The purpose of building regulations, as defined by the Building (Scotland) Act 2003, is to secure the health, safety, welfare and convenience of people, to further the conservation of fuel and power, and to further the achievement of sustainable development, with respect to the design, construction, demolition and conversion of buildings and the provision of services, fittings and equipment in or in connection with buildings.

On 4 November 2004, the Scottish Ministers approved a Scheme for Certification of Design (Building Structures) and the Scottish Building Standards Agency (now the Scottish Government Building Standards Division (BSD)) appointed Structural Engineers Registration Ltd (SER) to provide that Scheme.

The new system introduced the possibility of certification of compliance with the building regulations by Approved Certifiers of design and Approved Certifiers of construction. The system is grounded on the principle that suitably qualified and experienced building professionals can accept responsibility for ensuring compliance with the building regulations, without the need for detailed scrutiny of design by Verifiers, provided they are employed by reputable firms or organisations that operate a system of careful checking.

In order to establish the competence of those certifying the design of building structures, individual engineers are approved for membership of the Scheme and placed on a Certification Register maintained by BSD. An individual member of the Scheme may perform the functions of an Approved Certifier of Design (Building Structures).

To fulfil their role properly, Approved Certifiers must have adequate support from their employers, or the firms to whom they are contracted to certify a project. In order to provide certification services, a firm (company, partnership, contractor, or sole practitioner), public body, or other organisation must meet the conditions to become a member of the Scheme as an Approved Body.

All certificates must be signed by both an Approved Certifier and the Certification Coordinator of the Approved Body employing the Approved Certifier.

SER is responsible for operating the Scheme and is subject to audit by BSD. The Scottish Registration Board of SER assesses all applications for membership from individuals and firms. SER undertakes audits of the certification practice of Scheme members.

Any firm that chooses not to be included in the Register is not precluded from gaining a building warrant for the designs they prepare. It is still possible to submit a design that has not been certified to the Verifier, which is normally the local authority in whose area the project is to be built. However, it may be expected that the time taken to achieve a building warrant will be significantly longer than for an application supported by a Certificate of Design (Building Structures). Alternatively, a firm can arrange to subcontract with an Approved Body to provide certification services or clients can directly appoint an Approved Body to the design team.

The system imposed duties and responsibilities on Approved Certifiers which were not clearly defined under the previous Regulations e.g. it is the building which is being certified - not simply the primary loadbearing elements of the structure - and this may involve aspects of the construction not previously considered to be part of the remit of the structural engineer. The Act also introduced the possibility of criminal prosecution in the event of reckless certification.

In consequence individual Approved Certifiers are now required to undertake additional actions which may not historically have been considered to be part of a structural engineer’s remit. It is the responsibility of the Approved Body which employs the Approved Certifier to negotiate appropriate fee levels commensurate with the work involved and to permit the Approved Certifier adequate time and resources to undertake all enquiries necessary to satisfy themselves that works covered by the certificate comply with the building regulations.

This document describes the Scheme, its management and the management processes. The Scottish Building Standards Certification Handbook and Procedural Handbook describe the provisions of the Act and of the Building (Procedures) (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

The Scheme is based on the guidance given in the Certification Handbook.