Certificate of Acceptance

What is a certificate of acceptance?

A certificate of acceptance may be issued by the Council for work that requires a building consent, but has been carried out without that consent having first been obtained.

It allows for certification of work that has, for example, been carried out urgently because of safety issues and where there has not been time to apply for and obtain a consent because of the emergency.

Pre-Application interview

Because the Council has a discretion under the Building Act on whether or not to issue a certificate of acceptance, a pre-application interview must be arranged with a General Inspector. Before submitting an application, please phone the Council on 03 311 8900 to make an appointment.

Applying for a certificate of acceptance

If you apply for a certificate of acceptance you will need to provide evidence (usually from a professional such as an engineer) of how the work complies with the Building Code, including those parts of the work that we cannot inspect. Your application can be for all or part of the building.

The standard Application for Certificate of Acceptance form must be filled in, and lodged with the application fee.

Other forms to fill in may be advised by your interviewing officer, depending on the nature of the work.

Note: only building work undertaken after 1 July 1992 will be considered for a Certificate of Acceptance.

Acceptance of application

If the Council is prepared to accept the application, it will be necessary to lodge detailed plans and specifications of the work just as you would for a building consent application.

Additional information relating to certificate of acceptance

For more information, please refer to publications on the MBIE website.