Guatemala | Licenses for Excavations & Earthworks
Lucy Sofia Chávez Patzan, Associate at ARIAS Guatemala, and expert in real estate law, presents this article on building licenses solely for excavation and/or earthworks in the municipality of Guatemala.
On January 16th, 2026, Agreement No. COM-01-2026 issued by the Municipal Council of the Municipality of Guatemala on January 9th, 2026, was published in the Official Gazette. This agreement empowers the Territorial Control Directorate to issue building licenses solely for excavation and/or earthworks, whether or not they involve slope protection systems such as anchors, piles, or any other technically valid system, at the request of the party concerned and upon presentation of the corresponding file.
The Territorial Control Directorate within the organizational chart of the Municipality of Guatemala is the entity responsible for monitoring compliance with the Territorial Planning Plan (POT by its acronym in Spanish) in the municipality of Guatemala, supervising and evaluating all aspects related to construction carried out within the municipality, as well as controlling the use of public space and preparing general feasibility reports, among other tasks. In addition, the Territorial Control Directorate is responsible for the authorization, issuance, extension, and everything related to construction licenses.
In accordance with Agreement No. COM-01-2026 issued by the Municipality of Guatemala, the Territorial Control Directorate has the authority to issue building licenses solely for excavation and/or earthworks, whether or not it involves slope protection systems such as anchors, piles, or any other technically valid system, at the request of the party concerned and upon presentation of the corresponding file. In addition, it is emphasized that all applicable technical and legal requirements must be met for applications submitted to the Territorial Control Directorate under the agreement in question. Specifically, Article 2 of Agreement No. COM-01-2026 establishes the requirements that the applicant must meet in their file before the Territorial Control Directorate in order to be authorized to issue this type of license, which are as follows: "a) A valid insurance policy covering third-party damages, in the amount indicated by the Territorial Control Directorate, which must remain in force throughout the term of the license and the execution of the excavation and slope protection works; and b) The corresponding authorization from neighbors, before a notary public in a public deed or in a private document with a signature authenticated by a notary public, if the project uses an active anchoring system."
Furthermore, it is important to mention that this Agreement has two limitations in its application, one regarding its duration and the second regarding the subjects to whom it applies. With regard to the duration of the regulation, Agreement No. COM-01-2026 establishes that it will be valid for six months, beginning on the day following its publication in the Diario de Centro América (Official Gazette). The second limitation on the application of the Agreement is that it shall not apply to individuals or legal entities and/or those forming part of a development group, provided that: i) they have applied for Agreement COM-03-2025, which authorized the issuance of work licenses for excavations using slope protection systems such as anchors and/or piles; and, ii) on the date of entry into force of Agreement No. COM-01-2026, they do not yet have a license for the construction of the work.
At Arias, we have a team of lawyers who are experts in real estate law and will be happy to provide you with legal advice on the effective application of these regulations. If you have any comments or questions on this subject, please do not hesitate to contact us.
The information provided by ARIAS® is presented for informational purposes only. This information is not legal advice and is not intended to create, and does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking advice from professional advisers.