A hole is only small on a drawing. The route depends on what the slab or wall carries, what is inside it and what lies below.
Cutting through a slab or wall can sever reinforcement, weaken a load path or breach a fire barrier. We confirm the controlling authority, scan and assess the element, prepare the engineering submissions and manage NOCs, comments and inspections through to completion.
An opening looks like a small cut for a pipe, a duct or a doorway. In a structure it removes material that was doing a job.
Opening approval is regulatory permission to cut through a slab or wall, based on an engineering check of what the element carries and how the opening is protected afterwards.
Anything that removes part of a floor slab or wall: a core for a pipe, a shaft for ducts, a void for a stair or lift, a new door in a block wall or a large opening in a structural wall. The cut can sever bars, change how load flows and breach fire, water and sound barriers.
People searching for “core drilling permit Dubai” or “slab opening approval” are generally asking whether they can cut here, what has to be scanned first and who must agree. The approval answers all three.
Depending on your project, an opening approval can include
“Opening approval” covers a wide range, from a core in a screeded slab to a door in a structural wall. Always identify what the element carries.
The authority behind the building and, in shared buildings, the owners’ body decide whether you may cut. Neighbours below and beside are affected too.
The floor under your feet is the ceiling above somebody else. Confirm who controls the slab before you book a coring crew.
Dubai’s unified building-permit platform links the licensing authorities with the entities that support the process, so applications can reach each of them electronically:
What a wrong authority costs you
Check the building, unit rights, shared structure, existing approvals and building management rules. A clean slab on the drawing may hide post-tensioning and services.
The route depends on size, element, structure type and use. These are the opening cases that come up most in Dubai buildings.
Cores for pipes, conduits and sleeves are small, but they can still strike bars, tendons and services.
Many cores in one area add up to a larger hole. Check them as a group, not one by one.
Larger rectangular openings for ducts, risers and trays remove real concrete and need trimming.
Voids for stairs, lifts and escalators change how the slab spans and where it is supported.
See our staircase guide when the opening serves a new stair.
A doorway or window removes wall material, so lintels and framing may be needed.
These walls carry floors and roof above, so any opening needs a replacement load path.
The bigger the opening, the closer it behaves like a structural modification.
Shear walls and cores resist wind and lateral forces, so openings can weaken the whole building.
Stressed tendons store enormous energy, so cutting one can be dangerous and damaging.
Never core a post-tensioned slab without a tendon scan and written engineer approval.
Every opening is a path for fire, water and sound unless it is sealed to match the element it pierces.
Evidence before the cut and repair after it are what turn an opening into an approved opening.
Depending on size and element, an opening is submitted as part of a modification, fit-out or structural alteration application, with calculations for anything beyond minor penetrations.
Scanning is not permission. A clear scan tells you where to cut. It does not tell you that cutting is acceptable.
Treat each opening as a design decision backed by evidence, not a site task.
Dubai’s single-window system brings together the building licensing services of Dubai Municipality, Dubai Development Authority, Trakhees and the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority, with electronic links to Civil Defence, DEWA, RTA and telecom operators. For an opening you can expect to manage:
Openings go wrong when cutting leads and evidence follows. Following this order keeps the scan, the design and the approval ahead of the saw.
Check who permits the building and whether owners, developers or the unit below must consent.
Collect approved structural drawings and note slab or wall type, thickness and any post-tensioning.
List each opening with size, position, purpose and what passes through it.
Locate bars, tendons, services and edges with GPR or equivalent. Never cut on an assumption.
Check the element with the openings, and design trimmers, lintels or strengthening where needed.
Detail fire-stopping, waterproofing and acoustic sealing for each opening.
Owners association, developer, Civil Defence and building management where they apply.
Respond to every comment across structure, fire and services together.
Core or cut only against the approved schedule, with dust, water and noise controlled.
Complete sealing, record as-builts and close out the approval where applicable.
There is no universal list. Pick a group to see what a typical opening submission may need.
Requirements depend on the service, so we confirm the exact list for your project before you gather anything.
Requirements depend on the service, so we confirm the exact list for your project before you gather anything.
Requirements depend on the service, so we confirm the exact list for your project before you gather anything.
Requirements depend on the service, so we confirm the exact list for your project before you gather anything.
Requirements depend on the service, so we confirm the exact list for your project before you gather anything.
Requirements depend on the service, so we confirm the exact list for your project before you gather anything.
Requirements depend on the service, so we confirm the exact list for your project before you gather anything.
Don’t reuse a scan or schedule. A scan from one slab or an opening schedule from another floor says nothing about yours. Scan and assess the actual element you intend to cut.
