But the first step is not to assume:
“This work is illegal, so I definitely need a Certificate of Acceptance.”
You first need to establish what is actually known.
The work may be old. A consent may exist under a different reference. The work may have been exempt under the rules in force when it was carried out. Or it may be building work that required consent but never received one.
A Certificate of Acceptance, usually called a CoA, is a specific statutory process that can apply in certain after-the-fact situations.
It is not retrospective building consent.
A practical homeowner sequence is:
Record the existing work → estimate when it was carried out → check property and consent records → talk to the council → confirm whether CoA is the relevant council pathway → prepare the current Form 8 if appropriate → assemble the evidence the council requests → track inspections and further-information requests → record the council's actual decision → retain Form 9 and supporting records if a certificate is issued
SeekSaver does not determine whether your work qualifies for a CoA or complies with the Building Code.
Jump to the Certificate of Acceptance Evidence & Council Record
What a Certificate of Acceptance is
A CoA is a certificate that can be issued by a territorial authority in the circumstances specified by section 96 of the Building Act.
For the situation most homeowners are likely to encounter, section 96 allows an application where:
- building work has already been carried out by the owner or a previous owner; and
- that work required building consent but no consent was obtained.
Section 96 also covers:
- urgent building work under section 42; and
- a narrow situation where a BCA that is not a territorial or regional authority is unable or refuses to issue CCC for work it had consented.
These are defined statutory circumstances.
A CoA is not a general council certificate that can be requested for any old renovation.
A CoA is not retrospective building consent
This distinction matters.
Section 96 says the CoA provisions do not remove the underlying rule that building work requiring consent should have been carried out under a building consent.
So do not describe the process as:
“Getting retrospective building consent.”
That wording suggests the original failure to obtain consent is being rewritten as though consent had existed before the work was done.
It is not.
A more accurate description is:
A CoA is a separate after-the-fact statutory certificate for the circumstances allowed by section 96.
There is an important later distinction: once a CoA has actually been issued for that work, current section 96 says another building-consent application is not then required for the same work.
That still does not erase the original failure to obtain consent where consent had been required.
First establish what you actually know about the work
Before filling in a form, build a basic factual record.
Write down:
- what work appears to have been carried out;
- where it is located;
- approximately when it was done;
- who carried it out, if known;
- whether you have drawings, invoices, photographs or certificates;
- what council/property records you have already checked;
- whether a building-consent number has been found.
Do not fill gaps with guesses.
For example:
“Rear bathroom extension appears to have been built between 2008 and 2012; no building-consent reference located in the documents currently held.”
is safer than:
“Previous owner illegally added the bathroom in 2010.”
The first records facts and uncertainty.
The second makes legal and factual conclusions you may not yet be able to prove.
Two different time questions matter
This is one of the easiest parts of the CoA process to misunderstand.
Question 1 — Did the work require consent when it was carried out?
This is a historical-law question.
Whether work required consent needs to be checked against the legislation and exemptions that applied when the work was undertaken.
A current exemption should not simply be assumed to apply retrospectively.
SeekSaver does not determine that historical position.
If it is uncertain:
- identify the likely date or date range;
- retain evidence supporting that estimate;
- check the available property/council records;
- ask the council or an appropriately qualified adviser what historical rules need to be considered.
Question 2 — What Building Code does the council assess for CoA?
This is a different question.
Current MBIE building-official guidance says the CoA assessment is against the Building Code in force when the CoA application is made.
Do not collapse:
historical consent requirement
and
current CoA Building Code assessment
into one legal test.
Check whether a building consent already exists
Do not assume:
“I cannot find the consent”
means:
“There never was one.”
Check the available property/building records and raise the question with the territorial authority.
MBIE advises territorial authorities to check whether a building consent already exists because an owner may not know that one was granted.
This matters because a CoA is not normally available where a building consent already covers the work.
The narrow statutory exception is the section 91 situation involving a BCA that is not a territorial or regional authority.
If an ordinary building consent exists and the issue is alignment between the approved documents and the built work, use SeekSaver's Building Consent Changes NZ resource instead.
If the consented work is complete and the issue is final sign-off, use Code Compliance Certificate NZ.
Work before 1 July 1992 needs different care
MBIE's current guidance says the Certificate of Acceptance process is not available for work carried out before 1 July 1992.
If the work may pre-date that point:
- record the estimated date;
- retain evidence supporting that estimate;
- check council/property records;
- ask the territorial authority what records or regulatory pathway is relevant.
This guide does not invent an alternative regulatory process for older work.
Talk to the territorial authority before assuming CoA is the right pathway
The territorial authority makes the decision.
A useful first contact should identify:
- the property;
- the existing work;
- estimated date;
- whether a building-consent record has been found;
- evidence currently available;
- what you are trying to clarify.
Ask the council what regulatory pathway it considers applicable.
Until then, use a neutral status such as:
Pathway not yet confirmed
Do not use a SeekSaver status saying:
Eligible for CoA
because SeekSaver does not make that determination.
Form 8 is the prescribed application
If the territorial authority confirms the Certificate of Acceptance application process is relevant, use the current prescribed:
Form 8 — Application for certificate of acceptance
under the Building (Forms) Regulations 2004.
Current Form 8 covers the formal application information for the statutory process.
SeekSaver's Certificate of Acceptance Evidence & Council Record is not Form 8 and does not replace it.
