Approvals & Professional Duty
Who may sign, how a plan is sanctioned, and the clearances stacked on a site.
A drawing becomes a building only when the right person signs it and the right authority sanctions it. The Architects Act 1972 protects the title “architect” and decides who may submit plans; the sanction workflow runs from application through the online single-window to the Occupancy Certificate. On top of the ordinary sanction stack further clearances — fire NOC, environmental clearance above 20,000 m², heritage and CRZ — and behind it the duties of the structural and site engineers and the real penalties for building without permission. This is the professional-practice spine of the whole course.
Learning objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to — mapped to the course outcomes for Building Codes and Regulations:
State who may submit building plans under the Architects Act 1972 and COA registration.
Sequence the sanction workflow from application to Occupancy Certificate, including OBPS.
Distinguish regularisable minor deviations from non-regularisable breaches and their penalties.
Identify the additional clearances — EC, heritage, CRZ — stacked on a project.
Who may sign
Only a COA-registered architect may use the title and sign the plans — and the architect, structural engineer, site engineer and authority each carry a role and a liability.[1, 4]
Who may use the title
The Architects Act 1972 created the Council of Architecture and PROTECTS the title 'architect': only a person registered with COA may use the title and practise as an architect. Bye-laws also specify which registered/licensed professionals — architect, licensed surveyor, engineer, town planner — may sign and submit plans of a given scale. The architect who signs assumes professional responsibility for the design's code compliance.[1]
The clearances stacked on a site
The core plan sanction (now an online single-window) plus the further clearances that stack on top — and the deviations that can and cannot be regularised.[2, 3]
The core permit
Most States now run an Online Building Permission System — a digital single-window that accepts CAD drawings, runs auto-scrutiny against the bye-laws, integrates NOCs (fire, environment, airport, utilities) and issues the permit online. It is an Ease-of-Doing-Business reform that reduces discretion and turnaround; the architect submits in the prescribed digital format and layer standard.[3]
At a glance
| Aspect | One | The other |
|---|---|---|
| Initiated by | Completion Certificate: owner/architect declare | Occupancy Certificate: authority certifies |
| Confirms | CC: built as per sanction | OC: lawful to occupy/use |
| Pre-condition for | CC: applying for OC | OC: occupancy, sale, utilities |
| Who may sign plans | COA-registered architect | Plus bye-law-specified licensed professionals |
| EC trigger | Built-up area ≥ 20,000 m² | Higher category above 1,50,000 m² |
Key terms
Statute creating the Council of Architecture and protecting the title 'architect'.
Council of Architecture — the body you register with to use the title and sign plans.
Online Building Permission System — the digital single-window for sanction with auto-scrutiny.
The authority's certificate that a building may be lawfully occupied.
Conditional legalisation of minor deviations via fee/compounding — not for major breaches.
Approval under EIA 2006 for buildings ≥ 20,000 m² built-up, granted by SEIAA.
Coastal Regulation Zone — coastal construction control (zones I–IV) under the CRZ Notification 2019.
Clearance certifying installed, tested fire and life-safety systems.
Studio task
For a 25,000 m² mixed-use project on a coastal-city site, list every clearance the project needs and the authority that grants each — the plan sanction (via OBPS), the fire NOC, the environmental clearance (why?), and any heritage or CRZ approval — and name who must sign the architectural and structural submissions. Then explain, in two lines, why occupying before the OC would be a serious risk.
Self-assessment
1. Under the EIA Notification 2006, environmental clearance for building/construction is generally required when built-up area is at least —
2. The statute that protects the title 'architect' and created the Council of Architecture is the —
3. Occupying a building before obtaining an Occupancy Certificate is —
Recap
References & further reading
- [1]The Architects Act, 1972 and Council of Architecture regulations.
- [2]EIA Notification, 2006 (S.O. 1533) under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, Schedule item 8; CRZ Notification 2019.
- [3]MoHUA, Model Building Bye-Laws 2016 — sanction process, OBPS, regularisation, professional roles.
- [4]Relevant State Municipal / Town-Planning Act — penalties, demolition, supervision and compounding.
- [5]B.S. Patil, Building and Engineering Contracts; State Fire Service Act/Rules (fire NOC).
Further reading
- The Architects Act 1972 + COA Conditions of Engagement & Scale of Charges.
- Roshan Namavati — Professional Practice (Indian architectural practice).
- B.S. Patil — Building and Engineering Contracts.
Sources gathered and fact-checked June 2026. Published values vary by source, sample and method — treat as indicative and confirm against the cited standard before structural use.