Openings involve everyone who designs, cuts, owns or sits below a slab. Here is what each role most needs to know.
Cut only against an approved schedule. Never move a core because the scan looked clear nearby.
Coordinate sleeves and routes early. Late openings are the most common source of structural conflict.
Treat every opening as part of the approval, not as a site detail to sort out later.
Assess the element with its openings. A series of small cores can be as significant as one large void.
Report what you found and what you could not see. A scan does not replace engineering judgement.
Resolve stair, shaft and duct positions with the engineer before the layout is fixed.
Keep records of every opening. They are part of the building’s structural history.
Shared slabs affect neighbours. Require scan and engineer sign-off before allowing cutting.
Publish coring and opening rules, including post-tensioned zones, so tenants follow a consistent process.
Before every permit-to-work involving cutting, confirm approval, scan and protection are in place.
For coring, MEP and fit-out contractors
A coring quote that ignores approvals is half a price. Settle the authority, the scan and the consent route before you book crews and a start date.
Skip this and a routine coring job becomes a struck tendon, a leak below or a stop-work notice.
For site teams, the key line is scanned and approved versus assumed. Take extra care with:
The costly opening problem starts before the first cut: a services layout is fixed, a crew is booked and nobody has asked what the slab contains.
The right order
Establish what the slab or wall contains and who must agree before fixing sleeve positions or booking crews.
The costly order
Cutting first and scanning later is how a small hole becomes a structural repair.
The fastest path is to put evidence ahead of the saw and settle consents before submission.
The opening is prepared for the wrong process or without shared consent.
Slab or wall type cannot be verified.
Reinforcement and tendons are not located.
A tendon zone is treated as ordinary slab.
Cumulative effect on the element is ignored.
A shear wall is treated as a simple partition.
Penetrations lack rated sealing.
Wet areas and podiums are breached without repair details.
Owners association, developer or supporting-authority approval is outstanding.
Openings move or grow during execution.
A structural fix undoes a fire point.
Most delays are not one dramatic mistake. They are small coordination problems that stack up.
A clean first submission is usually worth more than submitting a few days earlier with unresolved issues.
Three questions to settle before you plan the programme.
There is no single answer, and the permit period is not your whole programme. Scanning, design, consents, comments, cutting and sealing all count. It depends on:
There is no fixed price for an opening approval. The cost combines several items, so list what your project actually needs and price each. Typical components:
Can you start work before approval?
A submitted application is not permission to construct.
Pre-submission checklist
Tick each item as you confirm it. It’s a quick way to spot what is still open before you spend time on a submission.
Always verify the latest requirements. Checklists, workflows and regulations change over time. For current applications, confirm them through the licensing authority and the unified building-permit services.
They’re a design input. Before fixing sleeve positions or booking a coring crew, answer these five questions.
Once these are answered, an opening becomes a predictable task: fewer redesigns for contractors and consultants, no struck tendons or leaks for occupants and a clean structural record for owners.
Straight answers on core drilling permits, slab openings, load-bearing walls and fire-stopping.
Often yes. Coring and openings affect structure, fire and neighbouring units, so they usually need an engineer’s assessment and sometimes formal authority approval. The route depends on the building and the size of opening.
The authority that permits the building, plus the owners association or developer in shared buildings. Civil Defence reviews fire-related aspects.
No. A scan shows where bars, tendons and services are, but an engineer must still decide whether the opening is acceptable.
Only with great care. Cutting a stressed tendon can be dangerous and damaging, so tendon mapping, engineer approval and specialist supervision are essential.
Often, but confirm the wall is non-structural first. Even then a lintel and edge detailing are usually needed.
These need full engineering assessment because openings weaken load paths and lateral stability, and may need frames, lintels or strengthening.
There is no universal threshold. Small cores can still matter near beams or in clusters, so always confirm with an engineer.
Yes. Penetrations in fire-rated floors and walls must be sealed to the same rating, and Civil Defence may review the details.
Yes, through water, dust, noise and structural effects. Assess these and notify affected parties as required by your building.
No. A landlord NOC is a private approval about the property. A government permit is regulatory approval, and one does not replace the other.
Trimming, sealing, waterproofing and finishes should follow the approved details, and as-built records should be kept.
Where approval is required, starting early risks stop-work orders, structural damage and expensive repairs. A submission is not permission to cut.
Can’t find your answer? Ask a consultant and we’ll confirm the route for your project.
Send us the building location, the slab or wall and the openings you need. We’ll confirm the authority, the scanning and engineering route and the consents before anything is cut or submitted.