Can I lodge the application before I have the course certificate?

No. The certificate, or QBCC’s exemption approval letter, is a required document. Do the course first, then order the title search so it is still within 30 days when you lodge.

Does every owner have to do the course?

No. Only one applicant needs the course certificate, but every person on the title, every company director or every lessee must complete and sign the declaration.

Can I get this checklist emailed to me?

Yes. Fill in the form at the bottom of this page and we will email it to you. You can also print this page; the checklist prints without the site navigation.

What happens if I start work before the permit is issued?

Building without a permit is an offence under the QBCC Act. QBCC can fine you, and you would need a separate application for work already completed, which does not undo the offence.

QLD owner builder permit checklist

Updated 24 September 2026

Short answer

Before QBCC will issue an owner builder permit you need to be eligible, hold a current course certificate, gather a short list of documents and have every title holder sign the application. Work through the checklist below in order, print it or have it emailed to you, and do not start any work on site until the permit arrives.

Before you apply

Tick these off first. If any of them fails, stop and sort it out before you pay the fee.

Confirm you need a permit: the whole project is worth more than $11,000 including GST, valued at trade prices as if a licensed contractor did all of the work ($27,500 for a farm building).
Confirm you are eligible: you are on the property title, a director of the company that owns the land, or a lessee with the registered owner’s written consent.
Complete an approved owner builder course (ours is the NONACC41283 QBCC Owner Builder Course), or confirm you hold an exemption (current QBCC licensees, interstate builder or trade licensees and certain qualified professionals). The certificate must be no more than five years old.
If the home was built before 1990, or the work may disturb asbestos, complete an asbestos general awareness course (11084NAT) with a Registered Training Organisation.
Check QBCC has not issued you a permit in the last six years. If it has, apply for an exemption from the six-year rule first.

Documents to gather

Have all of these in hand before you open the QBCC portal. The title search has a 30-day limit, so order it last.

A current title search or registration confirmation statement from Titles Queensland, no more than 30 days old at lodgement.
Your owner builder course certificate, or QBCC’s exemption approval letter.
Photo ID: a driver licence, proof-of-age card or passport.
If a company owns the land: a current or historical company extract, and the names of all directors.
If you lease the land: a copy of the lease, the owner’s details and proof of ownership (no more than 30 days old), and the owner’s letter of consent describing the work.
A description of the work: what you will build or renovate, the address, the estimated trade value, and for a new dwelling the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and storeys and the construction materials.
The status of your council or certifier building approval. You need it before work starts, and QBCC may ask about it.
Your asbestos awareness certificate if it applies. QBCC does not need it with the application but can ask for it within 48 hours.

Lodging the application

The application is lodged and paid for online through the QBCC portal.

Every person on the title, every company director or every lessee completes and signs the declaration, even though only one of you needs the course certificate.
Lodge the application online through the QBCC portal and pay the $493.59 application fee in the same transaction (fee schedule 1 July 2025).
Allow around 30 working days for QBCC to assess it, roughly six calendar weeks, and respond the same day if QBCC asks for anything.
Do not start any work on site, including excavation, until the permit has been issued.

After approval

Once the permit is issued you are the builder in the eyes of QBCC and the law. These are the obligations that catch people out.

Display a weatherproof owner builder sign visible from the street: at least 0.5 square metres with letters at least 50 millimetres high, showing your permit number.
Arrange insurance: contract works cover for the structure and materials, public liability for injury or damage to others, and a WorkCover Queensland accident insurance policy if you employ anyone.
Put a written agreement in place with each subcontractor covering licence details, scope, standards, timelines and payment terms.
Engage QBCC-licensed contractors for plumbing, drainage, gasfitting and termite management, and a licensed electrician for electrical work.
Keep records: the permit, council approval and certifier inspections, contractor licences, agreements, invoices and compliance certificates. Buyers and their solicitors will ask for them.

Selling within six years

Owner builder work is not covered by the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme, so the law makes you tell the buyer.

Before the contract is signed, give the buyer a written notice describing the work, naming you as the permit holder and stating it was done under an owner builder permit.
Include the prescribed warning word for word: “Warning — the building work to which this notice relates is not covered by insurance under the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991”.
Have the buyer sign one copy and keep it with the contract. Without the notice you are taken to have warranted the work.
Expect the owner builder administrative advice on the title: QBCC records it for seven years, and any buyer doing a title search will see it.

Frequently asked questions

No. The certificate, or QBCC’s exemption approval letter, is a required document. Do the course first, then order the title search so it is still within 30 days when you lodge.
No. Only one applicant needs the course certificate, but every person on the title, every company director or every lessee must complete and sign the declaration.
Yes. Fill in the form at the bottom of this page and we will email it to you. You can also print this page; the checklist prints without the site navigation.
Building without a permit is an offence under the QBCC Act. QBCC can fine you, and you would need a separate application for work already completed, which does not undo the offence.

Sources

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Fees and processing times are QBCC’s published figures at the date above and are reviewed by QBCC each 1 July.

Do the NONACC41283 QBCC Owner Builder Course

QBCC-approved (NONACC41283), online and self-paced, about 20 hours of learning, Statement of Completion emailed when you pass. Register free; pay only when you pass.

View the QLD owner builder course

Email me the checklist

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