RIBA Stages 0-7 Explained, With a Free RIBA Stage Checker

The RIBA Plan of Work divides a building project into eight stages, numbered 0 to 7, from the client's first decision on whether to build through design, construction and handover to the building's years in use. The edition in use is the RIBA Plan of Work 2020, and its stage numbers are what UK programmes, consultant appointments and design reports mean by "Stage 3 design" or "moving into Stage 5".

The checker above works out the stage a project has reached from the milestones already passed, then lists the work, information and statutory steps that close each stage. It includes planning, Building Regulations and CDM 2015 steps, and the Building Safety Act gateways when the project is a higher-risk building. Ticks and notes are saved in your browser, and the checklist can be printed, saved as a PDF or downloaded as a CSV file.

A stage number records how far the design and project information have developed. Planning permission, building control approval and the contractor's appointment follow their own timetables, so a scheme can reach Stage 4 with any of them still outstanding.

Scaffolded building and tower crane on an active construction site in London

A scaffolded building and crane on an active construction site in London, illustrating the manufacturing and construction phase of the RIBA Plan of Work. Photo: London Construction Magazine.

RIBA stages 0-7 at a glance

Stage	The stage ends when
Stage 0: Strategic Definition	The best means of meeting the Client Requirements is confirmed
Stage 1: Preparation and Briefing	The client approves a Project Brief that fits the site
Stage 2: Concept Design	The client approves the Architectural Concept
Stage 3: Spatial Coordination	Architecture and engineering are spatially coordinated
Stage 4: Technical Design	The information needed to manufacture and construct the project is complete
Stage 5: Manufacturing and Construction	Practical Completion
Stage 6: Handover	Aftercare has started and the Building Contract is concluded
Stage 7: Use	Runs for the life of the building

What is the RIBA Plan of Work?

The RIBA Plan of Work is the Royal Institute of British Architects' framework for organising the briefing, design, construction, handover and use of a building. RIBA still presents the 2020 edition as current. It replaced the 2013 Plan of Work, and among the renamed stages, Developed Design became Spatial Coordination, Construction became Manufacturing and Construction, Handover and Close Out became Handover, and In Use became Use.

The Plan of Work is guidance with no force in law, and RIBA describes it as procurement neutral, so the same stages apply under traditional, design and build, management and contractor-led routes. Appointments, scopes of service and project execution plans often refer to it, and the Responsibility Matrix prepared at Stage 1 records who produces each piece of information.

The 2020 edition also introduced nine project strategies: conservation, cost, fire safety, health and safety, inclusive design, planning, plan for use, procurement and sustainability. RIBA has since published overlays on the same Stage 0-7 structure for design for manufacture and assembly, Passivhaus, security, inclusive design, engagement and smart buildings.

Stage 0: Strategic Definition

Stage 0 comes before any building design. The client sets out its Client Requirements, develops a Business Case for the feasible options, tests the budget and risks and decides whether a building project is the right response.

The options can include refurbishing or extending an existing building, moving to another site, changing how the organisation works or not building at all. A full design team is not usually needed yet. The stage ends when the client confirms the best means of meeting its requirements, and if that is a building project, the work moves into Stage 1.

Stage 1: Preparation and Briefing

Stage 1 turns the requirement into a defined project. The team develops the Project Brief, including the Project Outcomes, Sustainability Outcomes and spatial requirements, commissions surveys and site information, and sets the Project Budget and Project Programme.

The Procurement Strategy, Responsibility Matrix and Information Requirements are prepared at the same time, and feasibility studies test whether the brief fits the site. Where more than one contractor will work on the project, CDM 2015 requires the client to appoint a principal designer in writing as soon as is practicable, which on most projects means during Stage 1. The stage ends when the client approves a brief the site can accommodate.

Stage 2: Concept Design

Stage 2 produces the Architectural Concept. Structural and building services engineers develop their strategic approach alongside it, the Cost Plan, Project Strategies and Outline Specification are drawn up, and the client reviews the concept against the brief. Where the concept departs from the brief, the changes are agreed as Project Brief derogations.

The main structural system, servicing strategy and plant space can be settled at concept level, but the detailed interfaces between architecture, structure and services are worked out in Stage 3. Pre-application planning advice is obtained during Stage 2, and the route to Building Regulations compliance is agreed, including the building control body. For a higher-risk building that is the Building Safety Regulator.

Stage 3: Spatial Coordination

Stage 3 tests and develops the approved concept until the architectural and engineering information fits together. In a typical building that means fixing the structural grid, cores, stairs, riser positions, plant room space, ceiling zones, façade zones and principal service routes.

Design studies, engineering analysis and cost exercises test the concept. The Cost Plan and Outline Specification are updated, and formal change control starts so that later design changes are recorded and approved.

