What is the Code of Compliance Certificate?
A CCC is the council's formal sign-off that building work carried out under a building consent complies with that consent. It is issued under section 95 of the Building Act 2004. The council must be satisfied on reasonable grounds before it issues. It gets to that level of satisfaction through its inspection programme and the documentation you supply.
This article is about the documentation and preparation. For the full picture on the statutory framework, who can apply, what a refusal means, and how a CCC differs from a Certificate of Acceptance, read our full guide: Code of Compliance Certificate (NZ): What It Is, How to Get It.
The CCC is not issued at the end of the job. It is earned throughout the job, one piece of documentation at a time.
The pre-CCC checklist: what to have ready before you apply
This is the master list. Work through it before you lodge the application. Missing any item here means the council either cannot accept the application or cannot issue the CCC once it has inspected.
LBP records and compliance documents
- Records of Building Work from every LBP who carried out or supervised restricted building work (section 88, Building Act 2004)
- Electrical Certificate of Compliance from your registered electrician
- Gasfitting certificate from your licensed gasfitter, covering all gas installations
- Roof truss installation certificate and layout plan (as installed, not as designed)
- Cladding installation certificate from the cladding installer, confirming installation to manufacturer specification and building consent requirements
- Waterproofing and tanking certificates for all wet areas, balconies, and below-ground elements (required before those areas were covered)
As-built and design documentation
- As-built plumbing and drainage plans showing services as actually installed
- Any as-built structural details where the work varied from the consented design
- Producer statements from licensed professionals where required by the consent (PS3 construction, PS4 construction review)
- Modular component certificates where pre-fabricated elements were used
Financial and administrative
- Confirmation that development contributions have been paid by the consent holder
- Completed application form (Form 6, Application for Code Compliance Certificate) from the Building (Forms) Regulations 2004
- Evidence of the applicant's ownership or authority to apply
Documentation council needs: the detail on each item
LBP Records of Building Work are the most common sticking point. Every Licensed Building Practitioner who carried out or supervised restricted building work must provide their record to both the owner and the council under section 88 of the Building Act 2004. This is their obligation, not yours. But if a subcontractor has not provided their record and you cannot locate them six months after they left site, it becomes your problem. Collect these as each trade completes.
The Electrical Certificate of Compliance comes from your registered electrician at sign-off. It confirms the electrical work complies with the relevant standard. Auckland Council and most other BCAs will not accept the application without it. File it immediately when you receive it.
The gasfitting certificate covers all gas installations. If your gasfitter is not licensed under the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Act 2006, their work cannot be covered. Confirm licensing before they start.
Producer statements are required where the consent conditions specified them. A PS3 is issued by the engineer confirming the work was built to the design. A PS4 is issued confirming construction review was carried out. If the consent required these and you cannot produce them, the application is incomplete. Engage the engineer to issue retrospectively or appoint a new one for an as-built review. Neither is quick.
The single most reliable way to avoid a CCC delay is to treat the documentation collection as a live site activity, not a handover task.
The 5 most common reasons CCCs get refused or delayed
These are the issues that come up repeatedly. Every one of them is preventable with basic site document management.
1. Missing LBP Records of Building Work. A subcontractor finishes, moves to the next job, and never provides their record. You need it. The council will not issue without it. This is the most common cause of CCC delay on residential builds.
2. Electrical or gas certificate not collected at trade completion. These are easy to get at the time. They become difficult to track down when the electrician or gasfitter has invoiced, been paid, and moved on. Get them at sign-off, file them that day.
3. Cladding or waterproofing certificate not obtained before the system was covered. Many manufacturer-backed cladding and waterproofing systems require the installer to issue a completion certificate confirming the system was installed to specification. If the cladding is on and the certificate was not obtained, you cannot go back. You may be able to get a retrospective assessment, but it will cost more and take longer than doing it right the first time.
4. Final inspection booked before the work was ready. A failed final inspection resets the process. The council closes out the inspection with a fail, issues a request to correct, and the new inspection must be booked and conducted from scratch. On busy council schedules, that can add weeks.
