Laboratory container permits – building law, regulations and practical guide

“Do we need a permit for this?” – clients ask us this question in almost every first meeting. The answer is almost always the same: yes, in most cases. But the good news first: a building permit (Baugenehmigung) for a laboratory container is not an insurmountable obstacle. Anyone who knows the process, prepares the right documents and avoids typical mistakes generally gets through the procedure promptly.

The problem: most information on the web relates to residential containers or office containers. For laboratory containers, however, additional regulations apply – particularly if hazardous substances are stored, biological agents are processed or laboratory wastewater is discharged. It is precisely this gap that we close with this article.

In this practical guide you will learn everything you need to know about permitting a laboratory container: from the foundations of German building law via the 16 Land building codes (Landesbauordnungen) through to the special cases that are relevant specifically for laboratories. With a concrete timetable, a complete checklist and the most common mistakes that delay projects by months.

Building-law foundations: when is a laboratory container subject to a permit?

In German building law a laboratory container is a “structural installation” (bauliche Anlage) – regardless of whether it is sited mobile or stationary. Building-order law (Bauordnungsrecht) applies in principle to every erection, alteration or change of use of a structural installation. The central question is therefore not whether building law applies, but whether your concrete project is permit-free or whether a permit procedure must be gone through.

Permit-free siting – the exceptions

In some Länder there are exceptions from the permit requirement. These typically apply to:

• Temporary siting of under 3 months on the same plot (varies by Land building code between 2 and 6 months)
• Subordinate ancillary buildings up to a certain floor area (usually 30–75 m²), provided they do not serve the permanent presence of people
• Construction-site containers for the duration of a building measure

But caution: these exceptions apply to simple containers – not automatically to laboratory containers. As soon as hazardous substances are worked with in a container, laboratory wastewater arises or special ventilation plants are operated, additional regulations generally apply that require a permit – independently of the duration of siting.

16 Land building codes: what applies in which Land

Building-order law in Germany is a matter for the Länder. Each of the 16 federal states (Bundesländer) has its own Land building code (Landesbauordnung, LBO) with partly different rules. For laboratory containers two aspects are particularly relevant: procedural exemption for temporary use, and classification into building classes (Gebäudeklassen).

The table shows: in most Länder the limit for procedure-free siting is 3 months. Hamburg is the exception with 6 months. But – and this is the decisive point – these periods apply only to pure siting. As soon as a container is used as a laboratory and thus constitutes a change of use (Nutzungsänderung), a permit procedure is generally required.

If you wish to know which regional particularities apply at your location, our city pages help further – for example for Berlin, Munich or Stuttgart.

Laboratory special cases: what distinguishes container laboratories from ordinary containers

A laboratory container is not an office container. And that is precisely what makes the permitting procedure more complex. Because in addition to general building law, further permits and notification duties may be added. The most important special cases:

Hazardous substances: storage and handling

If hazardous substances are worked with in the laboratory container – and that is the case in most laboratories – the Hazardous Substances Ordinance (Gefahrstoffverordnung, GefStoffV) and the Technical Rules for Hazardous Substances (Technische Regeln für Gefahrstoffe, TRGS) apply in addition. Particularly relevant are:

• TRGS 510 – storage of hazardous substances in portable containers: regulates storage quantities, co-storage prohibitions and structural requirements
• TRGS 526 – laboratories: specific requirements for room air, fume cupboards and personal protective equipment in the laboratory
• TRGS 800 – fire-protection measures: requirements for fire protection in the storage and handling of hazardous substances

Above certain storage quantities (these vary by hazardous-substance class), an immission-control permit under the Federal Immission Control Act (Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetz, BImSchG) is required. In practice this mainly affects larger laboratory units with a chemicals store.

The good news: the laboratory equipment of a professionally planned container already takes all these requirements into account in the planning phase. Fume cupboards to DIN EN 14175, drip trays and safety cabinets are standard.

Biological agents: BSL-2 and BSL-3

Laboratories that work with biological agents of risk group 2 or higher are subject to the Biological Agents Ordinance (Biostoffverordnung, BioStoffV) and the Technical Rules for Biological Agents (Technische Regeln für biologische Arbeitsstoffe, TRBA). For BSL-2 and BSL-3 laboratories in a container the following additional permits or notification duties are relevant:

For a BSL-3 laboratory the permit is particularly laborious, because the competent Land authority must inspect and release the laboratory before commissioning. Experience shows that this process takes 8 to 16 weeks. Anyone who only initiates it after manufacture loses valuable time.

