Part L photo evidence, taken as you build.
Every new home in England should have a photo of each of 13 typical details, taken before it is covered up, for the energy assessor and Building Control. Here is the list, detail by detail — and a free way to get the photos from your trades without an app or an account.
The Part L pack is free on every plan. No card.
What Approved Document L asks for
Appendix B of Volume 1, for new homes. The paragraph each line comes from is beside it.
- What B6, B7
- One photo of each typical detail — 13 of them, in six groups — for every new home on the site.
- When B7
- When each detail is finished, but before it is closed up.
- Who takes them B6
- “Anyone may take the photographs.” Usually the trade doing the work.
- How to name them B8
- Plot number and detail reference: plot 1’s eaves is P1/3b. With location, date and time on each one.
- Who gets them B1, B6, 9.3
- The energy assessor and Building Control. The owner of the new home gets the signed BREL report and the photos too.
It is guidance, not a regulation — the Approved Document says the photos “should” be taken. But Building Control bodies accept the completion BREL report together with the photos as the evidence of compliance (paragraph 2.5), and some say plainly that missing photos can hold up the completion certificate.
The 13 details, one by one.
Paragraph B7, 2021 edition — the one for any home notified before 24 March 2027. What to photograph is the guidance on each detail of a job’s Part L checklist in SiteRecord.
Foundations and ground floor
- 1a
Ground floor perimeter edge insulation Before + after
Show the perimeter edge insulation around the ground floor before the screed or deck goes down. Include the corners, and make sure there are no gaps between the floor insulation and the edge strip.
- 1b
External door threshold
Photograph the insulation under and around each external door threshold before it is closed up, showing how the floor insulation meets the threshold with no break.
- 1c
Below DPC on external walls Before + after
Capture the insulation below DPC level showing its thickness and full coverage, before backfilling. Make sure the insulation type and thickness can be identified.
External walls For each main wall type.
- 2a
Ground floor to wall junction
Show how the wall and floor insulation meet with no thermal bridge. Photograph each main wall type. For blown fill, show clean cavities and clean brick ties with very limited mortar droppings.
- 2b
Structural penetrating elements
Photograph steel beams, lintels, balcony or canopy connectors and any other structure that passes through the insulation, showing how the insulation is kept continuous around it. Photograph each main wall type.
Roof For each main roof type.
- 3a
Joist or rafter level Before + after
Show the insulation between and over the joists or rafters with no gaps or compression, before it is boarded. Show the thickness, and photograph each main roof type.
- 3b
Eaves and gable edges
Photograph where the roof insulation meets the wall insulation at the eaves and along the gables. Show the continuity and any ventilation gap maintained.
Windows and doors One photo per wall or roof type is enough.
- 4a
Window positioning
Show the window frame in relation to the cavity closer or insulation line. One photograph per wall or roof type is sufficient.
- 4b
External doorset positioning
Show the doorset frame in relation to the cavity closer or insulation line. One photograph per wall type is sufficient.
Airtightness
- 5
Airtightness details Before + after
Only needed where the airtightness detail is not visible in the photographs above. Show membranes, tapes and seals around junctions and service penetrations before they are covered.
Building services
- 6a
Plant identification labels
Photograph the data plate on every item of plant — boiler or heat pump, hot water cylinder, MVHR unit, solar PV inverter. Make, model and serial number must be readable.
- 6b
Primary pipework insulation
Show the primary pipework insulated along its length, including at bends, valves and where it passes through walls or floors.
- 6c
Ventilation ductwork insulation
Show ductwork insulation on any runs through unheated spaces such as a loft or garage, and that the duct connections are sealed.
Before + after is our advice, not the Approved Document’s: it asks for one photo per detail. For these four, a photo with the insulation in and another once it is covered answers the question an inspector asks most.
What the 2026 edition changes
The Future Homes and Buildings Standards were published on 24 March 2026 with a new edition of Approved Document L. It takes effect on 24 March 2027 (24 September 2027 for higher-risk buildings).
A home stays on the 2021 rules if its building notice, initial notice or full plans went in before 24 March 2027 and work on it starts before 24 March 2028 — judged building by building. Who takes the photos, when, and how they are named do not change. Group 6 does:
- 6c
Heat pump primary pipework — new
Where a heat pump is installed: the insulated pipework from the heat pump to the point it passes through the thermal envelope into the dwelling.
