Builder and construction company: licensing, permits, insurance and tenders

This page is for building and civil engineering contractors, for site foremen who want to turn their work into a registered business, and for construction firms operating in Togo, Senegal, Benin or Côte d'Ivoire. It deals with the company that carries out the works for a client: its licence, what the building permit requires of it on site, its insurance, its liability after handover and its access to public contracts. The property developer, who runs the scheme and sells the units, has a page of its own. This is not a job offer: imonga does not hire construction firms, it invites them to sign up free of charge and show their work to private clients who want to build. Every rule quoted links to its official text; where we could not read the text ourselves, the page says "not verified yet".

What does a construction company do, and how is it different from a developer?

The International Labour Organization's occupational classification places construction managers in unit group 1323. They plan, direct and co-ordinate the construction of civil engineering projects, buildings and dwellings [1]. Their listed tasks include interpreting drawings and specifications, preparing tenders and contract bids, ensuring adherence to building legislation and to standards of quality, cost and safety, submitting plans to local authorities, building under contract or subcontracting specialised trades, and arranging official inspections [1]. Unit group 7111 covers house builders, who erect, maintain and repair houses and small buildings and supervise subcontractors and labourers [1].

National law uses its own vocabulary for the same role. Senegal's 2023 Construction Code defines the contractor ("entrepreneur") as the natural or legal person who, under a works contract with the client, undertakes to carry out the construction of a structure [2]. The same code counts the contractor among the "builders", alongside the architect, the engineer, the design office and the inspection body [2]. In Côte d'Ivoire, the Construction and Housing Code calls the contractor a party bound to the client by a contract for works and subject to the builders' ten-year liability [3].

The difference from a developer is one of role. The developer assembles land and finance, organises the scheme and sells. The contractor executes: under article 233 of the Ivorian code, it answers for the proper execution and finishing of the works, under the supervision of the architect and the engineer [3]. One company can play both parts, but it then carries both sets of obligations.

Which legal form, and how do you register?

All four priority countries apply OHADA business law. The Uniform Act on General Commercial Law of 15 December 2010 gives a contractor working alone two ways in [4]. The first is the "entreprenant" status: a sole trader who carries on a civil, commercial, craft or farming activity on the strength of a simple declaration [4]. That declaration is free of charge and is made at the court registry or competent office where the business operates [4]. The status lasts only while turnover stays below thresholds set by a separate Uniform Act on accounting [4].

The second is registration in the Trade and Personal Property Credit Register (RCCM). An individual who is required to register must apply within the first month of trading [4]. A company must apply within a month of its incorporation, at the registry for the place of its head office [4].

For a building firm the choice matters. Every licensing file read for this page asks for a trade register entry, articles of association or a social security clearance. The Ivorian file requires the trade register and a certificate from the national social security fund, the CNPS [5]. The Beninese classification file requires the articles and the RCCM extract [6]. The Togolese order on licensing water and sanitation firms requires a certified copy of the RCCM entry and tax and social security clearances less than three months old [7]. A sole trader can start small, but regulated sites soon call for a registered company.

Do you need a licence to work as a building contractor?

The answer differs by country, and so does the question: in some places the licence is a right to trade, in others a right to bid for public contracts.

Côte d'Ivoire: a licence to trade

Article 235 of the Construction and Housing Code is plain: practising as a building contractor requires prior approval ("agrément") from the minister responsible for construction [3]. The official public services portal sets out the file [5]. For the legal representative: an application to the minister, an identity card, a certificate of nationality, a residence certificate for foreign nationals, a criminal record extract under three months old and a CV. For the company: a location plan of the head office, the trade register entry, the CNPS social security clearance, a bank details certificate, the staff list and organisation chart, technical references (handover reports, certificates of satisfactory completion) and a list of plant, owned or hired. The stated fee is 100,000 CFA francs [5]. Processing time and period of validity are not given on the page: not verified yet.

