Building control records are not public records. This means that there is no public right to view or access information that has been submitted under the Building Regulations.

You can request a copy of completion certificates and decision notices within the last 15 years if you are:

• the owner of the property
• a solicitor involved in the sale of the property

The current owner does not automatically have the right to see Building Regulation application details that were submitted by a previous owner. The previous owner must give written consent before the current owner can access these records.

Plans and design documents are protected under copyright. We cannot provide copies to anyone without the express permission of the architect or author. 

We charge a search charge, admin charge and copying charges for documents as follows:

Document charges

Type	Charge
Search fee of our records	£55 plus VAT (£66). Charge payable per property address
Approval Notice, Rejection Notice or Conditional Approval Notice	Included in search fee and payable per notice
Completion certificate	Included in search fee and payable per certificate
A3 and A4 photocopies (including A3 and A4 plans)	55 pence plus VAT (66 pence) per side
Admin charge for copying drawings in-house	£12 plus vat (£14.40) Max A3 size

Please note that:

• the search charge will still apply for viewing microfiche records
• charges are non-refundable.
• we only hold records for Poole from 1990 onwards (Detailed information about individual properties prior to this can be obtained by contacting the Dorset History Centre by telephone 01305 250 550 or email archives@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.)
• documents provided by designers are subject to copyright law and requests for copies of drawings, calculations or other documentation should be accompanied by evidence of the designer’s consent.
• copying is not permitted during the viewing of microfilms or documents by camera or any other means. requests may take longer than 10 working days.

Requests for information are be provided within 10 working days of receipt of requests where the necessary charges have been paid. Method of payment that we accept are cash, cheque or debit/credit card.

If verbal confirmation of site conditions or any outstanding contraventions/inspections are required, the matter will be passed to one of our Surveyors for action. They determine the validity of the request and decide how much information could be provided.

Please contact us to make a search request.