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Licensed Building Practitioners

License Categories & Guidance Documents

The Licensed Building Practitioners scheme seeks to encourage better building design and construction. The scheme promotes, recognises and supports professional skills and behaviour in the building construction industry. The Building Systems Performance branch of MBIE administers the scheme.

Only Licensed Building Practitioners (LBPs) and builders with an owner-builder exemption can carry out or supervise Restricted Building Work. It is the responsibility of the property owner to ensure that the person(s) engaged to do or supervise restricted building work has the appropriate license.

An LBP can be identified either by producing their photo ID license card or by checking their details against the Design or Trade Public Registers:

  • Their name is on the LBP (or other) register
  • The status of their license (e.g. approved, suspended, terminated)
  • The license class that they are approved for.

A person will be recorded in the register because they have satisfied the Registrar in charge of the register that they meet the standards for their license class. See section 286 of the Building Act. There are seven license classes in the LBP scheme:

Design (Architects, Designers & Engineers)

A building practitioner can apply to be licensed in more than one license class but they must be able to demonstrate that they are competent in each class they apply for.  The competencies for the license classes were developed by industry working groups. They represent the skills and knowledge that a competent person with sound experience in the building construction industry should be able to demonstrate.

The LBP scheme is for competent individuals. Companies and commercial entities cannot be licensed, but the people they employ or subcontract can apply to be licensed.

If their work is covered by one of the license classes, this is their opportunity to have their skills and experience formally recognised. Visit getting licensed, and read why get licensed?

Architects, Designers, Engineers & Certificates of Work

Please refer to the

If submitting a Certificate of Design work (COW) for the design of restricted building work, please ensure that the form is completed in full.  The following are often ignored:

  • The street address of the building – as per the building consent application
  • The name and contact details of the owner(s) – as per the building consent application
  • Roof structure – On the Advice of MBIE, it is the responsibility of the lead designer/architect to either design this or supervise the design – even if the design is outsourced to a truss designer. Therefore under the Primary Structure section, they must tick “roof” and either “carried out”, or “supervised”.
  • The reference to plans and specifications. This should be the sheet/page number of the plans or specifications and must be filled in.

If a head designer does not sign off on all of the RBW elements listed, then there must be an additional COW to cover these elements. Some examples are:

  • Where a CPENG engineer is responsible for the design of the foundations/subfloor; then the engineer must supply a Certificate of Work.
  • Where a CPENG engineer is responsible for any of the design or review of the design; then a Certificate of Work must be supplied, along with their PS1 or PS2. See also Practice Note 02 (if completing a peer review).
  • Where a non CPENG engineer has done the design of any RBW, then they must provide a PS1; but they also must get a CPENG engineer or a registered architect, or a design LBP to provide a Certificate of Work that covers their supervision (as a non CPENG engineer has not been granted automatic LBP status).

Plumbers, Gasfitters and Restricted Building Work

Under the LBP scheme licensed or certified plumbers and gasfitters are deemed to be LBPs and can do the following restricted building work:

  • Brick and Block Laying
  • External Plastering
  • Roofing.

They are treated as LBPs in these classes but must only carry out Restricted Building Work that they have the competency to do. If they do this work they must meet all the obligations of a licensed building practitioner.

If a plumber or gasfitter is supervising or doing restricted building work then they must at the completion of their work, provide both the owner and the BCA with a copy of the Record of Work. The record of work must be completed in full and accurately describe the restricted building work that the plumber or gasfitter has supervised or carried out.

Notification of LBPs to Council

The owner is required by the Building Act 2004, Section 45(1)(e) to

  • provide the name and details of the design LBP(s) at the time of application for the building consent.  If any details are missing, then the BCA can refuse to receive the application.
  • If the trade LBP(s) are known at this time, they must also be supplied.  If unknown at the time of BC application then they must be supplied in writing to the council before construction begins. See LBP Notification form. NO inspections can be booked until all the trade LBP(s) names and details are supplied and checked.

If the situation on site changes and the person supervising or doing the restricted building work leaves and a new LBP is engaged then the BCA must be notified (Building Act 2004, Section 87).

  • The BCA must be notified immediately and be provided with the details of the new LBP (use the LBP notification form). Construction cannot resume until the newly appointed LBP has been approved by the BCA.
  • The leaving LBP must provide the owner and the BCA with a Record of Work (Form 6A) for the work they have done.

Trade LBPs and Records of Work

Trade LBPs must provide the owner and the council with a record of work covering all the restricted building work they have carried out and or supervised. The records of work must be completed in full with no missing pages by each LBP who has carried out or supervised restricted building work. Please refer to the MBIE guide for

Supervision of restricted building work (design and construction)

The Building Act 2004, in section 7, defines supervision of building work as providing control or direction and oversight of the building work to an extent that is sufficient to ensure that the building work:

  • is performed competently; and
  • complies with the building consent under which it is carried out

An LBP can supervise

  • Unlicensed workers
  • Another LBP but ONLY if the other LBP is of a lesser licensing class to them. They CANNOT supervise someone of the same licensing class. Where there is more than one LBP work on design or construction, each must provide a COW (for Design work) or ROW (for construction work) for the work that they personally carried out or supervised. The intention of the licensing scheme is that each practitioner takes responsibility for their work.
  • Work for which they are licensed to carry out themselves. They cannot supervise work that is of a higher class or a different category than their license indicates.

Poor supervision is indicated by:

  • Failed inspections
  • Poor workmanship
  • Rework
  • Poor health and safety records
  • Messy site
  • Little or no quality assurance checks – reliant on BCA to do this for them
  • Poor scheduling and supply chain management (trades and materials)
  • Delays in meeting target dates
  • Disgruntled staff and clients

For help on getting supervision right read: Licensed building practitioners PRACTICE NOTE: Supervision

Offenses under the Building Act 2004

Owner or Agent

Make sure that the person you engage in carrying out or supervise restricted building work is

  • A licensed building practitioner, AND
  • They are working within their competency class.

The holder of the building consent, or their agent, could be prosecuted and face a Court fine of up to $20,000 if they knowingly engage:

  • an unlicensed person to carry out Restricted Building Work unsupervised by an LBP with the correct license (and class)
  • an unlicensed person to supervise Restricted Building Work
  • an LBP to carry out or supervise work that they are not licensed to do.

NOTE: This does not apply in the case of any unpaid friend or family member of an owner-builder who is engaged to assist the owner-builder in carrying out restricted building work.

Practitioners

  • If a person, who is not a licensed building practitioner, carries out (unsupervised by an LBP with the correct license and class) or supervises RBW, this is considered a serious offense by MBIE as critical building work is being done or supervised by someone who has not demonstrated their competency. This is illegal building work. If reported to MBIE, they will investigate and prosecute anyone illegally carrying out or supervising restricted building work.
  • If a LBP without the appropriate license or license class carries out (unsupervised by an LBP with the correct license and class) or supervises RBW, they could:
    • Be prosecuted and face a Court fine of up to $20,000.
    • Also, be disciplined by the Building Practitioners Board.

NOTE: This does not apply in the case of any unpaid friend or family member of an owner-builder who is engaged to assist the owner-builder in carrying out restricted building work.

Complaints

Key legislation

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