5. Development contributions outstanding. The council will not issue the CCC if development contributions have not been paid. This is the consent holder's obligation, not the builder's, but if you are managing the CCC process on behalf of the owner you need to confirm contributions are cleared before lodging.
Council inspection sequence: what to expect at each visit
Councils inspect at specific stages of construction. Missing an inspection, or having one fail, puts the CCC at risk because the council cannot be satisfied about work it did not see before it was covered up.
- Pre-pour inspection. Before concrete is poured for piles, footings, slabs, or in-situ walls. Reinforcement, layout, and founding conditions confirmed. Get this right before the pour or you cannot prove the foundation was built to consent.
- Pre-clad inspection. Before building paper and cladding are installed. Framing, bracing, window and door flashings, and cavity battens confirmed. This is a critical inspection for weathertightness compliance.
- Waterproofing inspection. Before membranes and wet area linings are installed. Required for decks, balconies, shower bases, and below-ground tanking. Do not cover membranes before this inspection is passed.
- Pre-line inspection. Before internal linings go on. Framing, insulation, plumbing rough-in, and bracing confirmed. Often includes a plumbing pressure test. One of the last chances for the inspector to see the structure before it is enclosed.
- Drainage inspection. Before trenches are backfilled. In-ground pipework layout and connections confirmed. Once it is buried, there is no way to inspect without excavation.
- Final inspection. All consented work complete. The inspector confirms on-site. This triggers the council's formal decision process on the CCC application.
Each inspection must be booked in advance. The site must be ready when the inspector arrives. Have someone with site knowledge on hand to assist. Build inspection lead times into your programme from the start.
Council-by-council variation: Auckland vs Wellington vs Christchurch
The Building Act 2004 sets the national framework. The process is the same everywhere. But how each BCA manages applications, what their portals look like, and what additional requirements they have does vary. Here is a working summary of the three largest BCAs.
| Area | Portal | Notable requirements or preferences | Council guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland Council | Auckland Council building portal (building.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz) | Online lodgement preferred. Their CCC application checklist is published on the building portal. LBP records can be submitted online. Final inspection must be booked through the portal. | building.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz |
| Wellington City Council | Wellington Council building consent system | CCC applications accepted online. Wellington publishes a CCC checklist on its website. Pre-application queries encouraged for complex jobs. Inspection booking via their online system. | wellington.govt.nz/building |
| Christchurch City Council | Christchurch City Council consenting portal | CCC applications submitted online. Christchurch has well-established CCC guidance following the post-earthquake rebuild. Their guidance documentation is detailed. Inspection requests through their online portal. | ccc.govt.nz/building-and-development |
Regardless of which council you are dealing with, download and use their own published CCC checklist alongside this one. Council checklists are submission-focused. This checklist is site-management-focused. You need both.
Pre-application self-review: what to do two weeks before submission
Two weeks before you plan to lodge gives you enough time to chase anything missing without it becoming critical path. Work through this sequence.
First, pull out the building consent and read the conditions. Every condition listed must be satisfied before the CCC can issue. If the consent required a specific test, certificate, or producer statement, confirm you have it. Consent conditions are the council's own checklist of what it expects to see.
Second, check your LBP record collection against every restricted work element on the project. Restricted building work covers design, site, carpentry, external plastering, bricklaying and blocklaying, foundations, and roofing work. For each one, confirm the relevant LBP has provided their Record of Building Work. If any are missing, contact the LBP now. Do not wait until the week of lodgement.
Third, go through the documentation checklist in section 2 above. Mark what you have, identify what is missing, and assign a person to chase each missing item with a date by which it must be in hand.
Fourth, confirm the final inspection is booked. If it is not yet booked, book it now. Inspection slots fill up quickly, particularly at Auckland Council.
Fifth, confirm with the owner that development contributions have been paid. If they have not, find out the amount and the payment process. This cannot be resolved after the application is lodged.
Builder's printable CCC checklist
Use this as your site-level document collection tracker. Tick each item as it is secured. Do not wait until handover to start.
