Guides for preparing a building consent application
We supply help and guidance on
specific building projects.
Also check the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) webpage
Apply for building consent for details on all aspects of the consent application.
If you are applying for a building consent online, follow the Guidelines for building consent online applications.
What you need to include in your application
Building consent applications require a lot of supporting information about the products, methods and materials you will use in construction.
When you provide all the necessary information, you avoid a
request for further information (RFI), and your application is processed quickly and efficiently.
To create a good quality application you, your builder, or your architect needs to provide the following information:
What the project is about
Describe the project accurately and include all work involved in the project.
This should include:
- the building name (where available)
- the type of building work (e.g. removal, demolition, alteration, relocation or new building)
- its intended use (e.g. a retaining wall or swimming pool)
- the extent of the building work and what is being consented
- any site-specific information (e.g. list building consent amendments national multi-use approvals (NMUA), or re-clad building consents).
Evidence of ownership
You need to provide evidence that you own the property or have rights over it.
If you are an agent applying on behalf of the owner, your application needs to have an additional letter of authorisation from the owner saying that you are their agent.
Drawings
All drawings must be in black and white, with a minimum text size of CAD 10 or 2.5mm, with all dimensions provided and details cross-referenced.
Drawings need to be drawn to a professional standard with an appropriate scale and clarity (no freehand sketches are accepted).
If supported by a producer statement, the plans and drawings must also be signed by the design specialist.
Drawings must show:
- the drawing number and title
- the designer's name
- the address of the property
- the date.
You can change the drawings before the building consent in granted. Submit the new plans as soon as possible with a covering letter outlining what the revisions are.
Height Standard NZVD2016
We adopted a new height standard called Vertical Datum 2016 (NZVD2016) on 1 July 2024. For more information, visit
Height standard changed to NZVD2016.
If you are planning to submit an application using the old AUK1946 standard after 1 July 2024, contact us on 09 301 0101 and ask to speak to the building helpdesk.
Restricted Building Work
If the building work includes
Restricted Building Work (RBW), the designer and/or engineer each need to complete and sign a Memorandum/Certificate of Design Work (CoW) for the work they are designing.
Licensed Building Practitioners (LBPs) are the only people allowed to supervise or carry out Restricted Building Work. You need to provide us with a list of LBPs in your application form before work begins onsite.
If you don't yet know who the LBPs will be, you can register their details later using our
Notification of Licenced Building Practitioner online form.
Producer statements
Design engineers who provide producer statements (except for PS3) must be registered with us as a producer statement author.
Producer statements - design (PS1) must also be accompanied by design calculations, specifications and construction details.
All authors of producer statement (PS3 and PS4) need to be listed in the
AC2326 Agreement to provide a producer statement during construction (PDF 228KB). If you do not know yet who they will be, list the producer statements that will be required.
The producer statement authors need to supply the producer statements (certificates, etc) after the work has been completed on site.
Producer statements must be dated no older than 90 days.
Construction specifications
Provide construction specifications in all cases.
Where relevant, provide product certification and manufacturers' specifications.
Evidence of approval
Where relevant, you need to provide evidence of approval from the asset owner (such as Watercare or Auckland Transport) for:
- water meters
- vehicle crossings
- work near or under high voltage power lines
- work near or over stormwater and sewer mains.
Approval may include documents and/or video evidence.
Specified systems
Where a building consent application proposes adding or changing any
specified systems,
performance standards for that system must also be included.
Specified systems must be inspected and maintained to meet this standard. If you are unsure about the performance standard, or one is not available, talk with the system’s installer or designer.
This information – along with the proposed inspection, maintenance and reporting procedures – needs to be supplied with your application so they can be listed with the building consent when it is issued and will appear on either the new or amended
compliance schedule for your building.
If this information is not available within the plans and specifications of the application, a
request for further information may be sent to the applicant.
We have prepared information on performance standards that may be useful.
