How the fee is set
Building warrant fees are national. The Building (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 set them, and amending regulations change the figures. The latest change took effect on 1 April 2026, as the Scottish Government’s 2026 fees update explains. Councils charge the scale and check the value you declare for the works.
For most building work the fee depends on the estimated value of the works, not the type of job. A £40,000 loft conversion and a £40,000 kitchen extension are charged the same. Applications that are only a conversion or only a demolition have their own fixed fees, listed in the tables.
The 2026 scale in bands
The City of Edinburgh Council’s table of fees and West Lothian Council’s 2026 fee scale show the same figures. Both tables also have bands between £5,000 and £20,000 that are not repeated here.
Estimated value of works, and the fee:
- Up to £5,000: £215
- £20,001 to £30,000: £780
- £30,001 to £40,000: £865
- £40,001 to £50,000: £950
- £50,001 to £60,000: £1,035
- £60,001 to £70,000: £1,120
- £70,001 to £80,000: £1,205
- £80,001 to £90,000: £1,290
- £90,001 to £100,000: £1,375
The scale can change from one April to the next. Check the council’s current table before you budget.
Starting early, or never applying
Both councils charge more where the paperwork comes late. A late application, where work started before the application was made, costs 200% of the normal fee. A completion certificate for work that never had a warrant costs 300%. On the City of Edinburgh Council’s own worked example of £52,000 of work, the normal fee is £1,035 and the late fee is £2,070. At 300%, the same job comes to £3,105 by the same arithmetic. The tables also describe discounts where a certifier is used, so the figure you pay can be lower than the undiscounted ones here.
Other fees on the tables include £150 to amend a warrant for a cost increase of up to £5,000, and £150 to extend a warrant. See work done without a warrant for what the late routes involve.
What the fee does not cover
The fee is paid to the council for checking the application. It does not include the architect’s or structural engineer’s design work, any drawings or calculations the application needs, or the cost of the build.
Neither council’s table mentions VAT. If that matters to you, ask the council.
Both councils check the value you declare. The City of Edinburgh Council guide compares it against published construction cost rates, and West Lothian Council’s guide says to value the work as a contractor would price it, even if you do some of it yourself.