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Gateway 2 is the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) building-control approval stage for covered work on a higher-risk building (HRB) in England. The client must secure approval before work starts. A successful application gives BSR enough project-specific evidence to assess building-regulations compliance and the arrangements for managing design, construction, competence, changes and building-safety risks.
Prepare it as a controlled evidence package, not a collection of generic drawings. Confirm the route first, appoint and authorise the responsible team, coordinate the compliance and fire information, document change and construction controls, then submit clearly named, cross-referenced PDFs through the BSR online service. The guidance and charges can change, so check the live England guidance before submission; the information below reflects pages last updated on 1 October 2026 and preparation guidance last updated on 18 December 2025.
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What Gateway 2 approval does
Gateway 2 is the point at which BSR assesses the proposed work before construction begins. It considers whether the design and proposed work can comply with the building regulations and whether the client will manage the project properly, including appointing competent people and maintaining effective control of design and construction.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe legal duty remains with the client even when an architect, contractor or other representative completes the form and manages correspondence. The client should therefore retain oversight of the information submitted and the decisions behind it. The Explanatory Memorandum to the Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (England) Regulations 2023 explains the client’s responsibility: read the official memorandum.
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BSR’s process guidance states: “You must not start any building work until the building control application is approved.” Work subject to an approval requirement must also wait until any relevant requirement has been met.
1. Confirm that the BSR route applies
Use the England HRB definition
For the route covered by the official guidance, a higher-risk building meets both parts of this test:
- It has at least seven storeys or is at least 18 metres high; and
- It contains at least two residential units, or is a hospital or care home.
The preparation guidance also covers constructing a new HRB, changing an existing building so that it becomes or ceases to be an HRB, and certain work to an existing HRB. The exact exclusions, transitional arrangements and categories are set out in BSR’s building-control approval guidance. Do not send a non-HRB application to BSR simply because the project is large or complex.
Classify existing-building work
For an existing HRB, establish whether the proposal is category A or category B work. The classification affects the required fire documentation and the way the existing building is assessed. Check the current approval guidance for exempt work, competent-person-scheme work, certain fibre-optic-cabling work, emergency repairs and transitional provisions before choosing the route.
Assess the effect of the work on the existing building rather than assuming that an old drawing set is accurate. Where information is missing, identify the assumption, support it with survey or inspection evidence and explain how it will be tested during construction. An unexplained assumption leaves BSR unable to judge the design basis.
Choose the application structure early
| Decision | What changes | Preparation consequence |
|---|---|---|
| New HRB | Full new-building design and safety evidence is required. | Prepare a fire and emergency file and, where relevant, a partial completion strategy. |
| Existing HRB, category A | Work is assessed against its effect on the existing building. | Include a fire and emergency file and evidence supporting existing-condition assumptions. |
| Existing HRB, category B | Fire documentation depends on whether the work may affect fire spread. | Where it may affect fire spread, provide a fire compliance statement and relevant plans. |
| Single-stage application | Detailed information is submitted for the whole project before approval. | Coordinate the complete design, controls and construction evidence set up front. |
| Staged application | Work is split into separately assessed stages. | Submit first-stage information, dates and a staged work statement; obtain approval for every later stage before it starts. |
| Occupation while work continues | Some parts will be occupied before the whole project is complete. | Include a partial completion strategy and plan the certificates and registration implications. |
2. Establish the applicant, client and dutyholders
Before drafting technical documents, agree who is legally responsible, who will submit, and who will answer BSR queries. The online application asks for the applicant’s name and contact details, organisation name, address, organisation type and application name.
When someone submits for the client
If the applicant is not the client, upload written authorisation confirming that the client agrees to the application and approves the information submitted. Keep the signed authorisation with the project records. Naming an agent does not transfer the client’s legal responsibility.
Provide complete dutyholder details
Include the names, addresses, organisation types and contact details for:
- the client;
- the principal designer; and
- the principal contractor.
