Welcome to the Church of England Online Faculty System and Church Heritage Record
On the 1st July 2022, the Faculty Rules governing the management of church buildings, churchyards, and contents were updated, strengthening the Church’s commitment to achieving net‑zero carbon by 2030. Under the 2022 Rules, several items have been added to List A (where permission is not required) and List B (where archdeacon consent is required). Some existing List B items have been removed, while others now include revised specified conditions.
From 6th April, users in the dioceses of Coventry, Durham, Portsmouth, and Worcester no longer have access to the Online Faculty System. Access has been removed in preparation for the transition to the Building Management Portal, which will go live for these dioceses on 13th April.
From 13th April, all new applications for these four dioceses must be registered and processed through the Building Management Portal. Any open or recently submitted cases have been forwarded to the new portal.
The transition to the Building Management Portal will be extended to all remaining dioceses in late August, at which point the Online Faculty System will be replaced entirely. All dioceses will move to the new platform, and existing cases will be transferred accordingly.
Further details about the transition, along with guidance on the 2022 Rules, are available on the Church of England website.