Regulation and planning
The NFRC Competent Person Scheme and Your Compliance Certificate
A competent person scheme lets a registered roofing contractor certify its own work as meeting the Building Regulations and notify building control directly, so the homeowner receives the compliance paperwork without making an application. Check whether NFRC Competent Person Scheme applies to your property, then book a survey for a dated record.
A competent person scheme lets a registered contractor certify its own work as meeting the Building Regulations and notify building control directly. It is one of two routes to the same compliance, not a requirement.
Four things worth knowing before you appoint
- Verify it yourself Registration can be checked directly on the scheme's own register. A logo on a van or a website is not evidence.
- It covers refurbishment, not repairs Straightforward repairs generally fall outside the scheme because they are not controlled work, so a contractor invoking it for a small repair is misapplying it.
- Members are audited Registration is assessed and periodically re-checked, which is what the certificate rests on.
- Where we stand Second City Roofing is a sole trader and holds no scheme registration. Compliance on our work goes through a building control application.
The certificate's practical value appears years later, during conveyancing, which is when its absence becomes expensive. The scheme covers refurbishment of existing roofs rather than new build.
This page is general information about how the rules apply, not legal advice. Confirm your own position with the authority named below before work starts. The authority here is the scheme's own register, and building control.
4 related pages cover this in more depth: Roofing Guarantees, Building Regulations for a Roof Replacement in England, find a good roofer uk and planning permission roof alteration threshold.
What is a competent person scheme?
A competent person scheme authorises registered installers to certify their own work as complying with the Building Regulations. The scheme notifies the local authority on the homeowner's behalf, removing the need for a separate application.
A competent person scheme is a government-authorised scheme allowing registered installers to self-certify controlled work; the roofing scheme is operated in the roofing trade by the National Federation of Roofing Contractors. The contractor certifies compliance rather than the owner applying to building control.
What do you receive when work is self-certified?
You receive a certificate confirming the work complied with the Building Regulations, notification lodged with your local authority, and in most cases an insurance-backed guarantee underwriting the workmanship warranty by a third party.
- The scheme notifies the local authority on the homeowner's behalf after completion; the compliance certificate is issued to the homeowner as evidence the work met the regulations.
Which work does the scheme cover?
The scheme covers refurbishment of existing roofs where the work is controlled. New build sits outside it, and straightforward repairs generally fall outside because they are not controlled work in the first place.
Stripping a covering back to the rafters and relaying it is controlled work, so a full re-roof in Birmingham is notified to the city council through the scheme rather than by the owner. Refixing a handful of slipped slates is not controlled work, and nothing is issued for it.
Members are assessed and periodically audited to remain registered.
How do you check a contractor is registered?
Ask for the registration number, search the scheme's own public register for that number, confirm the trading name matches, and check the registration covers the type of work being quoted rather than assuming it does.
- Registration can be checked directly with the scheme before appointing.
- A building control application achieves compliance without a registered contractor.
- Registration permits a self-certification, instead of an owner's application.
What if your contractor is not registered?
Compliance is still achievable through a building control application submitted before work starts. Registration is a convenience rather than a legal requirement, and an unregistered contractor is not automatically an unsuitable one.
- The scheme notifies the local authority on the homeowner's behalf.
- The homeowner receives a compliance certificate as evidence.
- Registration can be verified directly with the scheme.
The paperwork matters most years later.
Why the certificate matters at sale
Membership can be checked directly with the scheme, and telling readers to do that is stronger than asserting our own status. Its practical value appears years later during conveyancing, which is when its absence becomes expensive. The scheme covers refurbishment, not repairs, so a contractor invoking it for a small repair is misapplying it.
Arranging certified work
A building control application achieves the same compliance without a registered contractor, and saying so is more honest than implying registration is mandatory.
Competent person scheme, and 4 more
- competent person scheme
- self-certification
- compliance certificate
- insurance-backed guarantee
- controlled work
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