Commencement notice: what to file before you start

File your commencement notice 14–28 days before you intend to start building. Resolve any invalidity or missing documents before work begins, and wait until the notified start date.

A final planning grant does not let you skip this step. The notice tells the building control authority what you intend to build, who is responsible and when work will start. Its documents also form part of the record you will need at completion.

Confirm your filing requirements with the authority and your professional adviser. Regulations can change and local practice varies.

What a commencement notice is

A commencement notice tells your local authority’s building control section that you intend to start works on a given date. It is required by the Building Control Regulations 1997 (S.I. 496 of 1997) and has been reshaped by the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 9 of 2014), usually called BCAR, which came into operation on 1 March 2014.

Under the 1997 regulations a fee is payable by the person giving the commencement notice (Article 23). For fee purposes a house in a terrace and a semi-detached house each count as a separate building (Article 25). The fee amounts are in the Fifth Schedule, which the Department has amended since 1997, so confirm the current figure with your local authority rather than relying on an old table. Article 26 provides a three-quarter refund for a subsequent notice from the same person relating to the same works; check eligibility with the authority.

The notice is filed with the building control authority for the area where the house will be built. In practice this is your county or city council, working through the Building Control Management System (BCMS), the national online system hosted by the Local Government Management Agency.

Which works need the full BCAR documents

File the notice online through the Building Control Management System (BCMS). A paper form is also allowed, but it adds scanning and delay. The full statutory certification documents apply 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 also need a fire safety certificate under Part III of the 1997 regulations.

A self-built house is in the first group, but S.I. 365/2015 provides an alternative for a new single dwelling on a single-unit development, or an extension to a dwelling. The owner can submit a Declaration of Intention to Opt Out of Statutory Certification with the commencement notice. This removes specified statutory certification requirements, including the assigned certifier and statutory completion certificate; it does not remove Building Regulations compliance, the notice, plans, schedule, online assessment, builder assignment or fee. Check your lender, insurer and future conveyancing requirements before choosing. A smaller extension may have different notice requirements; ask the authority rather than assuming its size alone settles this.

What goes in with the notice

For a new dwelling using statutory certification, Article 9 requires the notice to be accompanied by:

1. General arrangement drawings: plans, sections and elevations.
2. A schedule of the plans, calculations, specifications and particulars that are designed, or will be prepared later. You do not need every detail drawing on day one, but you must list what will exist.
3. An online assessment on the BCMS of your proposed approach to complying with the technical requirements of the Building Regulations.
4. The preliminary inspection plan prepared by the assigned certifier.
5. A Certificate of Compliance (Design), signed by an eligible design certifier.
6. A Notice of Assignment of the person who will inspect and certify the works (the assigned certifier), and that person’s Certificate of Compliance (Undertaking by Assigned Certifier).
7. A Notice of Assignment of Builder and the builder’s Certificate of Compliance (Undertaking by Builder).
8. The fee set under Part V.

As owner, you must sign the commencement notice itself. Your architect or engineer may do most of the preparation, but you are making the statement. Allow time to read the documents and resolve any questions before signing.

Who has to be in place first

For the statutory certification route, work backwards from the signatures required:

• Designer. The statutory design certificate requires an eligible registered architect, registered building surveyor or chartered engineer, competent for the project. Specialist designers may supply supporting certificates. See architect or engineer for a self-build.
• Assigned certifier. A registered professional appointed by you to inspect and certify the works. See the assigned certifier guide.
• Builder. Someone has to be named as the builder and sign the undertaking, even if you manage the project day to day. See project managing or hiring a main contractor.

Because the builder and certifier give undertakings, they will want to see the plans and the contract terms first. Agree preparation time with them. Build it into your programme alongside the planning conditions you also need to satisfy before work begins.

Timing: when to file and when you can start

The notice goes in before construction starts. The authority records the date it receives the notice and then checks it. For a notice filed electronically it may respond within 7 days to say the notice is invalid, or to say that a revised notice, further information or more fee is needed. For a paper notice the equivalent period is 12 days. For paper filing, the authority arranges scanning and uploading. Statutory deadlines can be delayed by up to seven days, and the authority may charge its direct scanning costs.

