Since 2021, the Indonesian building permit is no longer called IMB (Izin Mendirikan Bangunan) but PBG, for Persetujuan Bangunan Gedung. The change came with Law No. 11 of 2020, the Omnibus Law, and Government Regulation No. 16 of 2021. It is not merely a change of name: the old IMB was a permission granted before building, whereas PBG is an approval of technical compliance. The authorities no longer give you permission to build; they verify that what you have drawn meets the rules on structure, safety, siting and zoning.
The consequence is direct: the quality of the design file decides the timeline. A poorly documented project is not refused, it is returned — repeatedly — and that is how permits take six months instead of six weeks.
Filing is done online through the national SIMBG portal. An IMB obtained before 2021 remains valid; there is no need to convert it.
Allow three to six weeks for a clean file, in this order: preparing the documents, one to two weeks, gathering architectural drawings, technical documents and proof of land rights; online submission through SIMBG, one day; administrative verification of completeness, three to five working days; technical evaluation, seven to fourteen working days, covering design and structural safety; then approval and issuance, five to ten working days.
On a villa project this review runs in parallel with detailed design, never after it. That parallelism is the difference between a site that starts on the planned date and a plot that waits.
On completion, the SLF (Sertifikat Laik Fungsi) certifies that the building is safe and fit for use. It covers structure, electrical systems, fire safety, means of escape and sanitation. Allow three to five weeks: as-built documentation, one to two weeks; scheduling the inspection, three to seven working days; the site visit itself, one to two days; then issuance, seven to fourteen working days.
It is often forgotten, and the mistake is expensive: without an SLF a building can be neither legally occupied nor rented. A villa built for holiday rental without an SLF is a villa that earns nothing.
Rarely the administration. Almost always the file. The causes we see again and again: land rights poorly established, or a title that does not match the intended use, which blocks everything before submission; unverified zoning, particularly height limits and setbacks, forcing a redesign; drawings that lack the expected technical annotations; and the absence of a single point of contact, each party passing the question to the next.
Land is verified before purchase, with an Indonesian notary (notaris). A mistake at that stage cannot be repaired at permit stage.
The notaris secures the title and the ownership structure. The engineering office produces the structural calculations. The architect designs, documents and coordinates: it is the architect who holds the calendar and who answers when the authorities ask for a document. On our projects, coordinating the PBG and then the SLF is part of the commission, and the design programme is built around the review rather than the other way round.
This page describes building practice, not legal advice: land structure and taxation should be confirmed with an Indonesian notary.
The other questions we are asked — cost, land for foreigners, total project duration — are gathered on the frequently asked questions page.
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