Cambodia introduces licences for construction testing laboratories

General and specialist licences cover different testing scopes

Prakas No. 050 creates two main licence categories. A general construction laboratory licence covers a broad range of testing activities, while specialist licences are tied to defined fields such as geotechnical engineering, construction materials and equipment, and structural components.

A general laboratory must meet broader staffing requirements. Its technical director must be a professional civil engineer with at least five years of relevant experience, supported by heads of technical units with at least three years of experience and technical staff for the relevant disciplines. Testing machinery and equipment must also meet the required standards and have calibration certificates. Specialist laboratories face narrower, field-specific staffing requirements but remain subject to qualification and equipment rules.

For practical context, see Cambodia law and taxes. This development also connects with Cambodia sets rules for temporary handling of seized property.

Applications go through the ministry's One Window Service

Applications are submitted to the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction through its One Window Service. Once a complete application has been accepted and a receipt issued, the review and decision period is capped at 20 working days.

Licences are valid for three years, and renewal applications must be filed at least 30 days before expiry. Existing laboratories are not automatically grandfathered: businesses that were already providing testing services before the new regime must also obtain the appropriate licence to continue operating.

The enforcement structure ranges from written warnings to suspension and revocation. A warning can allow time to correct non-compliance; suspension may last up to 90 days, while serious or continuing breaches can result in the licence being revoked. Laboratories must also keep their work within the scope covered by their licence.

Buyers still need project-level evidence

For a homebuyer or property investor, the most useful change is greater traceability around who performed construction tests. When a developer relies on laboratory reports, the relevant questions are which laboratory issued them, what type of testing was carried out and whether that work falls within the laboratory's licensed scope.

That is still only one layer of due diligence. A laboratory licence regulates the testing provider; it does not approve the whole building, replace construction permits or technical supervision, or establish that every part of a project meets the required standard. The new regime therefore adds a formal checkpoint without turning laboratory licensing into a project-wide safety guarantee.