FAQ on minor works submissions

For Class I minor works, you should appoint prescribed building professionals to design and supervise the works and a prescribed registered contractor to carry out the works.

For Classes II and III minor works, you should appoint a prescribed registered contractor to prepare and submit the plans and documents, to supervise and carry out the works.

You may consult a prescribed building professional or prescribed registered contractor. You may also refer to the table here or Chapter 3 of the "Technical Guidelines on Minor Works Control System" for the 187 items based on the substance of the proposed minor works.

Prescribed building professionals should be appointed for Class I minor works, including an Authorized Person, or if the works are prescribed repair or any associated demolition works under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme, a Registered Inspector assuming the role of an authorized person in respect of the works, (if necessary, and a Registered Structural Engineer and/or a Registered Geotechnical Engineer). You may refer to their registers here.

Prescribed registered contractors are Registered General Building Contractor, Registered Specialist Contractor or Registered Minor Works Contractor. You may refer to their registers here.

You should pay attention to the civil liabilities under the deed of mutual covenant of the building. The authorized person or prescribed registered contractor should also notify the management office concerned, the Owners Corporation or the related owner(s) about the minor works to be carried out.

The approved building plan / records can be inspected and copied at the Building Information Centre, or via the BRAVO System.

"The person who arranged for the works to be carried out" is responsible for appointment of the prescribed building professional (for Class I minor works only) and the prescribed registered contractor for the carrying out of minor works; filling in Part A of Form MW01, MW03 or MW05 and signing the forms. "The person who arranged for the works to be carried out" may be the owner, occupant, Owners Corporation, property management company, prescribed building professional or prescribed registered contractor, etc.

The authorized person, or registered inspector as the case may be, should submit a notice of commencement of works (i.e. Form MW01 ), photographs showing the physical condition of the premises where the works are to be carried out, and the prescribed plans and details of the works, a supervision plan (if required by the technical memorandum), not less than 7 days before commencement of works.

The prescribed registered contractor should submit a notice of commencement of works (i.e. Form MW03 ), photographs showing the physical condition of the premises where the works are to be carried out, and prescribed plans and details of the works not less than 7 days before commencement of works.

The minor works item should be provided in Column 1 of item 2 at Part A of Form MW01, MW03 or MW05 , e.g. 1.17, 2.34, 3.29, etc. The description of works should be provided in Column 2, e.g. repair of cantilevered slab, repair of external rendering and external wall tiles, erection of drying rack projecting from the external wall, etc. If there is any order, direction, notice, BD reference number available, this information may be provided in Column 3.

The plans and sections must be drawn to a ratio of not less than 1:100. The minor works should be coloured. Plan with size of not larger than A3 size is recommended. The block plan must be drawn to a ratio of not less than 1:500. All prescribed plans and details of the works should be signed by the prescribed building professionals (for Class I minor works) and the authorized signatory of the prescribed registered contractor (for Class II minor works).

The recommended colours to be used on the prescribed plans or the plans of Class III minor works are provided in Appendix A to Practice Note for Authorized Persons, Registered Structural Engineers and Registered Geotechnical Engineers (PNAP) ADM-9 – Colouring of Plans or Appendix 6 of the "Technical Guidelines on Minor Works Control System".

Photographs should clearly show the physical conditions of the premises immediately before the commencement and after the completion of minor works. All photographs should be signed by the authorized person, or registered inspector as the case may be, (for Class I minor works) and the authorized signatory of the prescribed registered contractor (for Class II minor works). These photographs should be taken from the same angle to facilitate the processing of the submission. Photo marks should be indicated on plans showing the angle of photo-taking with photo numbers. Recommended formats of photo page for submissions are provided in Appendix F to Practice Note for Registered Contractors (PNRC) 71 or provided here.

You must fill in the date of commencement of works on Form MW01, MW03. The submission date should be a date which is not less than 7 days before the date of commencement of the minor works.

You must fill in the exact company name of the prescribed registered contractor in accordance with the registration record of the Buildings Department. If there is no short form of the company name in the registration record, you must not fill in the short form.

You must fill in the exact Certificate of Registration Number of the prescribed registered contractor in accordance with the registration record of the Buildings Department, e.g. GBC 333/2010, MWC 2888/2010, MWC(P) 3999/2010, MWC(W) 2333/2010, etc.

"The person for whom the signboard is to be erected" may be a person or a registered company who intends to erect a signboard on the building, e.g. a shop owner, etc. Such person should fill in his particulars in Part F of Form MW01, Part C of Form MW03 or Part C of Form MW05 and sign on the form.

If a signboard of Class III minor works is intended to be erected, the prescribed registered contractor is recommended to submit Form MW32 for prior assignment of minor works submission number to be displayed on the signboard concerned before commencement of works. Standards and guidelines on display of minor works submission numbers on signboards are provided in Appendix D to Practice Note for Registered Contractors (PNRC) 71 - Minor Works Control System

The forms submitted in electronic format should follow the requirements set out in the Practice Note for Registered Contractors 42 – Submission of Documents in Electronic Format. Please also note that the Buildings Department would only open and process your email during the working hours (i.e. between 9:00am to 5:15pm) of a working day (i.e. excluding Saturday, Sunday, and public holiday).

Yes, the forms can be submitted by post. However, sufficient time should be allowed for post delivery. The date of receipt of the post by the Buildings Department is regarded as the date of submission.

No, the forms cannot be submitted by fax.

The first day of the 7 days is the first working day that the Buildings Department would process your submission during the working hour (i.e. between 9:00a.m. to 5:15p.m.) of the working day (i.e. excluding Saturday, Sunday, and a public holiday). The earliest day of commencement is on the 8th day.