Benin: licence and classification for public contracts

Decree no. 2004-395 of 13 July 2004 makes any bid for public building and civil engineering work conditional on prior administrative approval; above a threshold set by order, classification into a category is also compulsory [6]. The decree creates six categories for each main field of activity. A classification lasts five years at most, and a classified firm must send its approved accounts within four months of its year end [6]. A national classification committee examines the files [8]. The decree was issued under the 1996 public procurement code, since replaced, so whether it is still applied is not verified yet.

Togo: a licence tied to public contracts

An interministerial order of 10 June 2010 refers to decree no. 2009-003/PR of 14 January 2009, which sets the criteria for granting and withdrawing the licence that allows building and civil engineering firms to take part in public contracts, and to a national licensing committee [7]. For water and sanitation works, the order sorts firms into large, medium and small: a small firm handles jobs under 100,000,000 CFA francs, a large one jobs above 450,000,000 [7]. The licence lasts three years and any change of category needs a fresh application [7]. The text of the 2009 decree itself, and the classification scheme announced by the 2021 procurement law, are not verified yet.

Senegal: qualification and classification

The 2023 Construction Code makes every building and civil engineering company subject to the rules on qualification and classification of contractors and craftsmen [2]. It provides for an order of the construction minister to set up the body in charge [2]. That order and the list of classes are not verified yet.

Morocco, for comparison

Morocco has run a qualification and classification scheme for building and civil engineering firms since decree no. 2-94-223 of 16 June 1994; other ministries rely on the certificate issued by the ministry responsible for public works [9]. For the other countries of the region, no primary text has been read so far.

The building permit: what it requires of the contractor on site

The client applies for the permit, but the contractor carries part of the duties and can be prosecuted for building without one.

Togo

Decree no. 2016-043/PR on planning consents, published in the Official Journal of 20 June 2016, requires a permit from anyone who wants to build, alter, regularise or demolish a structure, even one without foundations [10]. The decision must be notified within 21 working days of the certificate that the file is complete, or 30 working days for large schemes [10]. A permit is valid for four years, by which time the works must be finished, and it lapses if work has not started within two years [10]. Several duties fall on "the person entitled to carry out the works", which means the contractor: displaying the permit on site for the whole job, filing a site opening notice in three copies, then filing a completion notice within 11 working days of finishing, declaring that the works conform [10]. If work stops for more than a year, the local authority must be told what has been done to keep neighbours safe [10].

Côte d'Ivoire

A permit is needed for any building, extension, structural repair or boundary wall, and the duty applies to every natural or legal person [3]. Applications go through the one-stop building permit office; a permit is issued for one year and lapses if work has not begun within that year [3]. At the end of the job, the client, through the architect or the contractor, files a completion declaration backed by an end-of-works report [3]. Failing to put up the site board carries an administrative fine of 100,000 francs [3].

Senegal

No one may start a construction or a structural alteration without prior administrative consent, and the start of works must be shown on a site board [2]. Any building site where technical inspection is compulsory also needs a separate consent to open excavations [2].

Benin

Permits have been applied for online since March 2020 on the public platform; the government announced a 14-day turnaround in Cotonou and a maximum cut from 45 to 25 days [11]. The 2022 decree amending the 2020 text exempts, among other things, temporary site installations and internal alterations that do not affect use, stability or facade [12]. The underlying 2020 decree could not be downloaded, so its detailed content is not verified yet.

What insurance does a building site need?

Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire have written construction insurance into statute, with one shared principle: the contractor must be able to prove it is insured before the site opens.

Senegal

Anyone whose liability as a builder may be engaged in respect of building works must be insured, and must be able to show the policy when any site opens [2]. The policy is deemed to keep cover in force for as long as the liability lasts [2]. Contractors' all-risks cover protects, during the works, against accidental damage to the structure being built, to property on site and to third parties, and for twelve months after provisional handover against damage caused during maintenance visits [2]. These duties apply to new buildings open to the public, to underpinning or retaining works more than five metres high and to works subject to technical inspection [2]. Technical inspection is itself compulsory for any building open to the public, any building with more than two storeys and any commercial or industrial property [2]. A firm refused cover can refer the matter to the minister responsible for insurance [2].

