HOW TO HIRE · TRADES & CONSTRUCTION

How to hire an architect in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

'Architect' is a protected title across the UK. The register check, the stages you are buying, the questions to ask and the paperwork to keep.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring an architect in five steps

  1. Check the Architects RegisterSearch the name before you appoint anyone who calls themselves an architect.
  2. Decide which stages you needPlanning drawings only, a building regulations package, or design through to completion.
  3. Get the fee in writingFixed or percentage, with what each stage includes and how extra work is charged.
  4. Ask who takes the CDM dutiesOn a project with several contractors, a designer can take on your client duties in writing.
  5. Keep the drawings and approvalsPlanning decision, building regulations approval and the completion certificate.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

Architects Register

Section 20 of the Architects Act 1997, which extends across the UK, makes it unlawful to practise or trade using the word 'architect' in your name or title without being on the statutory register; landscape, naval and golf-course architects are the stated exceptions. Whoever designs the building work should carry professional indemnity insurance, as well as public liability; it is what pays out if a design error costs you money.

Search the architect's name on the Architects Register before you appoint them. Ask for the professional indemnity insurer and cover limit for the architect's design work. arb.org.uk →

Who holds the client duties (CDM 2015)

HSE says that when a homeowner engages an architect for a job involving more than one contractor, the designer can take on the client duties as principal designer, but only with a written agreement; otherwise the duties pass to the principal contractor.

If you want the architect's design work to include managing the client duties, put it in the appointment letter. hse.gov.uk →

Building regulations approval

Building regulations approval is separate from planning permission, and gov.uk says you might need both; the architect's design work should say which the project needs and who applies. Where the architect's design work goes through a full plans application in England, building control usually issues a completion certificate within 8 weeks of the work finishing, if it complies.

Ask for the building control application or reference for the architect's design work up front. gov.uk →

Building warrant (Scotland)

In Scotland the owner is responsible for having a building warrant where the architect's design work needs one, even when a builder does the work, and without it the council can fine you and order the work removed. In Northern Ireland, you tell the council's building control before the architect's design work starts.

Check the warrant (Scotland) or the building control reference (Northern Ireland) is in place before the architect's design work. mygov.scot →

VAT

An architect's fee for work on a home is standard-rated, so VAT is 20%; a firm with taxable turnover over £90,000 must be VAT-registered, charge that 20% and show it as a separate line on the quote and invoice.

Ask for the VAT number, and look for VAT as its own line on the fee proposal for each stage. gov.uk →

“Are you on the Architects Register?”

A good answer: Yes, with a name you can find on the register yourself; a 'designer' or 'architectural technician' is not an architect and should not use the title.

“Which stages does the architect's fee cover?”

A good answer: A written list — feasibility, planning drawings, building regulations drawings, tender, site visits — and how extra work is charged.

“Fixed fee or a percentage of the build cost?”

A good answer: Either, stated clearly, with what happens to the fee if the build cost changes.

“Will the architect handle planning and building regulations?”

A good answer: Who applies for each, who pays the fees, and how long each usually takes.

“Will you act as principal designer under CDM 2015?”

A good answer: If several contractors are involved, an architect can take on your client duties in writing; otherwise the principal contractor does.

“Can I see similar projects the architect has designed?”

A good answer: Built examples of the same kind and size, and a client you can call.

“Who owns the drawings?”

A good answer: The copyright position and your licence to use the drawings for the build, in the appointment.

Getting the quote right

  • The stages included, each with its fee
  • Hourly rates for work outside the stages
  • Planning and building control fees, and who pays them
  • Site visits included and their number
  • Who actually attends — the architect named on the register, or an assistant, employed or subcontracted — and the business's VAT number, with VAT at 20% shown as its own line

Walk away if

  • Calls themselves an architect but is not on the register
  • No written appointment or fee letter
  • Vague about who applies for planning and building regulations
  • No professional indemnity insurance
  • A percentage fee with no estimate of the build cost
LOW
£4,500
TYPICAL
£9,000
HIGH
£25,000

What an architect costs: £4,500–£25,000 per project

Architects charge a fixed fee per stage or a percentage of the build cost; the number of stages you buy — planning only, building regulations, or full service — sets most of it. Architect price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Architects near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. BriefYou and the architect agree the brief, budget and stages.
  2. Concept and planningSketch options, then planning drawings submitted where needed.
  3. Technical designBuilding regulations drawings and specification for builders to price.
  4. Tender and appointmentBuilders price the same drawings; the contract is agreed.
  5. Site and completionSite visits as agreed, through to the building control completion certificate.

Architects Register
The statutory list of people entitled to use the title 'architect'.
Planning permission
Consent for whether development can go ahead.
Building regulations approval
Approval that the construction meets the technical standards.
Principal designer
The designer who manages health and safety in the design phase.
Tender
Getting builders to price the same drawings.
Professional indemnity
Insurance against loss caused by a design error.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the drawings and approvalsFinal drawings, the planning decision, building regulations approval and the completion certificate, with the deeds.
Check the build against the drawingsBefore the final payment to the builder, walk the job with the drawings.
Keep the appointment letterThe stages, fee and copyright terms, in case of a dispute.
Rate the workOnly booked jobs can be reviewed on Locufy, so yours carries weight; if the architect's design work falls short, use the make-it-right step first and the provider is asked to fix it before the review is published.

STEP 1Complain to the architect firstEmail or message so there is a record, setting out the defect in the architect's design work and what you expect. A trader owes reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015; the remedies it sets are a second attempt, then a price reduction.
STEP 2Use Locufy's make-it-right stepRate the architect's design work under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the provider first; we follow it through. Then the review goes up.
STEP 3Misuse of the title or unapproved workIf someone is trading as an architect without being on the register, the statutory register's regulator is the body to tell; building work that needed approval and lacks it goes to the council's building control or building standards service. For a trading dispute over the architect's design work, Trading Standards is reached through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Money still in disputeIf the architect's design work is still not settled, you can claim without a solicitor: the small claims track takes claims up to £10,000 in England and Wales, simple procedure up to £5,000 in Scotland, and the small claims court up to £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring an architect: questions people ask

Yes. Under section 20 of the Architects Act 1997 nobody may practise or trade under a name containing 'architect' unless registered; landscape, naval and golf-course architects are excepted.

No law requires one; a designer or technician can draw the plans. The protected part is the title, not the work.

£4,500–£25,000 a project, typically around £9,000. How many stages you buy and the size of the project decide most of it. Our Architect price guide explains what moves the figure, and the search above shows architects working near your postcode.

No. gov.uk says they are different, and you might need both.

HSE says your client duties pass to the contractor or principal contractor, unless a designer agrees in writing to take them on.

Raise it in writing; this is what the architect's professional indemnity insurance is for.

MORE GUIDES

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Architects near you

Architects in LondonArchitects in ManchesterArchitects in BirminghamArchitects in GlasgowArchitects in BelfastAll architects on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. Architects Act 1997, section 20 — use of the title 'architect'
  2. HSE — CDM 2015: domestic clients
  3. gov.uk — building regulations approval (England)
  4. gov.uk — building regulations: how to apply
  5. mygov.scot — if a builder is doing the work for you
  6. nidirect — how to apply for Building Regulations approval
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — what you can ask for when a service falls short
  9. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — the 14-day cancellation period
  10. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — contracts the cancellation right does not cover
  11. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36 — services started within the cancellation period
  12. Civil Procedure Rules Part 26 — the small claims track limit (England and Wales)
  13. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — making a claim under simple procedure
  14. nidirect — the small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  15. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  16. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register