One-Stop Business Permitting Center opening moved to Dec. 29

Department of Commerce Secretary Remedio C. Mafnas said the One-Stop Business Permitting Center will open on Dec. 29, 2025, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony set for 2pm that day.

Mafnas did not say why the opening was postponed from its original Dec. 15, 2025, launch date. However, a Marianas Press visit to the site—the former Medicaid Agency building on Capitol Hill—showed that renovations were still ongoing.

Commerce special adviser Clement "CJ" Bermudes Jr. yesterday confirmed that the ribbon-cutting event has indeed been postponed to Dec. 29.

“While Dec. 15 was the target date for center completion early on, additional interagency and scheduling coordination necessitated the Dec. 29th ribbon-cutting date. The Department of Commerce and One-Stop interagency partners are on-track to fulfill the mandates and timeline provided by EO 2025-004 and are thrilled to deliver Phase I of the center, and initial operating capability, by the New Year,” he said in an email.

Bermudes added that a progress report will be submitted to Gov. David M. Apatang by Jan. 2, 2026.

Apatang established the One-Stop Business Permitting Center through an executive order signed last Nov. 18.

“Businesses currently face multiple, fragmented procedures and agency requirements for obtaining permits, licenses, and clearances, resulting in unnecessary administrative burdens, delays, and costs,” Apatang said in the executive order.

The governor designated Commerce as the lead agency responsible for creating a centralized hub for all business-related permits, licenses, and clearances required by law.

The executive order also authorizes the center to provide online access to information, forms, and application tracking. It gives the commerce secretary 30 days from the date the order was signed to operationalize the center.

Promulgated by the governor’s aforementioned EO 2025-004 in November 2025, the One-Stop Business Permitting Center will serve as the Commonwealth's hub for coordinating and facilitating all business-related permits, licenses, and clearances required by law.

In its initial phase, the center will include representatives from the CNMI Department of Commerce (Registrar and Foreign Corporation Liaison), Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services (fire code and safety inspections), Department of Public Works (building-code compliance), Department of Finance (business licensure), Zoning Board (land-use and development approvals), and the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation Division of Environmental Health (sanitation and health permits).