Across Germany, roughly 130,000 construction applications were submitted digitally last year. The figures reported by Handelsblatt include not only residential projects but also special buildings such as schools, offices, and shopping centers.
Last year, twelve federal states used a shared digital building‑permit software that had been developed by Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern under a “one‑for‑all” principle. The ministry of construction of Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern told the paper that 72,000 paperless applications were processed through this system in 2025. Bayern has been employing its own digital permit system since 2021, and according to the Bavarian ministry over 47,000 applications were submitted digitally in 2025. At the start of the year, the Free State joined the shared procedure.
Berlin, Brandenburg and Hessen continue to rely on their own digital permit applications. The Berlin Senate reported that just under 2,000 digital applications were received in the capital last year. Hessen’s ministry of economics said that 5,000 digital building applications were submitted in 2025. Brandenburg was unable to provide figures on digital permits when requested. Nationwide, there are 943 lower construction supervisory authorities responsible for permits, yet only a handful are already linked to digital permit procedures.