Laboratory wastewater: water-law authorisation

Laboratory wastewater in many cases contains substances that may not simply be discharged into the sewer. These include solvents, heavy metals, acids, alkalis and biologically contaminated wastewater. The discharge of laboratory wastewater is subject to the Federal Water Act (Wasserhaushaltsgesetz, WHG) and the Wastewater Ordinance (Abwasserverordnung, AbwV).

In practice that means: before a laboratory container with a wastewater connection is commissioned, a water-law authorisation (wasserrechtliche Erlaubnis) must be applied for at the lower water authority (untere Wasserbehörde). The application must describe the expected wastewater profile – which substances arise in which concentrations and how they are pre-treated.

In a well-planned laboratory container, neutralisation plants, collection tanks or even wastewater disinfection systems are already integrated. Specialist planning takes these requirements into account from the outset.

Cleanroom laboratories: GMP requirements

For GMP-compliant cleanroom laboratories in a container, pharmaceutical rule sets are added alongside building law. The EU-GMP Guide (Annex 1) and the ISO 14644 series define requirements for particle freedom, air-change rates and qualification. These are not building-law permits in the narrower sense, but they influence planning and documentation considerably – and are checked by auditors.

Bauvoranfrage versus Bauantrag: strategy for your project

Many clients do not know the difference between a Bauvoranfrage (preliminary building enquiry) and a Bauantrag (building application) – yet the Bauvoranfrage is one of the most effective instruments for saving time and money.

An important aspect is often overlooked: even if a plot lies in a commercial area (Gewerbegebiet), that does not automatically mean that a laboratory may be operated there. Development plans can restrict or exclude certain types of use. An S2 laboratory with hazardous-substance handling can, for example, be classified as a “disturbing commercial operation” (störender Gewerbebetrieb) and is then not permissible in certain commercial areas.

Timetable: how long does the permitting process take?

Permit duration depends on several factors: the complexity of the project, the Land, the workload of the authority and the completeness of your documents. Here is a realistic overview, based on our project experience:

Overall duration: for a standard S1 laboratory, allow 8 to 12 weeks for the permit. For a BSL-2 laboratory with hazardous-substance handling it is 12 to 16 weeks. A BSL-3 laboratory can take 16 to 24 weeks. These times run in parallel with manufacture – provided the permit is applied for early.

In the project-process article we have presented the permitting phase in the overall context of the project. There you see how permit and manufacture interlock.

Checklist: all documents for the Bauantrag

Incomplete documents are the most common reason for delays in the permit procedure. With this checklist you ensure that your Bauantrag is complete the first time:

This checklist covers the most common requirements. Depending on Land, municipality and laboratory type, further documents may be required. Our consulting clarifies in the individual case which documents are concretely needed.

The 7 most common mistakes in permitting laboratory containers

In numerous laboratory-container projects we have come to know the typical pitfalls. These mistakes cost the most time and money:

DACH special case: Switzerland and Austria

For laboratory containers in Switzerland and Austria, different rules apply. In Switzerland, building law is regulated at cantonal level. The SIA standards (in particular SIA 180, SIA 382/1 for ventilation) replace the German DIN standards. A building authorisation (Baubewilligung) is in principle required; the procedure is of differing effort depending on the canton.

In Austria, the building code sits with the federal states (Bundesländer). The ÖNORMEN (e.g. ÖNORM B 8110) and the Employee Protection Act (ArbeitnehmerInnenschutzgesetz, ASchG) are the governing rule sets. For laboratories with hazardous substances the Poisons Ordinance (Giftverordnung) and ChemG-V are additionally relevant.

Planexus realises projects throughout the DACH region. Logistics and delivery to Switzerland and Austria is established. For the country-specific permit procedures we support you with partners on the ground.

Digital permit documents and Smart Lab

An increasingly important aspect of laboratory-container permits: digital documentation. More and more authorities accept or require digital building applications. At the same time, operators rely on Smart Lab integration – IoT sensors, digital room-climate monitoring and automated logging.

For the permit this can be an advantage: automatic temperature and pressure logs, traceable access control and gap-free maintenance documentation ease acceptance by the authorities and simplify later audits – particularly relevant for GMP-obligated cleanroom laboratories.

Permits and sustainability

The Buildings Energy Act (Gebäudeenergiegesetz, GEG) also applies to laboratory containers – at least if they are used for longer than two years. The proof duty for thermal protection is part of the Bauantrag. Well-insulated laboratory containers generally meet these requirements without difficulty. More on this in our article on sustainability in laboratory construction.

A further aspect: modular laboratory containers have the advantage that they can be dismantled and re-sited at another location. That can be an argument in the permit if the authority has concerns regarding a permanent structural alteration of the plot. The reversibility of a container laboratory is a genuine distinguishing feature compared with solid construction.

Frequently asked questions on laboratory-container permits