Building Regulations
Building Regulations Approval: Full Plans or a Building Notice?
Almost every building project needs building regulations approval, separately from planning permission. This guide explains the two routes — full plans and a building notice — who you apply to, and the completion certificate you will need when you sell.
Building regulations are not planning permission
Building regulations and planning permission are two separate approvals doing two different jobs. Planning is about whether you may make a change; building regulations are about how it is built — the structure, fire safety, insulation, drainage, ventilation and more. A project can need both, one, or (rarely) neither, and getting planning permission does not discharge the building regulations. Most extensions, loft conversions, structural alterations and conversions need building regulations approval.
The two routes: full plans and building notice
There are two ways to get building regulations approval. A full plans application submits detailed drawings and specifications that are checked for compliance before work starts; the authority must decide within five weeks (or up to two months by written agreement), and if work has not started within three years the authority can treat the deposited plans as no longer effective. A building notice is a lighter route for straightforward domestic work — you give notice and can start two days later, with the work inspected as it proceeds rather than approved in advance. A building notice cannot be used in a block of flats, or for other work subject to fire-safety consultation, and it carries more risk, because nothing is signed off before you build.
Who you apply to
Building control can be carried out either by the local authority’s building control team or by a private-sector registered building control approver (the role previously called an "approved inspector"). Either way, the building regulations drawings set out how the work complies, and the inspector checks the work at key stages on site. The choice of body does not change the standards — only who administers them.
The completion certificate
When the work is finished and has passed its final inspection, building control issues a completion certificate confirming it complies with the regulations. That certificate matters well beyond the build: a buyer’s solicitor will ask for it, and its absence can hold up or complicate a future sale. It is the reason building regulations should be treated as a proper part of the project — with the right route chosen and the drawings prepared to support it — rather than an afterthought on site.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need building regulations approval for my project?
What is the difference between full plans and a building notice?
Can I use a building notice for a flat?
Who carries out building control?
What is a completion certificate and why does it matter?
Is building regulations approval the same as planning permission?
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