Tell BSR if a key dutyholder changes after submission. Check that the people named in the application match appointments, contracts and the competence declaration; inconsistencies can trigger validation questions.
3. Complete the project information in the online form
Prepare the factual fields before uploading technical documents. Provide the building name and location using an address or easting and northing coordinates. The form also asks for:
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- a description of the proposed work (limited to 2,000 characters);
- estimated build time;
- planning reference, if available;
- the number of residential and non-residential units after the work;
- the building’s intended use; and
- the use of each storey.
Use a concise work description that identifies the building, the scope, the HRB route and any staged or partial-occupation arrangement. Make sure the storey-by-storey use description agrees with the plans and compliance statement; do not rely on a planning description that omits later design changes.
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Upload the drawings and plans needed to describe the project and demonstrate building-regulations compliance. The guidance does not require every file held by the project, but every uploaded file must be relevant, current and identifiable.
Use a drawing reference file
Provide a reference file listing each filename and a clear description. Label drawings and plans consistently, cite their references in the application and compliance statement, and direct BSR to the relevant sheet, detail or revision. A reviewer should be able to move from a requirement to the supporting drawing without searching an unstructured folder.
Meet the site-location-plan requirements
The site location plan must be at a scale of at least 1:1250 and show:
- the size and position of the building;
- the relationship to adjoining boundaries;
- curtilage boundaries and buildings within the curtilage; and
- relevant street widths and positions.
Check that north points, scales, legends and revision identifiers remain legible in the PDF. If a drawing is superseded, remove it from the submission set or clearly identify the current revision; duplicate revisions create uncertainty about the agreed design.
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5. Write the building-regulations compliance statement
The compliance statement is the explanation connecting the proposed work to the regulations. It should show how the completed work will meet the relevant functional requirements, not merely list standards.
Use an element-by-element structure
For each design element or work package:
- State the relevant building-regulations functional requirements.
- Describe the proposed design and construction approach.
- Identify the guidance, standard or design code to be followed.
- Explain why that guidance or standard is appropriate for this building and work.
- Explain the reasoning from the chosen approach to compliance.
- Reference the exact plans, details, calculations or specifications supporting the explanation.
For existing-building work, include the assessment of the existing condition, the compliance issue being addressed, the evidence used, the result and the proposed control during construction. If a survey cannot establish a condition, state the assumption and the inspection or test that will verify it before the affected work proceeds.
6. Prepare the change control plan and log
BSR approval applies to the uploaded application documents as the agreed documents. Your change control plan must show how the project will prevent uncontrolled departures from them.
What the plan should explain
- How the client oversees change decisions.
- Who decides whether a proposed change is acceptable.
- How advice is recorded, including advice that is not followed.
- How changes are classified as notifiable or major.
- How changes submitted to BSR are identified.
- How the principal designer and principal contractor assess effects with other project participants.
- How submitted information is reviewed, revised and reissued.
What the log must capture
The principal contractor must create and maintain the change control log. Record the change, its reason, classification, advice sought, affected agreed documents and revisions, and how compliance will still be maintained. Link each entry to the relevant drawing, specification, calculation, inspection or BSR notification. A major change must not be treated as a routine site instruction: work affected by it must stop until BSR approves the change.
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A construction control plan explains how the approved design will become compliant work. It is not the same as a construction-phase health and safety plan; the latter cannot substitute for it.
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Include the control arrangements
- Strategies, policies and procedures for meeting building regulations.
- How competence will be checked and maintained, and how people are informed or trained.
- How designers, contractors, specialists and suppliers cooperate and share information.
- How the plan is managed, reviewed and updated.
- The compliance evidence expected for each work package.
- Who collects evidence, in what format and at what stage.
- How records are stored and retained.
- How as-built information will be captured for the completion-certificate application.
Identify the organisations doing the work
Name the principal contractor, principal designer and other organisations or sole traders carrying out the work, and state their responsibilities. Define interfaces where one package affects another—for example, fire-stopping, structural penetrations, façade interfaces or services supports—so that evidence ownership is unambiguous.