The evidence depends on the actual work
There is no safe universal evidence checklist for every CoA.
Section 97 allows the territorial authority to require available plans/specifications and other information it reasonably requires.
Depending on the work and what can still be established, requested information might include:
- plans or as-built drawings;
- photographs;
- product information;
- engineering or other professional reports;
- certificates from people involved in the work;
- energy-work information;
- specified-system information;
- other project-specific technical evidence.
These are possible examples only.
Ask:
What evidence does the territorial authority require for this work?
Then record exactly what it requests.
Council may need to inspect the existing work
A CoA is limited by what the territorial authority can reasonably establish.
Existing work may have elements hidden behind:
- linings;
- finishes;
- concrete;
- roofing;
- other completed construction.
Section 99 expressly allows a Certificate of Acceptance to be qualified where only parts of the work could be inspected.
Do not assume:
“I supplied photographs, therefore the council must accept the concealed work.”
The territorial authority decides whether the available evidence gives it reasonable grounds for its statutory conclusion.
Record:
- what could be inspected;
- what could not be inspected;
- additional evidence requested;
- any qualification included in the certificate.
The council assesses compliance for the CoA process
Section 96 permits the territorial authority to issue the certificate only if, to the best of its knowledge and belief and on reasonable grounds, it is satisfied that insofar as it could ascertain, the work complies with the Building Code.
Current MBIE building-official guidance explains that this assessment is based on the Building Code in force when the CoA application is made.
SeekSaver does not perform this compliance assessment.
A professional report may support the council's assessment, but it does not automatically guarantee the outcome.
The 20-working-day process can pause for further information
Section 98 requires the territorial authority to grant or refuse the application within 20 working days after receiving it.
The authority can request further reasonable information.
If it does, the statutory period is suspended until that information is received.
So do not interpret the rule as:
“Council must give me a CoA within 20 working days.”
The authority must make the statutory grant/refusal decision, and the clock can pause while required information remains outstanding.
Track:
Council request → responsible person → evidence prepared → response submitted → current council status
What happens if the council grants the application?
A granted CoA is issued in prescribed Form 9.
Keep:
- Form 9;
- council decision/reference;
- work stated as covered;
- inspection information;
- qualifications/limitations;
- supporting evidence;
- related correspondence;
- compliance-schedule material where applicable.
A CoA can be limited
Section 99 permits the certificate to state that only parts of the work could be inspected.
That limitation matters.
Do not translate a qualified CoA into:
“Council approved the whole building.”
Record exactly what the certificate says.
A narrow case: application granted but certificate withheld
Current section 99AA provides a narrow circumstance where the territorial authority can grant the application but withhold the certificate under the relevant Local Government Act provision.
The authority must give written notice of that status.
For project records, distinguish:
CoA granted — certificate withheld as recorded by council
from:
CoA certificate issued
This resource does not expand into development-contribution advice.
What if the council refuses the application?
Section 99A requires the territorial authority to provide written notice of:
- the refusal; and
- the reasons.
Record the authority's actual wording.
Do not turn:
“Council was not satisfied it had sufficient information”
into:
“The contractor definitely breached the Building Code.”
A CoA refusal is a regulatory outcome.
It is not automatically:
- proof of contractor fault;
- proof of a contractual defect;
- a compensation decision.
If there is a separate workmanship or contractor-remedy issue, SeekSaver's Renovation Defects NZ resource owns that workflow.
Where a Notice to Fix may fit
Applying for CoA does not erase the original requirement to obtain building consent where consent had been required.
A territorial authority can separately use its enforcement powers where applicable, including a Notice to Fix.
A Notice to Fix is a separate statutory notice.
Depending on the circumstances, it can require action to remedy a breach and may interact with the Certificate of Acceptance process.
If one is issued:
- retain the notice;
- record its exact requirements;
- record the stated timeframe;
- follow the council's directions;
- obtain project-specific professional/legal advice where genuinely required.
SeekSaver does not provide enforcement-evasion strategies.
CoA, building consent and CCC are different
Building consent
Approval obtained before building work starts where required.
Code Compliance Certificate
Final sign-off for work carried out under an existing building consent.
Certificate of Acceptance
Separate after-the-fact statutory process for the limited circumstances provided in section 96.
Do not treat these as interchangeable.
If you are planning future work, use Building Consent for Renovations NZ.
If consent is required and work has not started, use Building Consent Application NZ.
If an issued consent exists but the approved record needs changing, use Building Consent Changes NZ.
If the issue is final sign-off of consented work, use Code Compliance Certificate NZ.
What a CoA does not resolve
Even where a CoA is granted, it does not automatically determine:
- workmanship quality;
- contractual responsibility;
- warranty rights;
- compensation;
- every concealed element;
- future maintenance issues.
The CoA's regulatory meaning is what the actual certificate and territorial-authority record establish.
Keep that separate from any private contractual dispute.
Keep the regulatory file
Retain:
- Form 8 application;
- Form 9 certificate where issued;
- council reference;
- council correspondence;
- plans/as-built information submitted;
- inspection records;
- reports/certificates supplied;
- further-information requests and responses;
- Notice to Fix where relevant;
- certificate limitations/qualifications;
- final storage location.
For wider project close-out documentation, use SeekSaver's Renovation Handover Checklist NZ.