Province of Noord-Holland: applying for an exemption relating to protected plants and animals

Killing or disturbing a protected animal is prohibited by law. It is also an offence to pick, cut or uproot protected plant species. In some cases you can get an exemption for this, which you can request from the provincial authorities.

Request

You can only obtain an exemption under the following conditions:

There is no other suitable solution. It is in the interest of public health and safety.

It is in the interest of air traffic safety.
The aim is to prevent damage to crops, livestock, forests, commercial fisheries and waters.
The aim is to protect plant and animal species.
The aim is to promote research or education, or to restock or reintroduce plant and animal species.
In the case of certain birds: it is necessary to allow the capture, keeping and sensible use of these birds in small quantities in a selective and strictly controlled manner.
Your activities do not reduce the population of the plant or animal species.

An exemption for management and damage control may be granted by the province to a wildlife management unit on the basis of an approved wildlife management plan. There are some exceptions, which are set out in the wildlife management plan.

Consult with the stakeholders first. This is, for example, the manager of the nature conservation area. Check the province’s website in advance for more information

This is how you apply for a permit:

Go to the online Omgevingsloket (in Dutch). This is the service counter for environmental and planning permits.
Do the permit check.
You will be told whether you need to apply for a permit. You can do this right away.
Log in.

You can apply for a permit from the provincial authorities via the Omgevingsloket.

If you have applied for a permit, in most cases the regular process applies. In this case you will receive the decision within 13 weeks from the date the Omgevingsdienst NHN received your application. We can extend this period once only by 7 weeks.

If you have applied for a permit, your application could go through one of two processes, as described below.

Regular process

If you do not agree with our decision on your application, you can lodge an objection. You will need to do this within 6 weeks of the decision.
If you disagree with the decision on your objection, you can lodge an appeal with the court within 6 weeks.