Apply for building regulations approval
You must decide on the type of application for your planned build, extension or alteration work.
Both Full Plans and Building Notice types of application need to be submitted before you start work.
Our Building Control forms are available here.
As the Local Authority, the City of York collects, processes and stores personal information about you in order to administer and assess Building Control applications, and to fulfil certain legal obligations with respect to Building Control. To find out more about how we process your data please refer to our Privacy Notice.
- Full Plans Application
- Building Notice Application
- Regularisation Application
- Notice of Commencement
- How to submit an application
Full Plans Application
The most common type of application we receive for building works is a full plans application. You can expect a decision within 5 weeks, or 2 months with your consent.
In this case, you as the building owner or your agent or architect submit an application with plans showing full details of the work together with any relevant structural calculations.
Once we've checked your plans and are satisfied, they meet the building regulations you'll receive a formal decision known as an approval notice.
This approval notice may be important when seeking loans or moving home.
Building Notice Application
A Building Notice is generally used for minor works to domestic properties such as removal of an internal load-bearing wall, where the person carrying out the work is familiar with current Building Regulations.
Work may start 48 hours after submission of the application. There's no plan checking involved before work begins and therefore, we won't issue an approval notice.
It can't be used when the works will involve building over or within 3 metres of a public sewer.
If you're submitting a Building Notice you must feel confident that the work will comply with the current Building Regulations as when we inspect the work if it doesn't, you risk having to rectify this at your own expense.
For further guidance, please contact us via email building.control@york.gov.uk.
Regularisation Application
You can apply for 'Regularisation' - retrospective approval for work already carried out without consent. Only work carried out after 11 November 1985 can be approved in this way. You may need to make alterations before we can agree the work complies and give you a Regularisation Certificate.
You may have to correct the work or pay a fine if Building Regulations aren't followed.
You can access and download a copy of our Regularisation Application form here.
Notice of Commencement
Use a Notice of Commencement once you know the date that you are going to be starting the work.
This should only be submitted if a Building Notice or a Full Plans application has already been deposited with Building Control.
This form is also included with the paper version of the Full Plans and Building Notice.
Download Full Plans and Building Notice Application form.
How to submit an application
Email Application
You can download our Building Notice application forms here and email to building.control@york.gov.uk along with any supporting drawings and documents for application submission. A size limit to any single email attachment is 10mb - for larger submissions please consider an alternative means such as WeTransfer.
Postal Application
You can download our Building Notice application forms here and post along with any supporting drawings and documents to:
Building ControlPlanning and Development Services
City of York Council
West Offices
Station Rise
York
YO1 6GA