Applying for a completion certificate
Source: gov.uk (2025-03-27)

How to apply for a full or partial completion certificate after building work on a higher-risk building has been completed.

When to apply for a completion certificate

You must apply for a completion certificate when building work on a higher-risk building has been completed.

A higher-risk building is a building that has at least:
- 7 storeys or is at least 18 metres high
- 2 residential units or is a hospital or a care home
A higher-risk building with at least 2 residential units must be registered with BSR (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/applying-to-register-a-high-rise-residential-building) before people live there. You will need a completion certificate to register the building.

Full completion certificates

You must apply for a full completion certificate when a:
- project to construct a new higher-risk building is completed
- project to carry out building work to an existing higher-risk building is completed
Partial completion certificates

You can only apply for a partial completion certificate if both of the following apply:
- you submitted a partial completion strategy (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/preparing-information-for-a-building-control-approval-application#partial-completion-strategy) as part of your building approval control application
- you are applying for a partial completion certificate in accordance with the strategy
If you need to change the partial completion strategy, you must submit the change to BSR. Read the guidance about making changes to a higher-risk building project (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/making-changes-to-a-higher-risk-building-project), it tells you more about the change control process.

How to apply for a completion certificate

You should use the online service to manage a building control application (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-a-building-control-application-for-a-higher-risk-building) to apply for a:
- full completion certificate
- partial completion certificate
When you use the online service you’ll need both:
- the building control approval application reference
- access to the email address used for the original building control approval application
To change the email address associated with the application, contact your case officer.

Information you’ll need to provide

Provide a summary of the completed work that will be covered by the completion certificate. Include the date the work was completed.

Upload a copy of the latest version of the following agreed documents when you apply for a completion certificate:
- drawings and plans
- construction control plan
- change control plan
- mandatory occurrence reporting plan
- building regulations compliance statement
- fire and emergency file
- fire compliance statement if you have one for category B work
Also upload copies of:
- your partial completion strategy, if you are applying for a partial completion certificate
- plans showing locations of any new drains and sewers
- information about drainage precautions if you’ve built over, or within 3 metres of the centreline of an existing drain, public or private sewer or disposal main
- compliance declarations signed by each principal designer and principal contractor on the project confirming they have fulfilled their duties under building regulations (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/design-and-building-work-meeting-building-requirements)
- a client confirmation statement signed by the client, confirming that to the best of their knowledge the building works meet the relevant building regulations
- your change control log
You can read more about the documents you need to upload in the guidance about preparing information for a building control approval application (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/preparing-information-for-a-building-control-approval-application).

Provide a statement which confirms the client has handed the building information over to, where applicable:
- the responsible person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
- principal accountable person
The statement must be signed by the client and where applicable, the responsible person or relevant accountable person.

You can read more about the information the client must share in the guidance about keeping information about a higher-risk building: the golden thread (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/keeping-information-about-a-higher-risk-building-the-golden-thread#during-design-and-construction-of-a-higher-risk-building).

Application decisions

To decide whether the completed work meets the relevant building regulations and requirements, BSR will:
- assess the information and documents in your completion certificate application
- compare the original documents in your building control approval application to any updated documents
- review your change log and any changes you submitted to BSR throughout the build
- carry out an inspection of the completed work
Approved

A completion certificate application will be approved if BSR decides:
- the completed building work complies with the applicable building regulations and requirements
- the required documents and information for the application are complete and accurate
- information about the building has been handed over to the responsible person or relevant accountable person
If the application is approved you’ll be issued with a completion certificate.

Rejected

If BSR is not satisfied the application meets the criteria for approval, it will be rejected and you will not be issued with a completion certificate.

Request a review of an application decision

If you disagree with an application decision you can request a review. Details about how to request a review will be included in the decision letter.

If after the review you still disagree with the decision, you can appeal to a First-tier Tribunal.

Charges

The charges for applying for a full or partial completion certificate are set out in the BSR charging scheme (on hse.gov.uk) (https://www.hse.gov.uk/building-safety/charging-scheme.htm).

BSR will not issue a completion certificate if there are overdue charges related to your building control approval application.