RIBA says planning applications are generally submitted at the end of Stage 3. A project that needs to submit earlier should set a mid-stage gateway and agree the information the application needs. Where a building of 18 metres or more, or seven or more storeys, contains two or more homes or educational accommodation, a fire statement goes in with the full planning application under planning gateway one, and the Building Safety Regulator is consulted.

Stage 4: Technical Design

Stage 4 develops the spatially coordinated design into the technical information needed to manufacture and construct the project. Architectural and engineering technical design runs alongside the Final Specifications and the information for each building system.

Much of that information comes from specialists. Depending on the Responsibility Matrix and procurement route, specialist subcontractors may design the façade, steel connections, lifts, MEP systems, roofing, precast elements, fire stopping and other contractor-designed packages, with the design team reviewing and integrating their work.

RIBA places the Building Regulations application in Stage 4, together with the Construction Phase Plan and, where the project is notifiable, the F10 notification to HSE. For a higher-risk building the application is a Gateway 2 application to the Building Safety Regulator, and building work cannot start until it is approved. The regulator has 12 weeks to decide an application for a new higher-risk building and eight weeks for work to an existing one. LCM tracks those decisions in its Gateway 2 Approval Index.

RIBA Stage 3 vs Stage 4

The two stages are easiest to tell apart by the question each answers. Stage 3 asks whether the architectural and engineering design works together spatially; Stage 4 turns that coordinated design into the information needed to make and build it.

Stage 3: Spatial Coordination	Stage 4: Technical Design
Main question
Does the developed design fit together spatially?	How exactly will it be manufactured and built?
Architecture
Layouts, geometry and major interfaces coordinated	Technical details and construction information developed
Structure and MEP
Major spatial requirements coordinated	Technical design completed for manufacture and construction
Specification
Outline Specification updated	Final Specifications
Cost
Cost Plan updated	Technical and procurement information feeds pricing and cost control
Planning
Application generally submitted at the end of the stage	Pre-commencement conditions discharged
Building Regulations
Design reviewed against the regulations	Application made, or a Gateway 2 application for a higher-risk building
Specialist design
Specialists consulted to test design assumptions	Specialist subcontractor design prepared, reviewed and integrated

When a project report says a scheme is moving from Stage 3 into Stage 4, the design is spatially coordinated and the team has started the technical design for manufacture and construction. The planning decision, the Building Regulations or Gateway 2 application and, depending on the route, the contractor's appointment usually come next.

Stage 5: Manufacturing and Construction

Stage 5 begins when the contractor takes possession of the site. Building systems are manufactured where required, the building is constructed and progress is monitored against the Construction Programme, with construction quality inspected as the work goes in.

RIBA expects Stage 4 and Stage 5 to overlap on most projects, so technical and specialist design packages can be finished after site possession. Within Stage 5 itself, RIBA limits design work to answering site queries. On a higher-risk building, changes to the approved Gateway 2 design go through change control: major changes need the regulator's approval before the work is done, and notifiable changes are reported to it.

Commissioning is part of Stage 5, and the Building Manual, including the Health and Safety File and fire safety information, is prepared for handover. The stage finishes at Practical Completion. A new higher-risk building also needs a completion certificate from the Building Safety Regulator, which has eight weeks to decide a Gateway 3 application, before it can be occupied.

Stage 6: Handover

Stage 6 starts immediately after Practical Completion, when the building is handed over to the client. Aftercare begins, defects are put right during the rectification period and the client receives the information needed to run and maintain the building.

Under CDM 2015 the principal designer passes the Health and Safety File to the client at the end of the project. Seasonal commissioning and light-touch Post Occupancy Evaluation show how the building performs in early occupation, and the stage ends when the Building Contract is concluded with the final certificate.

Stage 7: Use

Stage 7 is the operational life of the building. Facilities management, asset management, performance monitoring and Post Occupancy Evaluation show whether the building is meeting the outcomes set in the brief.

RIBA says Stage 7 starts at the same time as Stage 6 and continues for the life of the building. Its Plan for Use guide covers setting measurable outcomes, measuring actual performance and feeding the results into future projects. When the building reaches the end of its useful life, adapting it starts a new Stage 0.

Statutory steps through the stages

Planning, building control and CDM duties run alongside the stages under their own rules. The table shows where each step usually falls on a project in England.

