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Procedure descriptions

Emission and immission investigations - applying for recognition and notification as an expert body under the Federal Immission Control Act

Certain emissions and immissions of noise, vibrations and air pollutants may only be determined by expert bodies, e.g. engineering offices or measuring institutes.
These bodies must be notified by the competent authority. You must apply for this notification.

A notification in one federal state is valid for the whole of Germany.

Notified bodies can be

  • Companies under civil law
  • legal persons:
    • Companies limited by shares (AG)
    • Limited liability companies (GmbH)
    • Cooperatives
    • Associations
    • Authorities and other public institutions

General partnerships (OHG) and limited partnerships (KG and GmbH & Co. KG) are treated the same as legal persons.

Note: Recognitions from another member state of the EU or another contracting state of the EEA are equivalent to notifications if these recognitions are recognised as equivalent.

Responsible department

the Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Energy Management Baden-Württemberg

Details

Prerequisite

You will receive the recognition if you

  • are reliable and independent
  • demonstrate professional competence through accreditation, and
  • employ the necessary number of competent staff.

Procedure

You must apply for recognition and notification at the competent office.
To do so, use the standard federal application form. It is available for download on the internet.

You must provide information on the following points:

  • Your reliability and independence
  • Qualified personnel
  • Qualification of your staff
  • technical equipment
  • Professional competence (accreditation)
  • which measuring activities (areas of activity and substance areas according to the 41st BImSchV) are to be covered by the notification

If all requirements are met, the competent body recognises you in writing as a "notified body pursuant to § 29b BImSchG". It announces the notified body nationwide in the internet database ReSyMeSa - Recherchesystem Messstellen und Sachverständige.

Required documents

  • completed application form including list of competent personnel
  • Curriculum vitae with professional background of the person in charge of the position
  • for proof of entrepreneurial legal form:
    • for registered companies with their registered office in Germany:
      • e.g. an extract from the commercial register
      • possibly a copy of the partnership agreement (e.g. in the case of a partnership under civil law (GbR))
    • if the company is based abroad: documents from the country of domicile proving its legal form
  • current accreditation certificate

In individual cases, the notifying authority may request further documents that are suitable for making a statement about personal reliability.

In addition, the competent authority may specify further documents that you must enclose.
Please enquire with the competent authority beforehand.

Costs

Administrative fees and possibly expert costs are incurred for the notification by the authority. These depend on the material scope of the notification.
In addition, companies based in Germany incur costs for the granting of accreditation by the German Accreditation Body (DAkkS).

Processing time

after you have submitted the complete documents: up to three months

Miscellaneous

You must apply for accreditation in good time to the German Accreditation Service (DAkkS). From experience, you must expect a processing time of up to one year for first-time applications.
Accreditation is granted for an unlimited period. The validity of the accreditation is maintained through regular, successfully completed audits by the DAkkS.

Contact

Bürger- und Standesamt (Bürgeramt)
Grabenstraße 15
89522 Heidenheim an der Brenz
Fax (0 73 21) 3 23-33 32