Côte d'Ivoire

The builder must take out, when any site opens, a policy covering all the risks of construction work, with a clause covering any damage it causes [3]. The owner who commissions the works takes out separate property damage cover before the site opens [3]. Roads, ports, railways, streets and utility networks are outside these duties [3]. A breach is punishable by one to twelve months' imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 to 5,000,000 francs, or either [3]. A bill amending these rules was announced in December 2025; whether it has been enacted is not verified yet.

Togo and Benin

No primary text imposing construction insurance on contractors has been read for these two countries: not verified yet. A client's contract documents may still require it.

Handover, guarantees and ten-year liability

Handover is the moment the risk changes hands. In Senegal it comes in two stages, provisional then final. Provisional handover takes place at the request of whichever party acts first, by agreement or through the courts, always in the presence of both sides, and it is recorded in a signed report [2]. In Côte d'Ivoire, handover is requested by the contractor at the end of all or part of the works, is always held jointly, and is likewise provisional then final [3].

After provisional handover, the Senegalese code sets out three layers of cover [2]:

• the guarantee of proper execution: the contractor puts right every defect listed as a reservation in the handover report or notified in writing later; if it fails to act after formal notice, the work is done at its cost and risk; the guarantee ends once the reservations are cleared, as recorded in the final handover report;
• the guarantee of proper operation: at least one year for fittings that are not part of the main structure;
• ten-year liability: the builder is presumed liable for damage that undermines the strength and stability of the structure or makes it unfit for its purpose, for ten years from final handover.

Any contract clause that excludes or limits this liability is void, unless the builder proves force majeure or a third party's fault [2]. An importer of a fitting is treated as a builder [2].

In Côte d'Ivoire, every builder is liable to the client or buyer for damage, even from ground defects, that undermines the strength of the structure or makes it unfit for use; only force majeure or the client's own act releases it [3]. The text we read names ten-year liability but the articles consulted do not state its length in figures: not verified yet. For Togo and Benin, no primary text on these guarantees has been read: not verified yet.

Public contracts: qualification, bonds and subcontracting

Contracts for the state and local councils are often a construction firm's main source of turnover. They come with their own entry conditions.

In Senegal, the Public Procurement Code (decree no. 2022-2295 of 28 December 2022) requires building and civil engineering contractors and craftsmen to produce a qualification and classification certificate, or failing that a receipt for their application [13]. A bidder without it is excluded, as is one that has not filed its tax and social security returns [13]. The bid bond lies between 1% and 3% of the estimated contract value, and a copy or a scan is refused [13]. Above thresholds set by order, the successful bidder provides a performance bond, lodged in full at signature and capped at 5% of the contract value [13]. The contractor may subcontract up to 40% of the value, preferably to Senegalese or regional small firms, and each subcontractor must be approved [13]. On a local council contract, a plan to subcontract at least 30% to a local firm can earn a price preference of up to 5% [13]. The exclusion for lack of a qualification certificate applies to subcontractors too, so a firm working as a second-tier supplier must keep its own papers in order [13]. The exact performance bond thresholds, set by an order we have not read, are not verified yet.

In Benin, under the 2004 decree, administrative approval remains the condition for bidding for any public building contract [6]. In Togo, the licence is expressly about taking part in public contracts [7]. The procurement codes now in force in Togo, Benin and Côte d'Ivoire were not read for this page, so their caps on subcontracting and bonds are not verified yet.

What criminal exposure does the contractor face?

The codes do not punish only the owner. They name the contractor among those who can be prosecuted.

