With the profession, the company must prove the qualifications of competent persons, i.e. architects, engineers, construction managers and other educated and experienced professionals who control or manage the work of others in the field of activity regulated by § 24 of the Building Code. Employees who do not manage or control the work of others are not obliged to apply for an occupational qualification certificate.
As a rule, occupational qualification certificates are valid for either five or seven years, after which the person's competence is reassessed and proven with a new occupational qualification certificate.
It is necessary to regularly certify the qualifications of specialists in the field, as technologies develop and requirements become more precise. The qualification issued now is certainly not sufficient to prove a person's competence years later. Just like in other fields, the rapidly developing construction sector also entails the need for continuous professional training of leading employees.
Obligations when operating in the construction sector
The qualification requirements set for the entrepreneur protect the interests of the owner of the building. The decision to plan, design, finance, build and maintain the building is made by the owner of the building, so the owner is responsible for ensuring that all relevant requirements are followed in activities related to the building.
In order for the owner's intentions to be fulfilled and for the public and other people's interests to be protected, conditions are set for the companies with the help of which the building will be completed. In the areas of activity regulated by § 24 of the Building Code, only the entrepreneur that fulfils the qualification requirements set forth in the same section may offer services and operate as an economic activity.
The qualification of the competent person is evidenced by an occupational qualification certificate. On the basis of the occupational qualification standard, it is checked whether the entrepreneur in a legal relationship with a competent person is allowed to operate in the field of this activity.
Qualification requirements are stipulated in the field of construction of the building subject to a building permit and drawing up construction design documents only for activities that include the work subject to a building permit. Activities that are not subject to a building permit do not require proof of qualification with an occupational qualification certificate during construction and preparation of construction design documents. At the same time, if the qualification requirements stipulated in § 24 of the Building Code do not apply to the entrepreneur (for example, if it is not a construction or preparation of construction design documents subject to a building permit), this does not mean that the entrepreneur does not have the requirements arising from the Building Code.
§ 21–23 of the Building Code stipulate the obligations of the entrepreneur and the requirements for the competence of the entrepreneur and competent person. These requirements apply to all entrepreneurs.
Apart from the areas of activity of construction and preparation of construction design documents, i.e. owner supervision, examination construction design documents, building audit, and other areas of activity provided for in § 24 (2) of the Building Code, there is no connection with the obligation to obtain a building permit. Consequently, the requirement to prove qualification applies to all entrepreneurs offering the corresponding service. This ensures the owner of the building that the competent persons representing all owner supervision service providers on the market have been evaluated and recognised by experts in the field. The requirements for owner supervision of the building are stipulated in § 20 of the Building Code.
Many customers do not often come into contact with the construction process, and at the same time it is associated with very large investments and risks. Therefore, ordering the services of an independent entrepreneur that consults in construction and has proven its competence is one of the most effective risk mitigation measures.
Regulation of the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology No. 61 of 23/11/2017
Explanatory letter of the draft entitled "More precise division of construction activities with the requirement to prove qualifications and more precise qualification requirements corresponding to these activities"
Buildings and construction work subject to a building permit
The entrepreneur's obligation to submit an economic activity report
The Building Code stipulates the obligation to submit an economic activity notification, which enables the economic activity register to link the entrepreneur's notification about the economic activity and the confirmation of the competent person with the qualification about the legal relationship between him or her and the entrepreneur.
Among others, the requirement must be met that one competent person may not act as the competent person of more than three entrepreneurs at the same time. The entrepreneur submits an economic activity notification in each field of activity specified in § 25 (1) of the Building Code in which the entrepreneur wishes to operate. In order to submit any economic activity report, information about the competent person must be added to the report.
The Register of Economic Activities (REA / MTR) is a database, the task of which is to enable record keeping and supervision of entrepreneurs and their economic activities. The declaration of economic activity is a unilateral declaration of intent by a person, which is not related to the emergence of the right to perform economic activity, but which proves the actual start of such activity. The entrepreneur must also involve a competent person in the notification process, who must confirm his or her affiliation with the entrepreneur in the MTR.
The entrepreneur must ensure that the requirements of economic activity are met. This also includes the obligation to ensure that the information about him or her in the registers is correct. In addition, together with the annual report, the entrepreneur must submit a confirmation that the information about it in the MTR is correct.
Checking the fulfilment of the requirements submitted to the entrepreneur and its competent person in the course of State supervision is the competence of the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (CPTRA / TTJA). If it turns out that the person who has confirmed in the MTR his or her legal relationship as a competent person of the entrepreneur does not meet the requirements arising from the law, the supervisory procedure can be started and the entrepreneur can be requested to bring the notice of economic activity into compliance with the law.