CCC Pre-Application Checklist
LBP and Trade Certificates
| ☐ | LBP Record of Building Work (framing / carpentry) | Date received: __________ |
| ☐ | LBP Record of Building Work (foundations) | Date received: __________ |
| ☐ | LBP Record of Building Work (roofing) | Date received: __________ |
| ☐ | LBP Record of Building Work (external plastering, if applicable) | Date received: __________ |
| ☐ | LBP Record of Building Work (bricklaying / blocklaying, if applicable) | Date received: __________ |
| ☐ | Electrical Certificate of Compliance | Date received: __________ |
| ☐ | Gasfitting certificate (if applicable) | Date received: __________ |
| ☐ | Roof truss installation certificate and layout plan | Date received: __________ |
| ☐ | Cladding installation certificate | Date received: __________ |
| ☐ | Waterproofing / tanking certificate (wet areas, balconies, below ground) | Date received: __________ |
Design and As-Built Documentation
| ☐ | As-built plumbing and drainage plans | Date received: __________ |
| ☐ | Producer statement PS3 (construction, if required by consent) | Date received: __________ |
| ☐ | Producer statement PS4 (construction review, if required by consent) | Date received: __________ |
| ☐ | Modular component certificates (if pre-fabricated elements used) | Date received: __________ |
Inspections and Administration
| ☐ | All required council inspections passed (pre-pour, pre-clad, waterproofing, pre-line, drainage) | Confirmed: __________ |
| ☐ | Final inspection booked (site ready before booking) | Booked for: __________ |
| ☐ | Development contributions confirmed paid by consent holder | Confirmed: __________ |
| ☐ | All consent conditions reviewed and satisfied | Confirmed: __________ |
| ☐ | Form 6 application completed and ready to submit | Ready: __________ |
This is a general working checklist. Your building consent may require additional items. Always review the consent conditions and your BCA's own published CCC checklist before lodging.
CCC timing and your contract milestones are connected. If your contract makes final payment or retention release conditional on CCC, late documentation directly costs you money. For how statutory payment timelines interact with contract milestones, see our article on CCA payment deadlines. And if you are tracking defects liability periods alongside CCC, see our guide on NZS 3910 defects liability periods.
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Book a free 30-min chatFrequently asked questions
What's the difference between this checklist and the council's own checklist?
Council checklists tell you what to submit with your application form. This checklist tells you what to have collected throughout the build so you are not scrambling at handover. The two are complementary. Council's list is submission-focused. This list is site-management-focused. Use both: this one from the day you break ground, council's when you are ready to lodge.
Do I need to be present at the final inspection?
You are not legally required to attend, but it is strongly advisable. The inspector will have questions about the work and will want access to all areas of the building. If no one with site knowledge is present, the inspector may not be able to complete the visit, which pushes the inspection out to a new booking. On most residential jobs, the builder or site manager should be on site for the final inspection.
What if a producer statement is missing?
If the building consent required a producer statement from an engineer or other professional and you cannot produce it, the council cannot be satisfied that the design intent was achieved. You have two options: track down the original professional and get them to issue it retrospectively, or engage a new professional to inspect the completed work and issue an as-built producer statement. Both cost time and money. Neither is a quick fix. The lesson is to obtain producer statements as each relevant stage of work is completed, not after.
How early can I apply for a CCC?
Apply as soon as all consented building work is complete and all required documentation is ready. The council must conduct a final inspection before it can issue, so applying before the work is genuinely finished just triggers a failed or incomplete inspection and pushes the timeline out. The right timing is: work complete, all documentation assembled, final inspection booked. Apply at the same time you book the inspection, or shortly before.
What if the council won't accept my application?
Under section 92 of the Building Act 2004, the council is not obliged to accept an incomplete application. If the council tells you the application is incomplete, ask for the specific list of missing items in writing. Address each item and resubmit. If you believe the council is incorrectly declining a complete application, you can raise this with the council's building manager or seek guidance from MBIE's Building System Performance group. In practice, most non-acceptance decisions come down to genuinely missing documents, not council error.