SAIPAN — Governor David M. Apatang has signed Executive Order 2025-004 establishing a new Business Permitting Center within the Department of Commerce to serve as a one-stop hub for business permits, licenses, and clearances across the CNMI government.
The Center will operate under the Office of Foreign Corporation Liaison and is tasked with streamlining and simplifying the permitting process, reducing paperwork and duplicative requirements, improving interagency coordination, and providing centralized information and assistance to businesses. The order states that the Center will also support online access to forms and application tracking as resources allow.
Under the executive order, the Department of Commerce will lead the Center in coordination with designated representatives from the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, the Department of Public Works, the Zoning Office, the Department of Finance, and the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation’s Division of Environmental Health, along with any other agencies identified by the governor or commerce secretary. Each participating agency must assign a representative with decision-making authority to be stationed at, or readily accessible to, the Center.
The Department of Commerce is directed to secure a physical location that is accessible to the public and the business community, and to work with the Department of Finance to set up a payment window or treasurer function so that fees tied to business permits and licenses can be collected at the Center.
The secretary of Commerce has 30 days from the effective date of the order to begin operationalizing the Center, including staffing, coordinating with agency heads to select representatives, developing standardized forms and workflows, drafting an interagency memorandum of understanding, and launching public outreach to inform the business community. Within 45 days of the Center’s establishment, the secretary must submit a written progress report to the Office of the Governor detailing the Center’s status, staffing, workflow improvements, and any recommendations for further streamlining.
Agencies participating in the Center are instructed to recommend changes to internal procedures, regulations, or statutes to harmonize and standardize permitting workflows, so long as any changes remain consistent with the public interest. All departments, offices, boards, and commissions of the CNMI government are ordered to comply with and support implementation of the executive order.
The Department of Commerce may use existing resources, appropriations, and grants to support the Center and is authorized to seek additional funding or federal technical assistance. The order also includes standard severability and general provisions language and affirms that it takes effect upon promulgation without the need for legislative submission under Article II, Section 15 of the NMI Constitution.
