Road Opening Licence

Applicants must give a total of twenty one days notification to Dublin City Council to commence planned works to break open the public road.

What is a road opening licence?

• The licence allows the holder to excavate a section of public road i.e. carriageway, footway and associated grass verge
• It will only be issued to the main contractor or developer. Road opening licences are not issued to private individuals or sub-contractors

Requesting a road opening licence

Step 1: Make sure you qualify for a licence

You qualify for a licence if you are:

• A main contractor or developer
• With minimum cover of €6.5 million with specific indemnity to Dublin City Council on policy

Step 2: Contact other major utilities to request permission to dig

Contact all utilities who may have underground cables or services in the place you intend to dig:

• Visit ESB Networks website: "Safe Digging"
• Visit Gas Networks Ireland website: "Dial before you Dig"
• Email Eir before you dig: "Click before you dig"

Step 3: Complete the application form

Download the application form below. Further information on the road opening licence can be found below.

Step 4: Return the form to Dublin City Council

Return your completed form to:

Road Maintenance Services
Dublin City Council
Block 2, Floor 4
Civic Offices
Wood Quay
Dublin 8

Please include the following information:

• 2 drawings of your proposed excavation
• A description of your proposed works programme with dates
• A letter confirming you have a safety statement
• A letter from your insurer confirming you have minimum public liability insurance cover of €6.5 million
• If you are digging a connection to a surface water sewer you will require a drainage licence from the Dublin City Council Drainage Department
• Foul sewer and water connections must be applied to Irish Water ([email protected])
• Licence fee (see below)

Licence fee

The amount of the fee depends on the size of the hole and type of repair needed (see the application form for more details). We will evaluate your request. If your request is granted, you must adhere to the following rules:

• You must pay Dublin City Council a deposit equal to the cost of permanently reinstating the excavation you make
• This deposit will be held for a minimum of 2 years while the long term impact charge to the public road or footpath is retained by Dublin City Council
• Your deposit will be refunded after written notification has been received from the applicant asking for the reinstatement to be taken in charge, providing your repair work has not degraded. The amount refunded to you will exclude the cost of any long-term impact charge to the public road or footpath
• If the permanent reinstatement fails, the applicant must bring the reinstatement to Road Maintenance Services' standard before it can be taken in charge and deposit returned. Otherwise, the deposit will be used to pay for the opening to be properly reinstated by Road Maintenance Services

All decisions on deposit refunds are made by the Road Maintenance Services area engineer.