Work through the steps in this order. Allow several weeks to prepare and sign the documents:

Step	What you need to do
Final planning grant	Appoint your designer, certifier and builder for the statutory route.
Signed documents	Allow your designer, certifier and builder time to prepare and sign their documents; sign the notice yourself.
File the notice	You or your agent submit it through the online system 14–28 days before the intended start. The electronic invalidity-response period is 7 days.
Reach the start date	You and your builder check that the notice is valid and all other pre-start requirements are met before beginning.

Article 8 of the 1997 regulations sets the notice window: not less than 14 days and not more than 28 days before commencement. Validation time is separate. For example, if you intend to start in three weeks, file within that window with complete documents; if the start moves outside it, ask the authority whether a replacement notice is needed. Acceptance does not authorise an earlier start or waive planning conditions.

The 7 day notice

BCAR also covers the “7 day notice” (Article 20A), an alternative to the commencement notice that is filed together with a fire safety certificate application. The documents required for a new dwelling are largely the same. For most self-build houses the standard commencement notice is the route to use, but your certifier will tell you if the 7 day notice route applies to you.

After you file: changes you must report

If you change your assigned certifier or builder after submitting the notice, notify the authority within 14 days. Submit the appropriate notices of assignment and forms of undertaking. The same 14 days applies if ownership of the works changes before completion: the new owner must tell the authority that they now own the building.

Keep the register up to date throughout the build. When you finish, the completion certificate has to match the people on the register. If your certifier left halfway and you never told the council, the register will show someone who did not inspect the completed house, and your completion certificate may be rejected. See certificate of compliance on completion.

Failing to comply with these requirements is an offence. The fines in the original Act have been revised since, so ask your solicitor for the current amounts. Incomplete records can also cause problems with certification, lending or a later sale; the documents needed depend on your certification route and the parties involved.

Why lenders and insurers care

Ask your lender for its written commencement and completion-document requirements for your chosen certification route. See stage payments explained. Agree your intended start date and documentation with insurers and any structural warranty provider before work begins: acceptance and cover dates depend on their terms. See self-build insurance.

Common mistakes

• Treating planning as the only permission. Planning grants the right to build. Building control controls how it is built and certified. They are separate.
• Starting before the notice is valid. The authority has a window to reject it. Respect the 14–28-day filing window and resolve invalidity before starting.
• Naming a certifier or builder who is not committed. If they have not read the contract and drawings, they may not sign, or may withdraw. Get commitments in writing.
• Forgetting the 14-day rule when the builder or certifier changes, or when you transfer the site.
• Leaving design documents unlisted. The schedule of documents is part of what the certifier and the council rely on. A sparse schedule is a problem at completion.
• Filing on paper to save time. It adds scanning, possible charges and up to seven days.

A checklist before you file

• Planning permission is final and conditions that must be met before commencement are dealt with.
• Certification route agreed, with any opt-out declaration prepared and lender/insurer requirements checked.
• On the statutory route, designer has signed the Certificate of Compliance (Design).
• On the statutory route, assigned certifier is appointed in writing and has prepared the preliminary inspection plan.
• Builder is named; on the statutory route, the builder undertaking is signed.
• You have the fee and know whether your authority also charges for scanning.
• The schedule of documents lists everything that exists and everything still to come.
• You have a diary note for the 14-day change rule.
• Your lender, insurer and warranty provider have been told your intended start date.

What to ask your authority, certifier and builder

• Building control section: which online login should I use, what fee applies and how long are notices taking to validate?
• Certifier: when will the preliminary inspection plan be ready, and which stages will you inspect?
• Builder: will you sign the undertaking for these drawings and this specification? Do you have the insurance my lender requires?

Keep the answers with your project records. For how the filing fits the rest of the build, see the stages of a self-build.