Excavation permits checklist for BC projects
Before the first bucket goes in the ground, a BC excavation can touch a dozen different rules. This checklist links each one to its source.
Not every rule applies to every job. A residential lot in Surrey and a creek crossing in the Interior have very different lists. Use this as a starting checklist, then confirm each item with the authority that runs it.
Municipal permits
- Building permit: in many municipalities excavation itself is construction that needs a permit. The Township of Langley’s Building Bylaw defines construction to include excavating and shoring, and the City of Langley requires a permit before work including excavation related to construction.
- Soil deposit and removal permit: most Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley municipalities have one, with very different thresholds. See the soil and fill guide.
- Tree permit and protection barriers: most cities protect trees from 20 cm diameter (Surrey from 30 cm). See the tree bylaw guide.
- Erosion and sediment control permit: triggered by site size in most cities. See the ESC guide.
- Road and right-of-way permits: for example Surrey’s City Road and Right-of-Way Use Permit and Delta’s Highway Use Permit for work in the road.
- Streamside or environmental development permits: within 30 to 50 m of a watercourse, depending on the city.
Provincial and federal
Agricultural Land Reserve: placing fill or removing soil in the ALR needs an exemption, a Notice of Intent or an approved application from the Agricultural Land Commission.
Soil relocation: moving soil off a site with a current or past industrial or commercial use listed in Schedule 2 of the Contaminated Sites Regulation can require a Soil Relocation Notification, submitted by a qualified professional at least one week before the move.
Changes in and about a stream: the Water Sustainability Act requires a notification (at least 45 days before work for listed low-risk changes) or a change approval.
Fish and fish habitat: under the federal Fisheries Act, work that cannot avoid harm to fish may need a DFO review or authorization.
Archaeology: sites with evidence of human habitation or use before 1846 are protected on public and private land, recorded or not.
Provincial highways: work on a provincial highway, its right-of-way or highway bridges needs a highway works permit from the Ministry of Transportation and Transit.
Safety
Utility locates: before excavating or drilling with powered equipment, the location of all underground utilities must be accurately determined.
BC 1 Call members ask for 3 working days’ notice of a locate request.
Notice of Project: WorkSafeBC must receive a notice at least 24 hours before work starts if, among other triggers, a worker may enter an excavation (other than a trench) over 1.2 m deep, or a trench over 30 m long.
Checked October 2026 against the sources linked on this page. Rules change, so confirm with the authority before work starts. General information only, not engineering or legal advice.
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