- 6d
Hot water cylinder space — new
Where there is a hot water cylinder: the cylinder in its space and at least the first metre of insulated pipework leaving it towards the taps.
- 6e
Ventilation ductwork insulation — was 6c
The same detail as before, under a new reference.
In SiteRecord: every job uses the 2021 list today, which is right for any home notified before 24 March 2027. Choosing the 2026 list for a job is being built.
Get the photos without chasing anyone.
The photos go missing at the end because they were never asked for at the start. SiteRecord asks for each one while the detail is still open.
- 1
Switch Part L on for the job
Give the job its plot number and the 13 details appear as a checklist, grouped the way Appendix B groups them.
- 2
Your trades scan the site QR code
No app and no account. They take the photo and pick the detail it shows from the ones still to do. Time and location go on with it, and SiteRecord warns them when the phone gives no location.
- 3
Watch the list fill
“9 of 13 captured”, group by group, so you see what is missing while the wall is still open — not after it is plastered.
- 4
Send the Part L pack
A zip with a folder for each group, every photo named by plot and detail (P1_3b — a slash cannot go in a file name), and a summary PDF of when, where and by whom each was taken. For the energy assessor and Building Control. Free, on every plan.
Free covers the Part L checklist and the pack.
Up to 3 jobs open at once, unlimited site users. SiteRecord at £29 a month (£24 billed yearly) adds:
- A live link the energy assessor or Building Control can open while you build — it expires after 7, 30 or 90 days, and you can switch it off
- Before and after photos kept as a pair
- Unlimited jobs
- PDF photo reports
Part L photos: questions builders ask
Is Part L photographic evidence a legal requirement? +
It is guidance. Approved Document L, the government’s guide to meeting Part L, says photographs “should be taken for each dwelling on a development” (paragraph B6), and no regulation names photographs. In practice it is how a new home gets signed off: Building Control bodies accept the as-built BREL report together with the photos as evidence of compliance (paragraph 2.5), and the energy assessor signs the BREL report to say the photos have been reviewed (B4). One council partnership, CNC Building Control, warns that missing photos “may delay or even prevent a completion certificate to be issued”.
Do I need Part L photos for an extension? +
Appendix B is written for new homes, and Approved Document L asks for no photo set for an extension or other work to an existing home. Photographing the insulation before it is covered is still the quickest answer to a Building Control question later, and SiteRecord lets you switch the Part L checklist on for any job.
Who can take the photos? +
Anyone — Approved Document L says so in as many words (B6). Usually it is the trade doing the work, which is why SiteRecord lets them take them from a QR code on site, with no app and no account.
Who do the photos go to? +
The energy assessor, who reviews them for the as-built BREL report, and the building control body (B6). For a new home, the owner should get a signed copy of the BREL report and the photographic evidence too (paragraph 9.3).
How should the photos be named? +
With the plot number and the detail reference. Approved Document L’s own example is plot 1’s eaves detail, “P1/3b” (B8). A slash cannot go in a file name, so SiteRecord names it P1_3b. Geo-location should be on, to confirm where and when each photo was taken.
When do the 2026 rules start? +
The 2026 edition of Approved Document L, from the Future Homes and Buildings Standards, takes effect on 24 March 2027 (24 September 2027 for higher-risk buildings). A home whose building notice, initial notice or full plans went in before 24 March 2027 stays on the 2021 rules, as long as work on it starts before 24 March 2028.
What about Wales and Scotland? +
Wales has its own Approved Document L, with a BRWL report and very similar photo guidance — it expects “an estimated 20 to 30 photographs” per house. Scotland’s domestic technical handbook asks for no equivalent photo set. This page follows the document for England.
What does SiteRecord cost for Part L? +
The Part L checklist and the pack cost nothing: SiteRecord Free includes both, with up to 3 jobs open at once. SiteRecord at £29 a month (£24 a month billed yearly) adds unlimited jobs, live links for the energy assessor and Building Control, PDF reports and before and after pairs. Unlimited site users are included on both, and there is no card to start.
Sources
Checked against the documents themselves on 12 October 2026. This page is a guide, not legal advice — your building control body has the final say on a job.
- Approved Document L, Volume 1: Dwellings, 2021 edition incorporating 2023 amendments — Appendix B
- Approved Document L, Volume 1: Dwellings, 2026 edition
- The Future Homes and Buildings Standards: Building Circular 01/2026
- The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/335
- CNC Building Control: BREL report guidance
- Welsh Government: Approved Document L, Volume 1, 2022 edition