Requesting building drawings in Amsterdam and Amstelveen
Before a renovation, a purchase or a permit application, you want to know how your home was originally drawn. The building drawings are usually kept in the building file (bouwdossier) of the property. This page explains where to find that file, what to look out for, and what to do when the drawing is missing or no longer matches the building.
Files up to 1 October 2010 are usually held by the Amsterdam City Archives
More recent files are requested from the municipality
No usable drawing? We survey your home and draw the existing situation
A building file brings together the documents submitted with the permit to build or alter a property. What it contains differs per building and per period.
01 / Drawings
Building drawings and floor plans
Floor plans, elevations and sections as submitted with the application. For older buildings these are often hand-drawn sheets with dimensions in the old style.
02 / Structure
Structural drawings and calculations
For larger interventions the file sometimes contains structural drawings or calculations, for example for floor joists, foundations or steel beams.
03 / Procedure
Permit and correspondence
The decision on the application and the letters exchanged with the municipality show what was allowed at the time and under which conditions.
By municipality
Where do you request the building drawings?
Amsterdam and Amstelveen both use 1 October 2010 as the cut-off, the date on which the environmental permit (omgevingsvergunning) replaced the building permit. After that date the route differs per municipality. Living in another municipality? Ask the municipality or the regional archive for the building file.
Amsterdam
Building files in Amsterdam
Up to 1905: search by address in the Image Bank (Beeldbank) of the City Archives
1905 to 1 October 2010: look up your address on data.amsterdam.nl, choose the building files for that address and request temporary access with your e-mail address. You can then download the documents.
From 1 October 2010: contact the municipality of Amsterdam on 14 020
Weesp: files from before 2010 via the City Archives, from after 2010 via the municipality
Up to 1 October 2010: the files can be consulted digitally at the Amsterdam City Archives (archive 31304). Search for the address together with the words bouwdossier Amstelveen, or filter on that archive.
Downloading: per drawing, or the whole file as a zip archive
From 1 October 2010: request the documents from the Building and Permits desk (loket Bouwen en Vergunningen) of the municipality. The municipality aims to send them within 10 working days.
The file almost always exists, but it is not always easy to find or ready to use.
Common issues
Current address: the archive searches by current address. If a street was renamed or renumbered, the file may sit under an old address.
Ranges: for walk-up flats and terraced houses, one file often covers a whole block or a range of house numbers. Search by street name first.
Not public: for some buildings the file is restricted for security reasons. You can only obtain it with a completed and signed consent form from the owner or another stakeholder.
Privacy: in more recent files, application forms containing personal data are sometimes withheld.
Copyright: no permission is needed for your own use. If you want to publish drawings, permission from the author may be required.
Step by step
From address to usable drawing
Note the address and building period
Write down the current address and, if you know them, the year of construction and the years of earlier alterations.
Choose the right office
Before 1 October 2010 you go to the City Archives, after that to the municipality. In Amsterdam the oldest period is covered by the Image Bank.
Search and download the file
Search by address, open the right file and download the drawings. Also check the linked documents, such as structural appendices.
Compare with the actual building
Check the drawing on site. If the home was altered later, walls were moved or the dimensions do not match, the old drawing is only a starting point.
Have the existing situation drawn
A renovation or permit application needs an up-to-date, accurately dimensioned drawing. We produce it from a measured survey and the archive material.
No usable drawing
What if the building drawing is missing or wrong?
Old files are sometimes incomplete, hard to read or overtaken by later alterations. That is no reason to put your plans on hold.
Survey and drawings
We survey your home and draw the existing situation: floor plans, elevations and sections with dimensions. We use archive documents as a supplement, for example for the build-up of floors and foundations that you cannot see.
That existing-situation drawing then forms the basis for the design, the drawing of the new situation and, where needed, the permit application. Building drawings
Frequently asked questions about requesting building drawings
What does it cost to request building drawings?
Digitised building files at the Amsterdam City Archives can be downloaded at no cost. For files requested from a municipality, fees may apply. Check the website of your municipality.
How long does it take to receive the drawings?
Digitised files at the City Archives can usually be viewed and downloaded straight away. The municipality of Amstelveen aims to send requested documents within 10 working days. Other offices have their own response times.
Can I request the drawings of a home I do not own?
Public building files are open to everyone. For security reasons, some buildings are marked as not public. You can only obtain those files with a signed consent form from the owner or another stakeholder.
Does the building file contain a floor plan of my home?
Often it does, but usually these are the drawings from the time of construction or from a later permit. Later alterations are not always included, and the dimensions may differ from the current situation.
Why can I not find my address in the archive?
The archive searches by current address. If a street was renamed or house numbers changed, the file may be listed under a different address. For apartments and terraced houses, one file often covers a whole block or a range of house numbers.
May I use a requested drawing for my renovation?
No permission is needed for your own use. Building and structural drawings may be protected by copyright, so publishing them may require permission from the rights holder. For a permit application, we first check the old drawing against the actual building.
