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Building Control Application: A 2026 Guide to Full Plans, Building Notice and Competent Person Schemes

Bhavesh Ramburn

How to apply for building control approval

A building control application is the formal request to a Building Control body (your local authority or an Approved Inspector) for approval of building work under the Building Act 1984. It is a separate process from planning permission, and most physical building work requires a building control application in addition to any planning permission.

Building control applications are managed by individual Building Control bodies. The national entry point is the GOV.UK building regulations approval service, which provides the standard forms and a quick decision tool to confirm whether you need approval. For the underlying regime, see our Building Control in the UK guide.

The two routes: Full Plans and Building Notice

There are two procedural routes for an application under the Building Regulations:

  1. Full Plans application. Submit detailed drawings and specifications to the Building Control body before work starts. The drawings are checked against the Building Regulations and either approved or returned with comments. Once approved, the work is inspected at key stages and a Completion Certificate is issued on satisfactory completion.
  2. Building Notice. A shorter, simpler route for smaller works. You give the Building Control body at least 48 hours’ notice of work starting, the work is inspected as it progresses, and a Completion Certificate is issued on satisfactory completion. Building Notice cannot be used for work to a building that is subject to a Building Regulations prohibition notice, or for work to which the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies.

For most householder extensions and alterations, the Building Notice route is faster and cheaper. For new builds and major work, the Full Plans route is the safer option because it gives certainty on the design before construction begins.

Using an Approved Inspector rather than the local authority often shortens the plans-check timescale (typically 5–10 working days for an Approved Inspector versus 4–6 weeks for a local authority) and can be competitively priced. The regulatory framework is the same regardless of who carries out the inspection; the Building Regulations themselves do not vary between in-house and private inspectors. The Construction Industry Council Approved Inspectors Register (CICAIR) maintains the register of Approved Inspectors.

What to include in your application

The standard content of a building control application includes:

  • A completed application form — the local authority’s standard form, or the Approved Inspector’s equivalent.
  • A location plan — at 1:1250 or 1:2500 scale, showing the site outlined in red against Ordnance Survey mapping.
  • A block plan — at 1:200 or 1:500 scale, showing the existing and proposed buildings, boundaries, and neighbour context.
  • Existing and proposed drawings — floor plans, elevations, and section drawings at 1:50 or 1:100, fully dimensioned.
  • Construction details — typically a small set of typical construction details (foundations, walls, floors, roof, insulation values) sufficient for the Building Control body to assess compliance with the Approved Documents.
  • A design and access statement — required for some categories of work under the Planning Portal building regulations section.
  • The application fee — see the local authority’s published fee schedule or the Approved Inspector’s quotation.

For complex projects, additional information may be required: structural calculations, energy performance calculations (SAP or SBEM), acoustic performance data, contamination reports, and so on. The Building Control body will advise on its specific requirements at the validation stage.

Application fees

Application fees are set locally by each Building Control body. Local authority fees are published on the council’s website; Approved Inspectors set their own fees and typically compete on price and turnaround. As an indicative guide for 2026:

  • Extension (small, single-storey): from around £300 for a plans check + inspection.
  • Extension (large, multi-storey): £600–£1,200.
  • Loft conversion: £400–£800.
  • New build dwelling: £800–£1,500 depending on size and complexity.
  • Garage conversion: £300–£500.

Fees for regularisation applications (where work has already been done without a Building Regulations application) are typically higher — often around 150% of the standard fee.

For an LPA-specific fee example, see our Bradford building control guide.

Statutory determination timelines

The statutory timescales for a building control application are:

  • Full Plans application: 5 weeks (or 2 months with written agreement) for the local authority or Approved Inspector to give a decision on the plans; in practice most Building Control bodies return decisions within 4–6 weeks.
  • Building Notice: no formal plans-check determination; work can start 48 hours after the notice is submitted.

Once work has started, the Building Control body (local authority or Approved Inspector) carries out inspections at key stages of the construction. The inspector will issue a list of required stages when the application is approved.

The Approved Documents are the technical standards against which the application is assessed. They cover the same Part A–S structure as the Building Regulations and are updated periodically.

Competent Person Schemes: the fast-track route

A Competent Person Scheme is a government-approved certification scheme that allows tradespeople registered with the scheme to self-certify that their work complies with the Building Regulations, without the need for a separate local-authority or Approved Inspector application.

Competent Person Schemes exist for the following categories of work in England and Wales:

  • Gas — Gas Safe Register is the only scheme for gas work. (The Gas Safe Register website itself uses anti-bot protection; the official landing is at gassaferegister.co.uk.)
  • Oil — OFTEC.
  • Solid fuel — HETAS.
  • Electrical — NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA.
  • Plumbing — WaterSafe (for water regulations work).
  • Windows — FENSA, CERTASS.
  • Insulation — CIGA, KIWA-BDA.

When a Competent Person carries out the work, the certification is recorded centrally and a Building Regulations Completion Certificate is issued by the relevant scheme operator. The homeowner is spared the cost and time of a separate Building Control application.

For a worked example of a Competent Person Scheme route in action, see our boiler installation certificate guide.

After approval: inspections and the Completion Certificate

Once a Full Plans application is approved (or a Building Notice is acknowledged), the work proceeds and the Building Control body carries out inspections at key stages:

  • Commencement — excavation of foundations, before concrete is poured.
  • Damp-proof course — once DPC is laid but before brickwork continues.
  • Drainage — before drain runs are covered.
  • Oversite — before the floor slab is poured.
  • Pre-plaster — once first-fix services (electrical, plumbing) are in but before plastering.
  • Drain test — air or water test on the completed drainage system.
  • Completion — once the building is finished and ready for occupation.

For most small jobs, the inspector visits 2–3 times; for new builds, 6–8 visits are typical. The Building Control body issues a Completion Certificate when the work is satisfactorily complete. The Completion Certificate is an important document to retain — it is required when you sell the property and is the proof that the work complied with the Building Regulations at the time of construction.

For the planning-permission side of the same project, see our householder planning permission guide. For the parallel Building Regulations Approved Document set, see our Building Control in the UK guide. For the broader LPA landscape, see our Bradford planning portal guide.

Next steps and resources

Editorial note. This article is for guidance only and does not constitute regulated advice. Building Regulations and planning permission are distinct regimes with separate applications and approvals. For project-specific questions, consult a Building Control inspector or a chartered surveyor registered with RICS.