Section 66(1) sentence 1 of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Building Code (LBauO) lists projects for which the simplified approval procedure must be carried out. These include, for example, residential buildings in building classes 1–3 (i.e., the floor of no storey in which recreational rooms are possible may be more than 7 m above ground level on average), including their ancillary buildings and facilities. For the projects listed in Section 66 (2) LBauO, a simplified approval procedure is only carried out if the builder requests it and certificates from experts recognized by the building authorities are submitted confirming that structural stability and fire protection are guaranteed.

In the simplified approval procedure , the building authority's review is limited to the admissibility of the project in accordance with the provisions of the Building Code, local building regulations (§ 88 LBauO), § 52 LBauO, and other public law provisions. The project's compliance with building regulations, including the Rhineland-Palatinate State Building Code, is not checked.

The application for a building permit in the simplified approval procedure must be submitted to the lower building supervisory authority.

The building documents that must be submitted with the building application are specified in § 7 of the State Ordinance on Building Documents and Structural Engineering Inspection. The building application and the building documents must be signed by the designers, who must be authorized to submit building documents for applications relating to buildings.

The building permit is valid for four years. This period can be extended upon request. The request must be received before the deadline expires.

Construction documents must be prepared by designers who possess sufficient expertise and experience. Construction documents for the construction and alteration of buildings requiring approval must, as a general rule, be prepared under the responsibility of a designer authorized to submit building plans.

The application for a building permit (building application) must be submitted by the building owner to the building authority. The building application must be accompanied by all documents necessary for the assessment of the project and the processing of the application (construction documents). It may be permitted for individual construction documents to be submitted at a later date. The building authority shall forward the building application to the municipal administration without delay and, where necessary, request the municipality’s consent or approval in accordance with the Building Code; the municipality shall then immediately issue its opinion on the project.

An objection, followed by a lawsuit under the Administrative Court Rules (VwGO).

Upon receipt of the building application, the building control authority must check within 15 working days whether

1. the building application and the building documents are complete,
2. other authorities or agencies need to be involved, and
3. experts need to be consulted

. If the building application is incomplete or has other significant deficiencies, the building control authority shall request the builder to rectify the deficiencies within a reasonable period of time. If the deficiencies are not rectified within the deadline, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

The building control authority must decide within one month for projects pursuant to Section 66 (1) LBauO and within three months for projects pursuant to Section 66 (2) LBauO if the requirements specified in Section 66 (5) are met. The period begins 15 working days after receipt of the building application by the building supervisory authority or, if the building supervisory authority has requested further documents, 15 working days after receipt of the subsequently submitted documents. If the agreement or consent of the municipality (Section 14 (2) sentence 2, Section 36 (1) sentence 1, or Section 36a BauGB) is required, this period shall commence at the earliest upon receipt of the notification of the municipality's decision or, if the agreement or consent of the municipality is deemed to have been granted due to the expiry of the period pursuant to § 36 or § 36a BauGB, at the time by which the notification of the municipality's refusal to give its agreement or consent should have been received by the building control authority. 

The building permit is deemed to have been granted if no decision has been made on the building application within this period. The period may be extended by up to two months, in particular if other authorities are still to be involved or decisions on deviations are required.

The required construction documents are governed by the State Ordinance on Construction Documents and Structural Review (BauuntPrüfVO) . Pursuant to § 1 of the BauuntPrüfVO, the following construction documents must be attached to the building application:

1. the site plan (§ 2),

2. the construction drawings (§ 3),

3. the building specifications (§ 4),

4. the structural engineering calculations (§ 5),

5. a diagram of the site drainage (Section 6),

6. for construction projects in rural areas, an excerpt from the official topographic map at a scale of 1:25,000 with the property to be developed marked.

The scope, content, and number of construction documents depend on the specific project. The construction documents must include information on all designers. The site plan and each construction drawing must include a graphical scale bar in addition to the numerical scale indication for calibration, unless existing scale chains allow for calibration. This must be labeled with the actual distances. The building authority may waive the requirement for individual construction documents or information contained therein if they are not necessary for the assessment of the project. It may request additional construction documents as well as diagrams, photographs, or models if these are necessary for the assessment of the project.

For the simplified approval procedure, § 7 of the BauuntPrüfVO contains special provisions with simplifications.

If, in addition to the building permit, further official decisions are required (e.g., approvals under monument preservation law, decisions under water or nature conservation law), the documents required for these must be submitted together with the application for approval.

Fees are charged for the issuance of building permits, the amount of which is essentially determined by the type of project approved. These fees are levied in accordance with the state ordinance on fees and remuneration for official acts and services under building regulations (special fee schedule).

The application for a building permit under the simplified approval procedure must be submitted to the lower building supervisory authority.