Not sure which stages you need?
Send us your project and where it is. A Senior Architect will give you an initial appraisal and guide you as to what to do next.
Start a conversationThe RIBA Plan of Work, explained.
Eight stages, numbered 0 to 7, and what you hold at the end of each.
Reviewed October 2026
The short answer
The RIBA Plan of Work 2020 splits a project into eight stages, numbered 0 to 7. A planning application generally goes in at the end of Stage 3, the building regulations application at Stage 4, and construction is Stage 5. You can appoint an architect for any of the stages you need.
In practice · Hazell House
One house, Stages 0 to 5
A full appointment shows how each stage closes on an outcome. This one ran from the brief to the finished house, and every stage has a date.
The order of work
01Brief and appraisalStages 0 and 1, from late 2018.
02Concept to applicationStages 2 and 3, to May 2019.
03Technical designStage 4, tender in September 2020.
04ConstructionStage 5, on site from February 2021.
A new house in the Warwickshire Green Belt at Princethorpe, near Rugby, on the site of a former office compound. The site was bought in November 2018, and the planning and design statements were written in April 2019.
The job
- Site
- Hazell House, one new home at Princethorpe, near Rugby
- Role
- Architect, planning agent, contract administrator and principal designer
- Consent
- Rugby Borough Council ref R19/0086, granted July 2019
- Outcome
- Built; sectional completion in April 2023
The application went in at the end of Stage 3 and was granted at the first attempt in July 2019. Stage 4 followed: technical drawings, an approved inspector's initial notice in October 2019, the specification, and a competitive tender to five contractors, run with a quantity surveyor, in September 2020.
More
Stage 5 began on site in February 2021, first under a letter of intent and then a JCT contract. We were contract administrator and principal designer under the construction health and safety regulations, through nine valuations and twelve architect's instructions.
Sectional completion came in April 2023, with building control's final certificate for the house, and the owners moved in that summer. Stage 6 ends only with the building contract's own Final Certificate.
The building regulations route was in place more than a year before work began. As on most projects, Stages 4 and 5 then overlapped, with some details settled after the start on site.
The proof
Four appointments, four stopping points.
Stages 0 and 1 · study
A dance school
A private client weighing a Cambridge site in early 2020: could it keep its working dance school and add offices alongside? Stages 0 and 1 produced the brief, a site appraisal and a feasibility study testing two options, and the purchase did not go ahead.
Early 2020 · View project
Stages 0 to 3 · consent
Russell Terrace
A house in multiple occupation in Leamington, consented in September 2025 as eight flats inside the existing building. Our appointment ran through Stage 3 to the planning decision, which is where our part ended.
Warwick ref W/25/0777 · View project
Stages 4 to 6 · built
Muller Yard
Fifty-eight homes beside the Trent in Nottingham, on a permission won by a previous team. We were appointed for Stages 4 to 6: the technical package and specification, issued for tender in September 2021, then construction through to handover in 2024.
Conditions 23/01477/PDS4 · View project
Stages 0 to 2 · pre-app
A field barn
A field barn in South Northamptonshire taken through the brief, a site appraisal, a concept design and a pre-application enquiry. The council's written response of September 2025 found the principle likely acceptable but the design likely not.
Written advice 2025 · View project
Every planning application we make in our own name is a matter of public record on a council register, and ours reach more than 100 planning authorities across the UK.
Feasibility and site appraisal →
01 · Where you stand
Find the last stage you are buying
A fee proposal built on the RIBA Plan of Work names the stages it covers. The last stage named is what you hold when the appointment ends, because each stage closes on a fixed outcome, written as what is true at its end.
Stop at Stage 1 and you hold an approved brief and feasibility studies, not a design. Stop at Stage 3 and you hold a coordinated design and, usually, a planning application, but not information a builder can price accurately.
More
Stage 4 completes the information needed to build, with the building regulations application and the pre-commencement planning conditions. Stage 6 runs to the Final Certificate, which RIBA's client guide says usually comes twelve months after practical completion.
A proposal that names Stage 7 should set out the aftercare it means, because RIBA says work beyond Stage 6 needs its own professional services contract. If a proposal names no stages at all, ask which it covers, and agree the scope in writing before work starts.
02 · The appointments
Four common appointments
RIBA says a client can commission an architect for any of the stages. Here are four common shapes of appointment, and where each one fails.
Stages 0 and 1
Feasibility only
The client's requirements, a brief, a site appraisal and feasibility studies that test whether the site can take what is needed. RIBA says no design team is required for these two stages, and that Stage 1 is not a design stage.
Where it fails: treating a feasibility study as a design; RIBA says feasibility studies are not part of design.
Stages 0 to 3
To a planning decision
A brief, a concept and a spatially coordinated design, with the planning application generally submitted at the end of Stage 3. RIBA says planning should be assessed from the outset of every commission, not left until Stage 3.
Where it fails: an early, mid-stage application risks amendments later, and a consent alone is not tender information.
Stages 4 to 6
Build and hand over
The technical design, the building regulations application and, on a traditional contract, the tender at the end of Stage 4; then construction from site possession to practical completion, and handover to the Final Certificate.
Where it fails: a Stage 3 design never coordinated, which RIBA says causes unnecessary iterations in Stage 4.