8. Sign the competence declaration and plan mandatory occurrence reporting
Client competence declaration
The client signs a declaration confirming that reasonable steps were taken to check the principal designer’s and principal contractor’s competence. The client must also confirm that people working on the project were asked whether they received a serious sanction in the previous five years. If someone did, identify the person or organisation, the sanction and the client’s considerations about it.
Retain the checks behind the declaration—such as appointments, competence information, organisational arrangements and relevant records—so the statement is supportable rather than a formality.
Mandatory occurrence reporting plan
The plan describes the systems operated by the principal designer and principal contractor. Those systems must be in place before building work starts and must allow anyone on site to report relevant building-safety incidents or risks involving structural failure or the spread of fire or smoke where the consequences have caused, or could cause, death or serious injury to a significant number of people.
Set out reporting routes, responsible contacts, escalation, records and how reports are reviewed. Make the process usable by workers and visitors, not just by senior management.
9. Add the correct fire and emergency information
Fire and emergency file
For a new HRB or category A work to an existing HRB, upload a fire and emergency file, often called a fire strategy. It should address:
- adequate escape and warning;
- measures inhibiting fire spread inside and outside the building;
- fire-service access and facilities;
- relevant building-safety risks;
- structural-failure and fire-spread compliance; and
- how the owner will manage and maintain the building to support evacuation, including occupier behaviour.
Fire compliance statement for category B work
For category B work that may affect fire spread, provide a fire compliance statement with plans addressing escape and warning, fire spread, and fire-service access and facilities. Confirm that the statement covers the actual interfaces affected by the work; a generic building fire strategy may not demonstrate the change-specific compliance case.
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10. Plan partial completion and occupation
A partial completion strategy is required for a new HRB if any part will be occupied while work continues. For an existing HRB, it is required in specified cases, including occupation of a new residential unit created by the work or moving people out of part of the building and later reoccupying it.
What the strategy must show
- How the building was designed for occupation in parts.
- Which parts will be occupied and when.
- Safety measures and policies for the occupied parts.
- Assumptions about the building or occupants.
- The plans and documents supporting those arrangements.
A residential HRB containing at least two residential units must be registered with BSR before people live there. The preparation guidance says a completion certificate is needed for registration. Coordinate the occupation sequence, partial completion certificates where applicable, resident protection measures and outstanding construction interfaces before committing to an occupation date.
11. Decide whether a staged application is appropriate
Staging can allow a project to progress with separately assessed packages, but it does not reduce the approval requirement. No stage can start until BSR approves that stage.
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First-stage submission
Include:
- the number of stages;
- estimated start and end dates;
- names and dates for subsequent stages; and
- a staged work statement describing the first stage, work beyond it and expected stage-start dates.
If occupation will occur while work continues, include the partial completion strategy with the first-stage application.
Each subsequent stage
Provide the stage name, detailed plans and drawings, a subsequent-stages statement, references to supporting documents and an updated partial completion strategy where applicable. BSR reviews staged applications case by case. For multiple-tower projects, the guidance recommends contacting BSR before submission so the proposed staging can be discussed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.12. Check files and submit through the online service
Use the BSR online service to submit and manage the application. Before uploading, run a document-control check:
- Convert every required document to PDF.
- Keep each file below 1GB.
- Use filenames containing only letters, numbers, spaces, hyphens and underscores.
- Use a consistent naming convention showing document type, project, revision and date where useful.
- Include the drawing reference file.
- Open the uploaded PDFs to verify that drawings, scales, signatures, bookmarks and cross-references are readable.
- Check that the online form, drawings, compliance statement, fire documents and control plans describe the same scope and revisions.
Keep a final submission index and a copy of the authorisation, declarations and uploaded files. The service may request further information during validation, so preserve the exact version submitted.
