Applying for a certificate of compliance

When you need a certificate of compliance

A certificate of compliance (also known as a CoC) shows that a project is a permitted activity in a particular area and doesn't need a resource consent.

A certificate of compliance can be useful for insurance purposes, or to provide certainty to prospective buyers. If there was uncertainty about whether or not a resource consent was needed, it may also ensure that building consents or other permissions are not held up later.

Building consents

How to apply

1. Know what you need to provide

You'll need to provide:

• a full description of the proposed activity
• copies of all plans, details and calculations necessary to enable us check the proposal's compliance with the District Plan
• a clear explanation of how the proposal meets all the relevant provisions of the District Plan, and any relevant National Environmental Standards – for example, a table listing each provision and showing the proposal complies
• a copy of the record of title for the site that's no more than 3 months old.

Land records – Land and Information New Zealand (LINZ)

2. Submit your application

Application for certificate of compliance (112KB PDF)

3. Pay the fee

Applying for a Certificate of Compliance costs $1750.

4. Your application is assessed

Once we've received your application, it'll take up to 20 working days for us to assess it. 

Your application will be assessed in two stages:

• An initial check for missing information or inaccuracies in your application
• Full assessment of the proposed activity against the provisions of the Wellington City District Plan

5. The CoC is issued

We'll issue your CoC as long as we're satisfied that the proposed activity complies with the District Plan and any relevant National Environmental Standards.

A CoC acts in the same way as a resource consent – this means you'll have to compete the work within the time frame given on your certificate.

If your CoC is declined

Your application can be declined if we determine that you need to apply for resource consent instead, because:

• you haven't included enough information
• your project doesn't comply with the District Plan.