The 20 working day statutory clock starts on receipt of a complete building consent or code compliance certificate application.

An initial check of the application is carried out to make sure all the relevant information has been provided and complies with the requirements of sections 45 or 92 of the Building Act 2004.  

We aim to carry out this check within 2 working days. If relevant information is missing the application can be rejected and a new application will be required. 

The 20 working day period (clock) for processing an application commences the next working day after the day on which a complete application is received. 

The clock is stopped during processing if more information is required before a decision can be made to grant the building consent, or issue the code compliance certificate. 

The day the further information request (RFI) is made is counted as a working day (the clock is stopped the next working day after the RFI is made). 

The clock restarts on the next working day after the requested information is received. We are not required to start the clock until:

• all of the information requested in the RFI has been received
• the information is sufficient and adequate to support a decision being made.

Note, further information requests are emailed to the contact nominated on the application form. If you need to change the contact details after the application has been submitted please email building@dcc.govt.nz. 

Once we make a decision to grant, issue or refuse the building consent or code compliance certificate the clock is stopped. A pre-issue check (administration process) is then carried out which includes fee reconciliation, generating invoices and certificates if applicable. This process can take a few days depending on current workloads.