The first day of the 14 days is the day after the date of completion of the minor works as confirmed by the appointed person in the specified form.

Only the relevant pages of the form should be submitted. For efficient processing of the submissions, the pages of form not related to the minor works should not be submitted, e.g. if registered structural engineer or registered geotechnical engineer is not appointed, page 4 of Form MW01 is not required; if the minor works do not involve erection of a signboard and do not involve common parts of a building, page 6 of Form MW01 or page 4 of Form MW03 is not required, etc. The page of "Matters to Note" of each form should not be submitted.

During processing of the submission by the Buildings Department, you may be invited to make minor amendments on the submission at the Buildings Department so as to facilitate the processing. If you choose to receive SMS from the Buildings Department, the case officer can send the invitation to you via SMS.

No approval from the Building Authority (i.e. the Buildings Department) is required under the simplified requirements for the commencement of Class I or Class II minor works.

No acknowledgement from the Buildings Department is required under the simplified requirements for the commencement of Class I or Class II minor works.

The Buildings Department will issue a letter to the appointed person (i.e. the authorized person, or registered inspector as the case may be, or the prescribed registered contractor) after the processing of every submitted form, with a copy to the "person who arranged the minor works to be carried out".

The minor works submission number assigned is the identification for every submission, which should be filled in the certificate of completion of works (i.e. Form MW02 or MW04 ) and should be quoted in all future correspondence.

Generally, you do not need to check the progress of processing of your minor works submission. You should make sure your submissions comply with the simplified requirements. However, you should provide the details of the submission, (e.g. the address of the minor works, the particulars of the authorized person, or registered inspector as the case may be, or the prescribed registered contractors, etc.) and quote the minor works submission number assigned (if available) when you check the progress of processing of your submission by email (enquiry@bd.gov.hk), by calling the hotline at 26261616, by post or by fax.

You may submit a withdrawal letter to the Buildings Department. The address of the minor works to be carried out and the minor works submission number assigned (if available) should be provided in your letter.

You should describe the deviations on the certificate of completion of works (i.e. Part E and Part F of Form MW02 or Part B of MW04 ) and submit the revised prescribed plans and details of the works. The guidelines on minor deviations are provided in Appendix A to Practice Note for Registered Contractors (PNRC) 71 – Minor Works Control System.

In order to keep on carrying out the concerned minor works, you should ask the "person who arranged the works to be carried out" to submit Form MW07 (i.e. the notice of change in appointment) to the Buildings Department once you have been registered as a registered minor works contractor and ceased to be a registered minor works contractor (provisional).

You may submit the supplementary information with Form MW33 to the Buildings Department. The minor works submission number assigned should be provided in the form for identification. (please refer to Q2 of Part D below for ways to obtain the minor works submission number)

You may submit the additional items in Form MW11 or MW12 with the required documents to the Buildings Department at least 7 days before commencement of the works. The minor works submission number assigned should be provided in the form for identification. (please refer to Q2 of Part D below for ways to obtain the minor works submission number)

The authorized person, or registered inspector as the case may be, or the prescribed registered contractor should submit a certificate of completion of works (i.e. Form MW02 or MW04 ) and photographs showing the works as completed within 14 days after completion of the work.

Each minor works submission will be assigned a minor works submission number, e.g. MW110108888. The minor works submission number must be quoted on the certificate of completion of works (i.e. Form MW02 or MW04 ) which should be submitted within 14 days after completion of the works in order to comply with the simplified requirements under B(MW)R.

There are several ways to obtain the minor works submission number:

• by submitting Form MW01 , MW03 or MW05 at the Receipt Counter of the Buildings Department at Headquarters at G/F, North Tower, West Kowloon Government Offices, 11 Hoi Ting Road, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, together with a copy of the front page of form. The front page copy, if provided, will be affixed with the assigned minor works submission number and will be handed back to you at the receipt counter;
• by the acknowledgement letter issued by this Department and
• by making an enquiry (i.e. writing a letter or email to this Department or by calling the hotline at 2626 1616, etc). The following information should be provided to facilitate processing of an enquiry, e.g. the address of the minor works, the name and certificate of registration number of the prescribed building professionals or prescribed registered contractor appointed, the date of submission, the serial number of the receipt chop, etc.

The prescribed registered contractor should submit a notice and certificate of completion of works (i.e. Form MW05 ), photographs showing the physical condition of the premises immediately before the commencement and after the completion of the works, and the plans or description of works showing the works as completed within 14 days after completion of the works.

Either description of works or plans are required to be submitted. The description of works should match the works as completed. The plans of Class III minor works must be drawn to a ratio of not less than 1:100. The minor works completed should be coloured. The block plan must be drawn to a ratio of not less than 1:500. All description of works or plans should be signed by the authorized signatory of the prescribed registered contractor or the registered minor works contractor (individual) as the case may be. Plan with size of not larger than A3 size is recommended. A sample of the plan for class III minor works is provided in Appendix F to Practice Note for Registered Contractors (PNRC) 71-Minor Works Control System.

The Buildings Department will issue an acknowledgement letter to the authorized person or prescribed registered contractor after the processing of every submitted form. The letter should not be construed to mean that the proposed minor works are in compliance with the provisions of the Buildings Ordinance. The prescribed building professional and prescribed registered contractor have full responsibilities to certify and ensure compliance with the Buildings Ordinance. To guard against abuse of the Minor Works Control System, Buildings Department will separately carry out audit check on the proposed minor works and take appropriate enforcement action.