Apply for a building warrant

A building warrant is legal approval that allows you to carry out building work that must comply with building regulations. Building regulations set standards for areas such as safety, energy efficiency and accessibility.

You may need a building warrant before you:

• build a new property
• extend or alter an existing building
• convert a building for a different use
• carry out certain structural work (work that affects the building's stability or strength).

Not all work needs a building warrant. Some types of work are exempt from the requirement. Check the Scottish Government’s building standards policy (Scottish Government website) to find out whether your project needs a building warrant.

You can apply for a building warrant yourself, or you can ask an agent to apply on your behalf. This could be:

• an architect
• an architectural technologist
• a civil engineer
• a structural engineer
• another construction professional acting for you.

We recommend using a qualified professional to prepare and submit your application.

You'll need to pay a fee when you apply for a building warrant. The fee depends on the value of the work you plan to carry out.

Building warrant fees are set by the Building (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (legislation.gov.uk).

You must use normal market rates when calculating the value of the work. We may check that you've paid the correct fee. 

You may qualify for reduced fees if you:

• submit a certificate from an approved certifier of design (a professional approved to confirm that certain parts of a design meet building regulations)
• state that you'll use a certifier of construction (a professional approved to confirm that construction work meets building regulations) to support your completion certificate.

You will not pay a fee if you're altering or extending an existing home to meet the needs of a disabled person. This exemption only applies to qualifying work on an existing home.

Check whether you need a building warrant

Not all work needs a building warrant. Some types of work are exempt from the requirement. Check the Scottish Government’s building standards policy (Scottish Government website) to find out whether your project needs a building warrant.

Any work that does not require a warrant must still comply with building regulations where these apply.

Contact us if you have any questions:

Prepare your plans and documents

You'll need to submit plans and supporting information with your application.

For domestic properties, provide 2 sets of plans.

For non-domestic properties, provide 3 sets of plans.

The information you provide should follow the requirements set out in the Scottish Government’s building standards policy (Scottish Government website).

Apply for a building warrant through the eDevelopment Scotland website.

Apply for a building warrant (eDevelopment Scotland website)

When you apply, you'll need to:

• complete the online application form
• upload your plans and supporting documents
• pay the correct application fee.

Once we've received a valid application, we'll:

• register your application
• give you a reference number
• assign a building standards surveyor to your case.

If your application meets building regulations, we'll approve it.

If we need more information, we'll send you a report explaining what changes or additional information you need to provide. You'll need to update your plans and resubmit them before we can approve your application.

If your application is invalid, we'll write to you to explain why and tell you what you need to do to submit a valid application. 

We aim to respond to most building warrant applications within 20 working days. We'll deal with all applications within 35 working days.

In the unlikely event that we do not respond to your application within 35 working days, please contact us:

You also have the right to email the Scottish Government’s building standards division at buildingstandards@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.

If your building warrant is approved

We'll send you an approval pack containing:

• your building warrant
• approved plans
• a commencement of works form
• a completion certificate submission form
• a construction compliance notification plan (CCNP) (a document that explains which stages of construction we need to inspect). 

You must tell us when construction reaches the inspection stages listed in the CCNP. Please give us at least 3 days' notice so we can arrange an inspection.

When the work is complete, a relevant person must submit a completion certificate. By signing the completion certificate, they confirm that the completed work complies with building regulations.

A relevant person is:

• the owner, tenant or developer carrying out the work themselves
• the owner, tenant or developer who has hired someone to carry out the work
• the owner, if another responsible party has not submitted the completion certificate when required.

Building warrants remain valid for 3 years from the date we grant them. If you cannot complete the work within that period, you can apply for an extension. We'll consider extension requests on a case-by-case basis.