Registered Inspector (RI) and MBIS in Hong Kong

A Registered Inspector (RI) is a building professional whose name is on the Inspectors’ Register kept by the Building Authority. Under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (MBIS), the RI is the person responsible for carrying out the prescribed inspection or supervision. If you need an RI, check the named person on the Buildings Department Inspectors’ Register search. Being an architect, an Authorized Person or a firm with building experience is not enough on its own.

What a Registered Inspector is

The Building Authority keeps separate registers of Authorized Persons, Registered Structural Engineers, Registered Geotechnical Engineers, Registered Inspectors and three kinds of registered contractor. Each register is for persons qualified to perform their respective statutory duties under the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123).

The Buildings Department’s MBIS page on registered inspectors and registered contractors says an RI is responsible for carrying out prescribed inspection or supervision under MBIS. An RI may be an Authorized Person, a Registered Structural Engineer or another registered building professional, as long as their name is on the Inspectors’ Register.

The Inspectors’ Register has three lists, which the search shows as:

• RI(A): architects
• RI(E): engineers
• RI(S): surveyors

All three are Registered Inspectors. The letter shows which profession’s list the person is on. An architect who is an RI appears on RI(A).

RI and the other building roles

One person can hold several of these registrations, but each is a separate entry. An Authorized Person is not a Registered Inspector unless they are also on the Inspectors’ Register. Our guide to the Authorized Person (Architect) covers the AP side.

How to check a Registered Inspector

1. Ask the firm for the full name of the RI who will be responsible for the inspection, and which list they are on.
2. Open the Buildings Department Registered Professionals or Contractors search with the Inspectors’ Register selected.
3. Pick RI(A), RI(E) or RI(S) to match the person’s profession, and search for their name.
4. Compare the entry with the name and details you were given. If you cannot find the person, ask which list they are on and search again.
5. If the same person is also acting as Authorized Person on related works, check that separately on the AP register.
6. Keep a dated note of your check with the building’s records.

Our guide on how to search Buildings Department registers explains every register code on the search.

What MBIS asks of building owners

This guide covers the register, not the whole scheme. Which buildings MBIS covers and what an owner has to do are set out in the Buildings Department’s MBIS material. Start from BD’s MBIS pages and any document the Department has sent you about your building, and read them before you appoint anyone. If something in them is unclear, ask the Buildings Department directly.

BD groups registered inspectors and registered contractors together on its MBIS pages. Contractors are on their own registers; see registered contractors on the Buildings Department lists.

Common mistakes

• Assuming an AP or RSE is automatically an RI. They may be one, but only if their name is also on the Inspectors’ Register.
• Mixing up MBIS and window inspection. BD runs a separate qualified persons search, and its window inspection pages refer to qualified persons and registered contractors. See our guide to the Mandatory Window Inspection Scheme.
• Checking the ARB Register instead. The ARB Register tells you who is a registered architect. It says nothing about RI status.
• Relying on a firm’s website. A practice that offers “building inspection” may or may not have an RI. Check the person.

Finding a practice

Our architecture directory lists practices from their own websites and notes Registered Inspector work only when the firm says so there. Use it to build a shortlist, then check each named RI on the Buildings Department register. ranked.hk is not the Buildings Department, and this guide is not legal advice.