Apply for a building warrant

Please Note
The way in which you receive your Building Warrant Decision will be changing.  All Building Warrant decisions since 2020 have been electronically stamped and returned using a file sharing site called We Transfer. We are going to stop using We Transfer.
We will soon be returning your Building Warrant decision and associated documents to you via our new file sharing solution -  Objective Connect.  Objective Connect is a simple way to send and share large files. Objective Connect - Secure External File Collaboration | Objective Corporation
Once registered, within the My Workspace section, you will be able to view and download all Building Warrant decisions & packages that have been posted.
I hope this clarifies our current situation but if you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact us.

A building warrant is the legal permission required to carry out building works. The building standards service is responsible for granting building warrants which ensure that your application complies with Building Regulations - which you can read on the The Scottish Government website. If a building warrant is not obtained this could lead to difficulty should you wish to sell your house.

The Scottish Government has produced a document which outlines the customer journey, roles and responsibilities of homeowners in relation to the building standards process.

Download Customer Journey (PDF)

Scottish Government have also produced useful document for all applicants and agents submitting a building warrant application. It provides procedural and technical checklists and promotes using competent professionals to help produce a quality application as they have the knowledge and understanding of the system, process and regulations. A link to the document is provided below.

Making a Quality Building Warrant Application - What you need to know - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

How to apply

Building Standards - Building Warrant Enquiry Form

You can apply for a building warrant and submit related forms online:

eBuilding Standards.Scot   (Green Button)

Please read the following notes about applying online. Check planned downtime via eBuildingStandards Twitter

A building warrant remains valid for 3 years from the date it was granted and construction work cannot begin before the building warrant has been approved.

Please note: A building warrant does not exempt you from obtaining other types of consent, such as planning permission.

Please contact us if you have any questions.

You may also be interested in:

• Pay for a building warrant
• Building Warrant Process
• Application fast tracking
• Building warrant fees
• Requirements guide
• Building warrant forms and guidance
• Making a Quality Building Warrant Application - What you need to know

It is an offence to start work without a building warrant, where a building warrant is required. Starting work could result in statutory enforcement action being taken and result in a fine of up to £5,000.

Notes about applying online

The way you apply for a building warrant online changed from 24 August 2016 with the national e-Development Portal now including eBuilding Standards.

If you already submit planning applications using this service, you can also submit building warrant applications using the same login.

Please ensure that plans and other supporting evidence files are submitted and uploaded in the correct orientation as individual.  PDF's and are clearly titled.  This makes the document more efficient for the officer to assess, compare plans, manage version control of the files and to batch stamp the final approved plans. The file should be saved with the orientation it should be viewed in, landscape or portrait. eg drawings to be viewed as landscape are supplied as landscape etc.

Where photographic evidence has been agreed with Building Standards images should be batched in the correct orientation and saved in pdf format. Resolution should be kept to the minimum necessary to provide a clear image with a description of what the image depicts. All photos should be uploaded via the eBuildingStandards portal. It should be noted that the Maximum file size that can be uploaded via the eBS portal is 10Mb with a 100Mb combined attachment limit.

2.           Submit through Portal

                Please Note: Follow up documentation/forms/applications should no longer be submitted by e-mail directly to Building Standards.

                If you would like to submit revised plans or any other follow up forms/applications/information in relation to existing applications, please do so online via the eBuilding Standards Portal.

                https://www.ebuildingstandards.scot/eBuildingStandardsClient/default.aspx