Stages 0 to 2
Pre-application only
A concept design taken to the council for its written view before any application: RIBA's template has the advice sourced in Stage 1 and obtained in Stage 2. It tests the principle and the design while both can still change.
Where it fails: treating the advice as a promise; national guidance says it cannot pre-empt the decision.
03 · The point
The Plan is not your contract
The RIBA Plan of Work says what each stage must achieve, not who does the work, and RIBA says it is not a contract. The appointment decides who does what, and RIBA's own professional services contracts have been updated to fit the 2020 Plan.
More
RIBA's code requires an architect's terms of appointment to be set out and agreed in writing before work begins, and ARB's 2025 Code expects written terms too. A fee proposal that lists stages is only as useful as the scope written under each one.
Some duties run across the stages. A client must appoint a principal designer under the construction health and safety regulations where more than one contractor will work on the project, and, in England since 1 October 2023, a principal designer under the Building Regulations too; one person can hold both roles.
Common questions
The RIBA stages, answered
What are the RIBA stages?
Eight RIBA stages, numbered 0 to 7: Strategic Definition, Preparation and Briefing, Concept Design, Spatial Coordination, Technical Design, Manufacturing and Construction, Handover, then Use.
More
The RIBA Plan of Work dates from 1963 and the 2020 edition is the current one: a RIBA publication of September 2026 still described 2020 as its last update. RIBA calls it the definitive model for the design and construction of buildings. Each stage has one outcome, written as what is true at its end. On most projects Stages 4 and 5 overlap. How fees follow the stages is covered in the guide to architect fees.
What happens at RIBA Stage 4?
Technical design. All the information needed to manufacture and construct the project is completed. The building regulations application is submitted.
More
Pre-commencement planning conditions are discharged in Stage 4. The construction phase plan is prepared and specialist subcontractor design is prepared and reviewed. On a traditional contract the tender comes at the end of Stage 4. For a higher-risk building, building control approval from the Building Safety Regulator must be granted before any work starts.
What happens at RIBA Stage 3?
Spatial coordination. The architectural and engineering information is coordinated. The planning application is generally submitted at the end of the stage.
More
RIBA's template says an application should only go in earlier once the information it needs is ready. One made mid-stage needs its own gateway. RIBA recommends a mid-Stage 3 application only for experienced clients and seasoned design teams, because a poorly managed one can mean amendments later. For a building of 18 metres or more, or seven or more storeys, with two or more homes, a full planning application must include a fire statement.
What happens at RIBA Stage 2?
Concept design. The client approves an architectural concept that fits the project brief. The design team must be in place before the stage begins.
More
Pre-application planning advice is usually obtained in Stage 2 and the route to building regulations compliance is agreed. An outline planning application is an option. National guidance says pre-application advice cannot pre-empt the council's decision, though it can be a material consideration.
What happens at RIBA Stage 5?
Manufacturing and construction. It runs from the contractor taking over the site to practical completion.
More
Design stops in Stage 5, apart from answers to site queries. The construction phase plan, drawn up before work starts, is carried out. An architect appointed as contract administrator can inspect the work, deal with queries, instruct further work, value it and certify payments to the builder.
What are RIBA Stages 0 and 1?
Neither is a design stage. Stage 0 confirms how best to meet the client's requirements; Stage 1 produces an approved project brief and feasibility studies.
More
RIBA says no design team is required for Stages 0 and 1, though on smaller projects the designers may already be appointed to help develop the brief. Planning is assessed from the outset. RIBA lists the appointment of the principal designer under the construction health and safety regulations as a Stage 1 task.
What are RIBA Stages 6 and 7?
Stage 6 is handover, from practical completion to the Final Certificate. Stage 7 is the building in use, for its whole life.
More
Stage 6 runs to the end of the defects period. RIBA's client guide says the Final Certificate is usually issued twelve months after practical completion and concludes the building contract. RIBA also says work beyond Stage 6 needs its own professional services contract, so an appointment that names Stage 7 should say what aftercare it covers. For a higher-risk building, the completion certificate from the Building Safety Regulator comes after the work is finished.
What happened to the old RIBA work stages?
The 2013 RIBA Plan of Work added Stages 0 and 7. The 2020 edition renamed several stages but kept the numbers 0 to 7.
More
The 2013 edition was the first major overhaul. Developed Design, Handover and Close Out, and In Use are earlier names. RIBA's 2022 Toolbox still labels Stage 6 Handover and Close Out. RIBA called the 2020 edition a clarification of the 2013 structure, with better guidance on planning, procurement and information. Overlays add stage-by-stage guidance on topics such as Design for Manufacture and Assembly (2021) and Smart Building (2024), without changing the stages.
Sources
Where this page comes from
Each rule here comes from the sources below.
Checked 14 October 2026
- Plan of Work
- RIBA Plan of Work: the 2020 edition, overlays and toolbox
- Overview
- RIBA Plan of Work 2020 Overview, stages and outcomes
- Client guide
- Working with an architect for your development, RIBA, 2021
- Appointments
- RIBA professional services contracts
- Building Regs
- Building Regulations 2010, regulation 11D
- Pre-app advice
- Before submitting an application, planning guidance
- Our record
- Our job files and council registers for the five projects here
Written by
Rickett Architects
A RIBA Chartered practice, working since 1970, with more than 2,500 projects behind it. Our senior architects take projects from first survey through planning to completion, for private clients, developers and landowners across the Midlands and well beyond it.