Building Standards - Certification

Overview

The Building (Scotland) Act 2003 allows the design or construction of building work to be certified as meeting the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004. This is based on the principle that suitably qualified and experienced professionals and tradespeople can take responsibility for confirming that specified work complies with the regulations.

Certification is optional, and only applies to work that goes through the Building Warrant process. An Approved Certifier's certificate confirms that specified aspects of a design, or of completed construction, comply with the regulations. Because this confirms compliance, it reduces the number of checks the Verifier needs to carry out.

Certificate of Design

An applicant for a Building Warrant, or for an Amendment to a Warrant, can choose to include Certificates from Approved Certifiers of Design as part of their application.

Using a Certificate of Design gives:

• A discount on the Warrant fee, except for an Amendment to Warrant where the estimated value of work does not exceed £5,000.
• A shorter processing time for the Building Warrant.

Certificate of Construction

On completion of a project, the relevant person, usually the building owner or developer, can include Certificates from Approved Certifiers of Construction as part of their Completion Certificate Submission.

Using a Certificate of Construction gives:

• A discount on the Warrant fee.
• A shorter time for the Completion Certificate to be accepted.

Completion certificates

A completion certificate confirms that a building has been constructed, demolished, or converted in accordance with the building warrant, and that it complies with the building regulations. 

It is the responsibility of the relevant person, usually the owner or developer, to carry out the work correctly, or to make sure it is carried out correctly, since a Verifier cannot check every stage of construction. Building work must be completed in line with the relevant warrant and comply with the building regulations before a completion certificate can be issued. 

Once the Council, acting as Verifier, accepts a completion certificate, it registers the certificate in the building standards register. This register is a statutory requirement, and local authorities must make it accessible to the public.

Checking your application online

You can check the status of a Building Warrant application using the Online Building Warrant Application Search.