In Côte d'Ivoire, building, altering or demolishing without prior consent carries one to six months' imprisonment, and architects, contractors and others responsible for the work face the same penalties [3]. In an undeveloped zone, for a building open to the public or on land where building is banned, the term rises to three to twelve months, doubled for a repeat offence [3]. Carrying on after a stop order brings fines of 15,000 francs per square metre of floor area for housing, 20,000 for offices and shops and 25,000 for industrial buildings [3]. Unpermitted buildings may be demolished at the client's expense [3].

In Senegal, carrying on a job in breach of a stop decision costs three to six months' imprisonment and a fine of 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 CFA francs, or either [2]. Carrying out works in breach of the code's health and safety rules is punishable by three to eight months or a fine of 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 CFA francs, rising to 3,000,000 on a repeat offence, and these penalties can be imposed on contractors, foremen and craftsmen [2]. Being unable to prove insurance is punishable by two to three months and a fine of 500,000 to 1,000,000 CFA francs [2].

In Benin, a false statement in a classification file can lead to a ban on bidding for one to two years; serious misconduct can bring a warning, downgrading, suspension or removal from the list [6]. In Togo, the penalties specific to building firms are in the 2009 decree, which we have not read: not verified yet.

Where to start: the steps in order

1. Pick a legal form: a sole trader on a free declaration, or a company registered in the RCCM within a month of incorporation [4].
2. Get your tax and social security affairs in order: register your staff and obtain clearance certificates, which the Ivorian and Togolese licensing files ask for [5] [7].
3. Build a record of references: keep every handover report and every certificate of satisfactory completion, since licensing and classification files rely on them [5] [6].
4. Apply for the national licence or qualification: to the construction ministry in Côte d'Ivoire [3], the national classification committee in Benin [8], the national licensing committee in Togo [7], the qualification body in Senegal [2].
5. Get insured before your first regulated site, and keep the certificate to hand [2] [3].
6. On every job: check the permit exists and display it, file the site opening notice, then the completion notice where the rules require it [10].
7. At the end: obtain a jointly signed handover report, clear the reservations and keep the file for the full ten years of liability [2].

Apart from the Ivorian page at 100,000 CFA francs, none of the sources read publishes licence fees or processing times: not verified yet.

How imonga can help

This is not a job offer. imonga does not hire construction firms: the platform invites professionals to sign up, present their business, list their properties or services and receive enquiries from private clients, in Africa and across the diaspora. For a builder, the profile can show completed jobs, the trades you cover, the towns you work in and the licence you hold, which helps a client living abroad choose from a distance. Creating an account and a profile is free; the terms for listings are set out on the Pricing page. You stay independent, you set your own prices, and you remain bound by the rules of your country described above.

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Frequently asked questions

Do I need a licence to be a building contractor in Côte d'Ivoire?

Yes. Article 235 of the Construction and Housing Code makes practising as a building contractor conditional on prior approval from the construction minister [3]. The official public services portal gives a fee of 100,000 CFA francs and lists the documents: criminal record extract, trade register entry, CNPS clearance, job references and a list of plant [5].

How long does ten-year liability last in Senegal?

Ten years from final handover of the works, under article L.55 of the 2023 Construction Code [2]. It covers damage that undermines the strength and stability of the structure or makes it unfit for its purpose, and no contract clause can exclude it [2].

Must a construction company be insured before opening a site?

In Senegal, yes: when any site opens, the builder must be able to show insurance covering its liability [2]. In Côte d'Ivoire, the builder takes out cover for all construction risks when each site opens [3]. For Togo and Benin, no legal duty has been verified so far.

How much of a public contract can be subcontracted in Senegal?

Up to 40% of the contract value, preferably to Senegalese or regional small firms, and each subcontractor must be approved by the contracting authority [13].

How long is a building permit valid in Togo?

Four years, by the end of which the works must be complete. The permit lapses if work has not started within two years of notification [10].

Can the contractor be prosecuted if the owner has no permit?

Yes. In Côte d'Ivoire, contractors who carry out work without consent face the same penalties as the owner, one to six months' imprisonment [3]. In Senegal, penalties for works that break the code's rules can be imposed on contractors, foremen and craftsmen [2].