Make a building control application

Changes to Building Control regulations

In October 2023, the government introduced changes to Building Control laws. These changes place new duties of competence on all parties involved, and also affect higher-risk buildings. You can read more about the changes.

Staff shortages

We are experiencing a significant reduction in staff numbers which will impact on the delivery of our service. As such, there will be delays in processing your building control applications and responding to your enquiries. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

There are three types of building control application, and you need to decide which application is best for the work you are carrying out.

You can find out more about the different types below, including how to apply for them, and also find out about charges and what happens next.

When making an application, you can submit the application yourself or employ someone (such as a builder or architect) to help you.

You can also use someone registered with a competent person scheme to carry out your work, although this is not a service we offer.

If you want to work on a higher-risk building, you need to apply to the Building Safety Regulator, and not to us or a private inspector.

If you submit an Application for Building Control Approval with Full Plans, you will need to provide plans and documents before you start work, showing all construction details.

We will assess your plans and consult with other authorities if necessary (such as fire or sewage). We will let you know if we need more information or if you need to change your proposals.

We will issue a decision notice within five weeks, assuming you have submitted a valid application and paid the correct charge. We may extended this to two months, with your consent.

The decision notice will tell you if:

we approve your plans and you can start work
you need to modify your plans before you can start work
you need to provide more details
we are issuing a conditional approval
we reject your plans

If we approve your plans, your approval notice will be valid for three years from the date we accepted your application.

What you need to apply

For this type of application, you need to submit:

a completed application form
copies of architectural drawings and construction specification
a signed and dated statement of consent (if you are not submitting your own application)
full contact details of the principal designer and the principal contractor (if known)

You will also need to pay the appropriate charge before we can process your application. We will send you a link after you submit the form so you can make an online payment.

Make an Application for Building Control Approval with Full Plans

If you are unable to apply online, you need to contact the Building Control Team, stating why and requesting paper copies of the application forms. This option is not available to professional agents.

If you submit a building notice, we do not need to see detailed construction plans, so the process is quicker than submitting full plans. A building notice helps you to start work quickly, but is most appropriate for small work.

A Building Notice will not be appropriate if:

all proposed works are for a non-domestic property
the proposed works are for a flat that is in a block and has common corridor and/or a common stair
the works involve a proposed extension to a domestic property that is over or within 3m of a public sewer (you will need to contact Anglian Water Services to check the map of public sewers)

You need to be confident that your work will comply with the building regulations if you submit a building notice.

What you need to apply

For a building notice, you need to submit:

a completed application form
a plan of the site if you are building a new house or extension
such a plan must show the size and position of the proposed work

You will also need to pay the appropriate Building notice charge before we can process your application. We will send you a link after you submit the form so you can make an online payment.

Apply for Building notice

When to start work

You cannot start work until we have registered and validated your building notice, and you have paid all building control charges.

Once you have received an acknowledgement letter from us that we have validated your application, you can then provide 48 hours notice of start of works. Validation of applications will be delayed if you do not provide the correct information with the Building Notice.

Your building notice will be valid for three years from the date we received it.

Regularisation is for work that started on or after 11 November 1985 that was not covered by a building regulations submission when it was done.

If the work does not comply with the building regulations, you will need to carry out remedial work.

Once the work complies, we can issue a certificate of regularisation.

A certificate of regularisation does not give you retrospective planning permission, and you may need to apply for this as well.

Who can apply

You can apply for regularisation if:

you are the owner of the property
the building work started on or after 11 November 1985
it was not covered by a building regulations submission at the time

We will only issue a certificate of regularisation once the building work complies with building regulations.

What you need to apply

For regularisation of unauthorised works, you need to submit:

a completed application form
plans and details of the unauthorised work

You will also need to pay the appropriate regularisation charge before we can process your application. We will send you a link after you submit the form so you can make an online payment.

As part of the application process, you will have to allow a site inspection and you also may have to:

submit professionally prepared plans
expose internal structures or create trial holes
carry out remedial work

Apply for regularisation

You need to pay the correct building control charge for your application, or it will not be valid.

The application process will be delayed if you do not pay the correct amount, meaning it will take much longer for you to receive approval.

You do not need to send your payment with your application, or even be sure of how much it will be. After you have submitted your application, we will calculate your charge, based on the information you have given us.

We will then send you a link via email to our payments system. You will only be able to pay the correct figure we have calculated, using credit or debit card.

You can download our Scheme for the Recovery of Building Regulation Charges and Associated Matters.

You can also read our guidance notes about supplementary charges and refunds.

Once we receive your application, we will:

validate your application to check you have submitted all of the required documents and drawings, and you have paid the correct fee (we will contact you if there are any problems)
assign you a building control officer
send you an Inspection Service Plan (unless you have applied for regularisation), which tells you when you need to make site inspection appointments during your project
carry out ongoing site inspections (unless you have applied for regularisation) at pre-defined stages throughout the work, according to your Inspection Service Plan
carry out a completion inspection (unless you have applied for regularisation) when the work is complete
issue a completion certificate, if all building work complies with the building regulations, which you will need if you plan to sell your property in the future

Starting work

You cannot start work until we have registered and validated your application and you have paid all building control charges.

Once you have received an acknowledgement letter from us that we have validated your application, you can then provide 48 hours notice of start of works. Validation of applications will be delayed if you do not provide the correct information.

If you have submitted full plans, you do not need to wait for us to issue a decision notice. However, you will be starting at your own risk, so you may want to wait until we have approved the plans. This takes between six and eight weeks.

Utility infrastructure

Before you start any construction, you may encounter gas supply services, electricity cables, water supply pipes, telephone and broadband cables that are not covered by the Building Regulations.

It is your responsibility to comply with the requirements set out by your utility supplier.

The Building Control Officer, when visiting the site, will not have detailed knowledge of what each of these suppliers require for different circumstances.

Validity

If you have submitted a building notice, it is valid for three years from the date we received it.

If you have submitted full plans and we have approved them, the approval notice is valid for three years after we have issued it.