This report is a guide to the permits and approvals required to develop an oil shale resource. The permitting requirements of the federal government, six states (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio), and selected county or local governments are reviewed. The permits and approvals are organized into nine categories: (1) mineral leases and rights-of-way, (2) acquisition of a water supply, (3) environmental impact statement, (4) environmental quality (air quality, water quality, waste disposal, and wildlife values), (5) historical and cultural protection, (6) land use and socioeconomics, (7) prospecting and mining, (8) safety and health, and (9) transportation and communication. This report also contains examples of the permitting process required for the startup of two hypothetical oil shale plants. The first example is for a hypothetical 50,000 barrel-per-day oil shale plant located near Rio Blanco, Colorado. This plant uses conventional open pit mining and surface (Lurgi) processing of the shale. The permitting costs for this plant, including baseline data acquisition and monitoring, exceed $2 million. The second example, a 5,000 barrel-per-day demonstration plant in eastern Montgomery County, Kentucky, is based on open pit mining and surface (Hytort) processing of the shale. Permitting costs for the demonstration plant, including an environmental impact statement, could approach $500,000. Several potential impediments to the development of an oil shale resource are identified and discussed. 33 refs., 11 figs., 10 tabs.