Stage	Statutory steps
Stage 1	Pre-application planning advice sought. Principal designer appointed in writing, as soon as is practicable, where more than one contractor will work on the project (CDM reg 5).
Stage 2	Pre-application advice obtained, and an outline planning application made if the planning strategy uses one. Route to Building Regulations compliance agreed, including the building control body. For a higher-risk building this is the Building Safety Regulator.
End of Stage 3	Full planning application. An earlier submission needs a mid-stage gateway. Fire statement with the application for buildings of 18m or more, or seven or more storeys, with two or more homes or educational accommodation (planning gateway one).
Stage 4	Building Regulations application, or a Gateway 2 application for a higher-risk building: 12 weeks to decide for a new building, eight for work to an existing one. Pre-commencement planning conditions discharged. Construction Phase Plan drawn up before the construction site is set up (CDM reg 12). F10 notification before construction starts where the work will last more than 30 working days with more than 20 workers at once, or exceed 500 person days (CDM reg 6).
End of Stage 5	Gateway 3 completion certificate application for a higher-risk building, with an eight-week determination period. The building cannot be occupied until the certificate is issued.
Stage 6	Health and Safety File passed to the client at the end of the project (CDM reg 12).

The Construction Phase Plan has to be drawn up before the construction site is set up, and LCM's Construction Phase Plan guide covers what it must include. For hazard identification during design, the UK Construction Hazard Register maps 253 site hazards to the law and guidance behind each one.

Contractor appointment by procurement route

RIBA describes the Plan of Work as procurement neutral, so the point at which the contractor joins depends on the route chosen in the Procurement Strategy at Stage 1. These are the usual patterns; the procurement setting in the checker adds the matching steps to each stage.

Route	When the contractor usually joins
Traditional	After a tender on the completed Stage 4 design, before site possession
Single-stage design and build	After a tender on the Employer's Requirements, commonly at the end of Stage 2 or Stage 3, and then completes the design
Two-stage design and build	Under a pre-construction services agreement, commonly in Stage 2 or Stage 3, with the building contract signed once the second-stage price is agreed in Stage 4
Management contracting or construction management	Early, often in Stage 2, with trade packages let through Stages 4 and 5
Contractor-led	From Stage 1 or Stage 2, leading design and cost development

An 80-home project through RIBA stages 0-7

Consider a hypothetical six-storey block of 80 homes on a brownfield site, procured through two-stage design and build, with its top floor about 16 metres above ground. That puts it below the higher-risk building thresholds, so its Building Regulations application at Stage 4 goes to a building control body and there is no Gateway 2 or Gateway 3.

Stage	What happens
0	The client tests whether residential redevelopment is viable and develops the Business Case, budget and strategic options.
1	Surveys are commissioned, the brief for 80 homes, programme, budget and procurement strategy are developed, and the principal designer is appointed.
2	The architect develops the massing, access and apartment concept with strategic structural and MEP input, pre-application advice is obtained and the contractor is appointed under a PCSA.
3	Apartment layouts, structural grid, cores, risers, plant rooms, façade zones and main service routes are coordinated, and the planning application is submitted.
4	Technical details, Final Specifications and specialist façade, lift and MEP design are developed, the Building Regulations application is made and the second-stage price is agreed.
5	The contractor takes possession, builds and commissions the scheme and reaches Practical Completion.
6	The homes are handed over, aftercare begins, defects are dealt with and the Health and Safety File passes to the client.
7	The occupied building is monitored and maintained, and Post Occupancy Evaluation feeds into the client's next scheme.

How cost information changes through the stages

Cost information develops with the design. Stage 0 sets an initial Project Budget at strategic level, Stage 1 agrees the budget, Stage 2 produces a Cost Plan and Stage 3 updates that Cost Plan against the coordinated design.

Stage 4 technical information then feeds tender pricing and detailed cost control, and commercial management continues through Stage 5. LCM's construction cost per m² guide gives early UK building cost benchmarks.

Frequently asked questions

What are the eight RIBA stages?
Stage 0 Strategic Definition, Stage 1 Preparation and Briefing, Stage 2 Concept Design, Stage 3 Spatial Coordination, Stage 4 Technical Design, Stage 5 Manufacturing and Construction, Stage 6 Handover and Stage 7 Use.

At what RIBA stage is planning submitted?
RIBA says a planning application is generally submitted at the end of Stage 3. A project can submit earlier if the team sets a mid-stage gateway and the information the application needs is ready.

Can RIBA Stage 4 and Stage 5 overlap?
Yes. RIBA expects them to overlap on most projects. Stage 5 begins when the contractor takes possession of the site, and technical and specialist design can carry on after that.

Which RIBA stage is Gateway 2?
Gateway 2 falls at the end of Stage 4, before building work starts on a higher-risk building. The Building Safety Regulator has 12 weeks to decide an application for a new higher-risk building and eight weeks for work to an existing one.

Expert Verification & Authorship

Mihai Chelmus

Founder & Author, London Construction Magazine | Construction Testing & Investigation Specialist