Engage a professional to help you with the technical requirements. Your building consent can be processed faster (saving you money) when it is a good quality application that contains all necessary information and documentation.
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.
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:
Describe the project accurately and include all work involved in the project.
This should include:
Learn to write an accurate description with our Guide to writing a building consent description of work.
Estimate the value of your project.
Your project's value:
Learn to accurately estimate your project value with our Guide to estimating building consent value of work.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
Provide construction specifications in all cases.
Where relevant, provide product certification and manufacturers' specifications.
Where relevant, you need to provide evidence of approval from the asset owner (such as Watercare or Auckland Transport) for:
Approval may include documents and/or video evidence.
Where a building consent application proposes adding or changing any specified systems Systems in buildings that are vital to the safe use of the building, e.g. fire safety systems, lifts and ventilation systems., performance standards The level of performance a specified system was intended to meet, and should continue to meet, at the time it was designed and installed in a building. 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.
If your building project involves modular components, such as floor cassettes or bathroom modules, you will need to know the manufacturer details for each different modular component, including the head office address of the company that made it.
If the components come from a company franchise, supply the details of the outlet you are dealing with, including the shortened version of the company name if one is used.
If the components were not manufactured at the head office, you will need to know where they were made. This is so we can send our building inspectors to the correct address.
These details are needed whether the company is based in New Zealand or overseas.
For the online building consent application form, you will need to provide:
These requirements are only needed for applications involving modular building components.
If you apply for an amendment to an existing building consent, the description of building work must accurately summarise changes, and any plans need to be clouded to show changes.
If the design includes a waiver or modification of the building code, reference the section of the applicable building code and why this modification has been requested.
You will need an engineering approval if your project involves installing an infrastructure asset like:
You may also need to consider how you will manage stormwater with your project.
Depending on how you choose to apply, you should complete the online lodgement checklist as part of your building consent application.
You can download a copy of the Lodgement checklist to make sure you have provided all relevant information.
Incomplete applications will lead to delays.
For those having trouble completing an online building consent application, consult our downloadable customer guide.
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