The role in one sentence
The Building Regulations Principal Designer (BRPD) is a legally appointed professional who must plan, manage, and monitor all design work throughout the design phase to ensure it complies with Building Regulations — and who must be able to demonstrate that they have done so at each regulatory Gateway.
BRPD versus CDM Principal Designer
The Building Regulations Principal Designer is frequently confused with the CDM Principal Designer introduced by the CDM Regulations 2015. They are separate statutory roles with different legal foundations and different duties.
| Characteristic | Building Regulations PD (BRPD) | CDM Principal Designer |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Building Safety Act 2022 / Building Regulations Part 2A | CDM Regulations 2015 |
| Focus | Compliance with Building Regulations throughout design | Health and safety in design |
| Applies to | All notifiable projects in England | Projects with more than one contractor |
| Gateway obligation | Yes — formal compliance evidence at each Gateway | No formal Gateway obligation |
| Personal liability | Criminal offence — up to 2 years custodial | Civil liability for H&S failures |
| Same person? | Yes, but each role’s duties must be separately discharged and documented | |
Do not conflate the two roles. Holding a CDM Principal Designer appointment does not discharge Building Regulations Principal Designer duties. Both require a separate, documented appointment and separate evidence of competence.
Core duties of the BRPD
- Planning the approach to Building Regulations compliance from the outset of the project.
- Coordinating all designers — structural, MEP, specialist — to ensure their work collectively achieves compliance.
- Monitoring compliance throughout design, not only at submission stage.
- Maintaining a structured record of compliance decisions at each RIBA Work Stage.
- For Higher-Risk Buildings: managing the Golden Thread, operating a change control plan, and maintaining a mandatory occurrence reporting system.
- Providing a written compliance statement at project completion under Part 2A.
- For Higher-Risk Buildings: providing formal compliance evidence at each Gateway.
Who can hold the BRPD appointment?
The role is not limited to architects. Any suitably competent building design professional can hold the appointment, including:
- The lead architect or architectural practice (as an organisation).
- A structural or civil engineer with technical oversight of the project.
- A building services engineer where MEP design is the primary compliance risk.
- A technical director or Head of Technical at a design-and-build contractor.
- A specialist Building Regulations consultant appointed specifically for the BRPD role.
- A project manager or employer’s agent with the requisite design competence.
What matters is demonstrated competence to plan, manage, and monitor Building Regulations compliance across a multi-disciplinary design team — not professional title or membership body.
Personal liability
Custodial sentence risk. Failure to comply with BRPD duties is a criminal offence. A BRPD who fails to competently discharge their duties can face up to two years in custody. Professional indemnity insurance must explicitly cover the BRPD role — check the policy wording carefully before accepting any appointment.
The competence requirement
The Act requires BRPD appointees to demonstrate relevant skills, knowledge, experience, and behaviours. Practices are advised to:
- Document the competence basis for each BRPD appointment before accepting it.
- Confirm PI insurance explicitly covers the BRPD role.
- Complete CPD specifically addressing Building Safety Act dutyholder obligations.
- Establish a structured compliance documentation workflow — not a spreadsheet.
Jordi Professional — built for the Principal Designer
Three modules. Work-stage-mapped compliance records. Gateway-ready drawing sets. Golden Thread management. Built specifically for the BRPD role.