Occupying a green project: the authorization that comes before the use permit

It is an intermediate step between finishing construction and being able to use the building. In an ordinary project, once the works are finished you go to the use permit. In a green project there is one more step: OGPe wants to verify the performance and efficiency of what was built before granting the Green Use Permit, and for that it relies on the certification of an Authorized Green Projects Inspector. That figure is not generic: OGPe’s professionals regulation recognises eight classes of Authorized Inspector and one of them is specifically for Green Projects. The standard it is measured against is the International Green Construction Code or one of the reference rating systems adopted by the corresponding chapter.

The manual places the filing after two things: the Green Construction Permit and the Authorized Inspector’s certification that the project complied with the International Green Construction Code or one of the reference rating systems. Without those two, there is no AOV to request. The manual publishes no size threshold, use type or restriction on who may file beyond that, and this guide adds no requirement the source does not impose.

• Holding the Green Construction Permit.Verified against the official source
• The certification that the green project complied with the International Green Construction Code or one of the reference rating systems.Verified against the official source
• Stating the type of property to be occupied, the proposed use for each floor of the building or structure, and the components of the building or structure to be occupied.Verified against the official source
• The contact information of the Works Inspector and the Green Projects Inspector.Verified against the official source
• Those inspectors’ end-of-construction reports, which must be uploaded by the inspectors themselves.Verified against the official source

• Designation Contract of the Authorized Green Projects Inspector, in PDF. It is mandatory.
• Certification of Compliance with the International Green Construction Code or its equivalent, in PDF. It is mandatory.
• Service Authorization Application, in PDF, and the service petition. Both are mandatory.
• CRIM certification. It is mandatory.
• Location sketch and structure sketch, both in PDF.

1. 1

   Step 1: Know from the outset that a green project is not ministerial

   This is not in the AOV manual but in the Consolidated Construction Permit one, and it is worth knowing before planning dates: projects classified as Green Projects will not be considered ministerial. That is, a green project’s construction permit cannot take the fast route a private Authorized Professional can sign; it follows OGPe’s regular evaluation flow, with the initial 10% charge and the remaining 90% after the analyst’s validation. Building green has benefits, but speeding up permitting is not one of them.

2. 2

   Step 2: Designate the Authorized Green Projects Inspector by contract

   The first mandatory document on the list is the Designation Contract of the Authorized Green Projects Inspector. That inspector class is one of the eight recognised by OGPe’s professionals regulation, and the agency publishes the listing of inspectors with their credential number and expiration date. Check the credential before signing the contract, and remember the regulation forbids an inspector from certifying a project in which they participated or one belonging to a relative within the degrees it sets.

3. 3

   Step 3: You do not upload the end-of-construction reports

   This is the detail that stalls files. Among the requirements is that the end-of-construction reports of the Works Inspector and the Green Projects Inspector be presented, and the manual specifies that those reports must be uploaded by the inspectors themselves. Even with the other six documents ready, the application is not completed until they log in and upload theirs. Coordinate it in advance and have their contact details to hand, because the manual also asks for them as a separate requirement.

4. 4

   Step 4: Obtain the CRIM certification

   The CRIM certification is marked mandatory in the document list. It comes from another agency — the Municipal Revenue Collection Centre — so it is not something resolved the same day. Request it early, together with the location sketch and the structure sketch, the two documents the manual does not mark as mandatory but does list.

5. 5

   Step 5: File free of charge, but within thirty days

   The manual says plainly that there is no cost for this type of filing, which sets it apart from almost everything else in the Single Business Portal. What does run is the deadline: the service application will remain open for a maximum term of thirty days for the applicant to complete it, and once that term passes without completion or without all required documents uploaded, the application process must begin again. With documents that depend on third parties — the inspectors and CRIM — that term is the filing’s real risk.

The Green Project Occupancy Authorization is filed in OGPe’s Single Business Portal, selecting AOV under Permits. The applicant manual is published in the Information Sources section of permisos.pr.gov, and the listing of Authorized Inspectors is in the Authorized Professional or Inspector section of the same portal.

• Counting on the ministerial route for a green project: the PCOC manual expressly excludes it.
• Believing the AOV replaces the Green Use Permit: it comes before it, not instead of it.
• Opening the application before the inspectors are ready to upload their end-of-construction reports.
• Leaving the CRIM certification to the end, being from another agency and mandatory.
• Hiring an inspector without checking their credential and expiration date in OGPe’s listing.
• Designating as inspector someone who participated in the project, which the regulation forbids.
• Assuming any rating system counts without confirming which are adopted.
• Losing the thirty-day term waiting on third-party documents.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos (OGPe)

  OGPe

  docs.pr.gov

• Applicant Manual PCOC — Consolidated Construction Permit

  ogpe

  docs.pr.gov

• OGPe listing of Authorized Professionals and Inspectors

  ogpe

  www.permisos.pr.gov