If there is a doubt that the correct data has not been entered in the Register of Economic Activity and in fact there is no legal relationship, you should contact the TTJA with the relevant information, who can issue a corresponding injunction to the entrepreneur during the supervisory procedure.
Relation of qualification requirements to procurements and contracts
The qualification requirements make it possible to ensure that the entrepreneurs operating in the construction sector have the qualifications of their leading and controlling persons assessed and verified by experts in the field.
Occupational qualification standards stipulate with a fairly high technical precision what the scope of competence of a person with a specific profession is. Therefore, there is no need to further increase the qualification requirements in the procurements related to construction activities compared to the Building Code. However, if it is decided to stipulate stricter requirements, the table of level descriptions in Annex 1 to the explanatory letter of Regulation No. 61 will be helpful. It is an indicative, helpful table that describes the scope of competence of different professional levels in relation to the technical parameters of buildings or construction work. The table of level descriptions expresses the agreement of the bodies that award professions in the field, and thus the table is also the basis for updating occupational qualification standards in the future.
Annex 1 to the Explanatory Letter of Regulation No. 61
Verification of compliance with qualification requirements for buildings subject to a permit
When applying for a building permit, the qualifications of the competent person who compiled the parts of the construction design documents regulated in Regulation No. 61 are checked.
Buildings and works related to construction are very different, therefore, in the case of a specific building, the qualification requirements apply only to the field of activity that is expedient to perform in a specific case. For example, construction design documents compiled for the construction of public water supply and sewerage pipelines may not require an architectural component, and therefore a person qualified as an architect does not need to participate in the compilation of components of the construction design documents. For the reconstruction of the facade of a commercial building, it is probably not necessary to compile a part of the construction design documents concerning the public water supply or sewerage, and therefore it is not necessary to involve an engineer and an entrepreneur whose qualifications have been certified by an occupational qualification certificate in the field of water and sewerage.
If the building has been granted a building permit, a notification of the start of construction must be submitted at least three days before the start of construction. The notification of the start of construction also provides information about the person performing the construction and the owner supervisor. In this way, for example, a municipal unit can check whether the construction meets the requirements and whether a qualified person is acting under the responsibility or on behalf of the builder or the owner-supervising entrepreneur before starting the construction.
§ 43 (2) of the Building Code: "In the notification of the start of construction, information is provided about the building, the time of the start of construction, the name of the owner supervisor and the person performing the construction, the code of the personal or business register or other register or, in the absence of a personal code, the date of birth, and the contact details of the owner supervisor and the person performing the construction."
During construction, when checking the building's pre-use safety within the framework of State supervision or after construction (for example, when processing a use permit), the involvement of a competent person in the construction process can be checked in the construction documents. Construction documents include, for example, as-built drawings, construction log book, act (certificate) on concealed work completion, and minutes of construction meeting.
Pursuant to § 130 (6) of the Building Code, the national supervisory authority, which is the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (or the Transport Administration in the field of roads), checks the fulfilment of the requirements submitted to the entrepreneur and competent person. This includes checking both the entrepreneur's qualification requirements and compliance with the notification obligation.
In addition, in case of reasonable suspicion, for example, if the construction design documents have not been compiled by a person who meets the qualification requirements, the authority issuing the building permit or processing the construction notification has the right, before starting construction, to demand that the construction design documents on which the construction is based be checked by a competent person independent of the compiler of the construction design documents and that the construction design documents be examined.
Proof of qualification in the case of foreign qualification
Qualification acquired in a foreign country and certification of qualification shall be performed in conjunction with § 24 (3) and § 31 of the Building Code and the Recognition of Foreign Professional Qualifications Act.
By qualification acquired in a foreign country (including by Estonian citizens), in addition to professional work experience, we understand education acquired in a member state of the European Union, a member state of the European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation. If the education was acquired elsewhere, the person must have three years of work experience in the relevant profession in the mentioned countries. The qualifications of these persons (education and work experience as a whole) are evaluated by the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority, the Transport Administration, and the Rescue Board in their area of competence.
These institutions can assess in their sector whether the qualification is sufficient for the field of activity declared in the company's economic activity notification. If a person wants to prove his or her qualification independently of the company's activities, he or she can also apply for an occupational qualification certificate. According to the Recognition of Foreign Professional Qualifications Act, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority, the Transport Administration, or the Rescue Board evaluates and certifies the compliance of qualifications acquired in a foreign country with the requirements arising from the Building Code.
In the case of persons (including Estonian citizens) who have received their education in a third country (not a member state of the European Union, a member state of the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation), qualification shall be verified without the exception of recognition of foreign qualification. Therefore, in order to be a competent person, these persons must prove their qualification with an occupational qualification certificate according to the Professions Act.
Main awarding bodies:
REGULATION NO. 61 (Qualification requirements)
Last updated: 02.07.2023
