Get your completion certificate registered before moving in

Get your certificate of compliance on completion entered on the building control register before you move in, if your self-build uses statutory certification. Agree the submission date and document checklist with your assigned certifier well before the house is finished.

The certificate is a statutory statement, signed by the builder and assigned certifier, that the house was built to the Building Regulations. It is separate from your snagging list and does not guarantee that the house has no defects. Your lender, warranty provider and solicitor may require their own completion evidence. Check their requirements alongside those of your building control authority.

Check whether your project needs it

Article 20F of the Building Control Regulations (part of the Building Control Amendment Regulations, BCAR, the standard “statutory certification” route where you appoint an assigned certifier) requires you to submit the certificate to the building control authority and have its relevant particulars entered on the register before the works or building may be opened, occupied or used. The Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 9/2014) introduced this rule from 1 March 2014. It applies to:

• the design and construction of a new dwelling,
• an extension to a dwelling with a total floor area greater than 40 square metres, and
• works that need a fire safety certificate under Part III.

Single-dwelling exception: S.I. 365/2015 inserted Article 20F(10). Where a valid Declaration of Intention to Opt Out of Statutory Certification is on the public register for a new single dwelling on a single-unit development, or a domestic extension, Article 20F does not apply. The declaration is submitted at commencement; it is not a way to skip missing completion paperwork at the end. Building Regulations still apply. Agree alternative compliance evidence with your professional adviser, lender, insurer and solicitor.

On the statutory route, your commencement notice includes design documents and undertakings from the certifier and builder. At completion, those two people supply and sign the completion certificate. Submit it through the Building Control Management System (BCMS) and wait for registration before occupation. Ask your council who it expects to upload the documents; agree that responsibility with your certifier.

What goes in the package

The certificate must be in the standard form set out in the regulations and accompanied by:

1. A table of plans, calculations, specifications and particulars showing how the completed building meets the Building Regulations technical requirements. The Annex to the certificate lists them, and shows in particular how the completed building differs from the design submitted at commencement.
2. The inspection plan as implemented by the assigned certifier, following the Code of Practice for Inspecting and Certifying Buildings and Works or a suitable equivalent.

The certificate is signed by the builder and the assigned certifier. That is why a change of either must be recorded on the register within 14 days: the people who sign must be the people on the register. See assigned certifier explained.

Ask which of these records your certifier needs for submission, and keep them in your own house file:

• final drawings marked up as built, with any changes from planning or commencement,
• the implemented inspection plan, inspection reports and photographs,
• engineering certificates, for example for structural steel, foundations or the wastewater system (see wastewater treatment systems),
• airtightness and ventilation commissioning records, where relevant,
• electrical and gas completion certificates from the registered contractors,
• the final Building Energy Rating (BER) certificate, where required; a provisional design rating is not the completed-home assessment.

The further records needed depend on the work and the certifier’s requirements. Ask your certifier for their checklist well before completion.

Allow time for validation and queries

When the authority receives the certificate it records the date and then considers whether it is valid. Article 20F(4) gives it 21 days from receipt to decide, looking at:

• whether the certificate and its supporting documents are complete, and
• whether all enforcement notices, information requests and statutory processes relevant to the building, including any fire safety certificate or disability access certificate applications, have been concluded.

If it thinks the certificate may not be valid, it may within the same 21 days write to the person who submitted it, giving reasons, either rejecting it or requiring a revised certificate or additional documents (paragraph 5). Where more documents are required, once everything has arrived the authority may take a further 7 days to consider validity (paragraph 6(ii)).

If it is valid, the authority must enter the particulars on the register within 21 days of receipt and tell the person who submitted it.

Plan a nominated registration date

If you need registration by a particular day, the regulations allow you to nominate a date. This might be your target move-in date or a date agreed with your lender. There are two submission deadlines:

1. Your certifier submits the as-built documents and implemented inspection plan between 5 and 3 weeks before the nominated date. The authority starts considering the prospective certificate then.
2. Supply a valid certificate no later than the day before the nominated date. The advance documents alone are not enough.

For an illustrative timetable, assume you plan to move in on Friday 5 March and nominate that date:

When	What to arrange
29 January to 12 February	Your certifier submits the as-built documents and implemented inspection plan, 5 to 3 weeks before the nominated date
By 4 March	The valid certificate must reach the authority
5 March	The authority is ready to enter the particulars on the register, provided the nominated-date requirements are met

If instead you lodge everything on 1 March, you rely on the standard 21-day period, so the register may not show it until 22 March. For a project subject to Article 20F, wait for registration before occupation. Confirm cover and drawdown conditions separately.

These dates are an example, not a promise of registration on a particular day.

Partial completion and phases

Paragraph (9) says a certificate may refer to works, to buildings including areas within a building, or to developments including phases. If proposing phased occupation, agree the scope and compliance evidence with your certifier and building control authority; do not assume an unfinished house can be occupied merely by naming a phase. The areas must be clearly identified on the certificate and, after validation, on the register.

What happens if you occupy without it

Failure to comply with Part IIIC, which contains the completion-certificate rules, is an offence under Article 6A and section 17(2) of the Building Control Act 1990. Article 6A also covers Parts II, III, IIIA and IIIB. The original Act printed fines in sterling; those amounts have been revised. Ask your solicitor about current penalties rather than relying on the original figures.

Also check the consequences for the money, cover and documents you need:

• Mortgage: ask your lender which completion and registration evidence it requires for the final drawdown. Payment certification and statutory registration are separate checks. See staged drawdown explained.
• Insurance and warranty: a structural defects provider may need it. See structural defects cover and insurance lender requirements.
• Sale: ask your solicitor what evidence of building-control compliance a purchaser will need, including where a valid opt-out was used.
• Insurance on the finished house: agree the site-policy end date and home-policy start date in writing. Moving in does not automatically activate home insurance. See self-build insurance.

What to do in the last three months

1. Tell your certifier your target date now and ask for the list of documents they will need.
2. Ask the builder for all commissioning certificates, guarantees and as-built drawings in a single hand-over file.
3. Check the register entry for your project: are the certifier and builder named there the ones who will sign? If not, you may be late on a change notice.
4. Close out any open conditions, enforcement queries or fire safety and disability access certificates before you submit.
5. Choose a nominated date and submit the as-built documents and implemented inspection plan 3 to 5 weeks before it.
6. When the certificate is entered on the register, get written confirmation from the authority and give a copy to your lender, insurer and solicitor.
7. Snag in parallel. See snagging a new build.

Common mistakes

• Treating it as paperwork for after move-in. Where Article 20F applies, registration is required first.
• Leaving differences from the design unrecorded. The annex is where they go; a vague annex invites questions.
• Not telling the authority about a change of certifier or builder. The signatures will not match the register.
• Submitting on the day you want to move in. The authority has 21 days.
• Ignoring open enforcement or certificate queries. The authority checks that these are concluded.
• Not keeping a copy. Keep the certificate, annex and the register confirmation with your title documents.

Agree who will finish the paperwork

Ask your certifier:

• What do you need from the builder before you can sign?
• How far ahead of my target date will you submit?
• Who will answer council queries and supply missing documents?

Ask your builder:

• Will you supply commissioning certificates and as-built details before the final payment?
• Does our contract make final payment conditional on the certificate being registered?

Check the actual payment terms rather than assuming registration and payment happen together. If your contract does not link them, see choosing a builder and contracts.