What is a completion certificate?

Section 2(q) of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 defines it as the completion certificate, “or such other certificate, by whatever name called”, issued by the competent authority certifying that the project has been developed according to the sanctioned plan, layout plan and specifications approved under local laws. The local building rules decide who issues it and how.

What the RERA Act asks of the builder.

• Section 11(4)(b): the promoter must obtain the completion certificate or the occupancy certificate, or both, as applicable under local laws, and make it available to the buyers individually or to their association.
• Section 3(2)(b): a project that received its completion certificate before the Act commenced did not need RERA registration. Ongoing projects without one had to apply for registration within three months (first proviso to section 3(1)).

How it differs from an occupancy certificate. The Act defines the occupancy certificate separately, in section 2(zf): it permits occupation of a building that has civic infrastructure such as water, sanitation and electricity. The completion certificate says the building was built as approved; the occupancy certificate says people may live in it. At the start of the project, the matching document is the commencement certificate.

Example: Maharashtra (UDCPR 2020). In areas under the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations, the owner’s architect or licensed engineer who supervised the work furnishes a building completion certificate to the planning authority in Appendix G, with three sets of plans of the completed building and, where needed, the lift and structural stability certificates. Special buildings also need the fire officer’s no-objection certificate (Regulation 2.9). The authority then inspects and issues or refuses the occupancy certificate within 21 days of receiving the completion certificate; if it does neither, the work is deemed approved for occupation, provided it conforms to the sanctioned plans (Regulation 2.10). So in these areas the builder files the completion certificate and the authority issues the occupancy certificate.

Sample timeline (Maharashtra, UDCPR area)	Date
Completion certificate furnished	2 Mar 2026
Last day for the authority to decide	23 Mar 2026

UDCPR does not apply in Greater Mumbai, MIDC, NAINA and a few other areas, which have their own regulations, so check the rules of the authority that approved your plans.

Sources, read on 9 Nov 2026: the RERA Act (Gazette copy hosted by MahaRERA) and UDCPR 2020, updated to 30 Jan 2025 (Directorate of Town Planning, Maharashtra).