronically: approval, or rejection with comments. The Department guide gives the reviewing entities three published options — approve, reject, or return the request for amendment. The written comment is where the response starts.
Do you cover Al Ain and Al Dhafra?
No. The Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra municipalities all sit under the Department of Municipalities and Transport, and its guide shows the services themselves differ between them. We work within Abu Dhabi City Municipality only, and do not offer this service in the other two.
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