13. Understand validation and assessment time
Validation is not approval. BSR may ask for missing information or reject an incomplete application. The process guidance says applications can be rejected where they do not contain enough detail to demonstrate compliance or effective strategies for managing compliance.
| Application type | Published assessment period | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| New higher-risk building | Up to 12 weeks | Unless an extension is agreed; actual duration depends on application quality and project complexity. |
| Existing higher-risk building | Up to 8 weeks | Unless an extension is agreed; actual duration depends on application quality and project complexity. |
These are “up to” periods, not guaranteed approval dates. Build time into the programme for validation questions, design clarification and any resubmission. BSR reported 64 applications received in September 2026, compared with 34 in August, 17 in July and 12 in June. The figures were correct as of 5 October 2026 and were reported ahead of the building safety levy taking effect on 1 October 2026; they are a short-term workload indicator, not a forecast for an individual project. See the published BSR application data.
14. Manage the project after approval
Once approved, the uploaded documents become the agreed documents. The applicant must comply with them and operate the change control plan and log. Notify BSR about specified changes, including changes to key dutyholders and notifiable or major project changes. Work affected by a major change must stop until BSR approves that change.
Plan for the project’s start, commencement and inspection-point notification duties. Maintain the construction evidence identified in the construction control plan, update as-built information and apply for a completion certificate when work is complete. A partial completion certificate may apply where the approved application included a partial completion strategy.
Common failure points and practical fixes
Applying under the wrong route
Symptom: The project is submitted to BSR without confirming HRB status or the category of existing-building work.
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Generic or unreferenced evidence
Symptom: A standard fire strategy or drawing bundle is uploaded without showing which parts apply to this project.
Fix: Tie every functional requirement to the project element, selected guidance, reasoning and exact drawing or calculation reference.
Uncontrolled revisions
Symptom: The application, drawings and specifications show different revisions.
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Fix: Use one document register, remove superseded files from the submission set and record later changes in the log with their effect on compliance.
Confusing safety plans
Symptom: The construction-phase health and safety plan is offered as the construction control plan.
Fix: Submit a separate construction control plan covering building-regulations compliance, competence, cooperation, evidence and as-built records.
Unresolved existing-building assumptions
Symptom: Design decisions rely on hidden construction or condition that has not been verified.
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Fix: State each assumption, provide survey or inspection evidence and define the test, responsible person and decision point before affected work proceeds.
Starting on validation confidence
Symptom: Mobilisation or procurement begins because the application has been accepted by the portal.
Fix: Treat portal submission and validation as administrative steps only. Start covered building work only after BSR approval and satisfaction of any approval requirement.
A submission-readiness checklist
- HRB status, work category and route are recorded.
- Client, applicant, principal designer and principal contractor details agree across all documents.
- Written client authorisation is uploaded where someone else applies.
- Project identity, storey uses, unit counts, programme and proposed-work description are complete.
- Drawings and plans are current, labelled and cross-referenced.
- Site location plan is at least 1:1250 and contains the required boundaries, buildings and streets.
- Drawing reference file lists every uploaded filename and description.
- Compliance statement explains each relevant functional requirement and design basis.
- Change control plan and log arrangements are defined.
- Construction control plan covers competence, cooperation, evidence and as-built information.
- Client competence declaration is signed and supported by checks.
- Mandatory occurrence reporting plan is ready before work starts.
- Required fire and emergency file or fire compliance statement is included.
- Partial completion strategy is included where occupation or reoccupation requires it.
- Staged application information is complete if the project is staged.
- All files are PDFs under 1GB with permitted filename characters.
- Programme allows for validation, assessment periods and possible requests for information.
When to obtain specialist help
BSR’s guidance recognises that applicants may seek advice from a competent building-control professional or contractor. Consider project-specific help when the HRB classification is uncertain, existing-building information is incomplete, the design has complex fire or structural interfaces, several dutyholders share responsibilities, or staged and partial occupation arrangements are proposed. Verify the adviser’s credentials, scope, insurance, availability and exactly which parts of the application they will prepare; the client remains responsible for the application and approval.
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