BIM Level 2 Requirements in the UK: What You Must Deliver

BIM Level 2 is not a software package or a certificate. It is an agreed way of working: the client states what information it needs, the delivery team plans how it will supply it, and everyone exchanges that information through a shared environment under defined roles. In the UK the label has been replaced by the BS EN ISO 19650 series, but the principles are the same, and that is what clients mean when a tender says “BIM Level 2 required”.

This guide sets out what you actually have to have in place, in the order a project needs it, and where smaller consultancies tend to lose time.

TL;DR

• “BIM Level 2” now means working to the BS EN ISO 19650 series and the UK BIM Framework, which grew out of the old PAS 1192 suite.
• The core requirements are an Exchange Information Requirements (EIR) document, a BIM Execution Plan (BEP), a Common Data Environment (CDE), defined information management roles, and the TIDP and MIDP.
• The pre-appointment BEP wins the job. The delivery BEP, confirmed after appointment, is what you are held to.
• The documentation burden, not the modelling, is where small teams get stuck. It can be shared with outsourced support.
• Public clients have long asked for Level 2, but check each tender: the requirement is contractual, not a single universal law.

Table of Contents

• What “BIM Level 2” means now
• Is BIM Level 2 a legal requirement?
• The requirements, one by one
• At a glance: what each party owes
• What smaller consultancies get wrong
• A practical checklist before you say yes to a Level 2 job
• Our perspective
• Getting help with Level 2 delivery
• FAQ
• Sources

What “BIM Level 2” means now

The term was coined for the UK government’s push to get collaborative, file-based 3D working across public projects. The 2016 mandate was set out in the Government Construction Strategy, which reported that most departments had already met the Level 2 requirements and the rest were on target.

The label has since moved on. The GOV.UK construction framework handbook notes that what was known as BIM Level 2 until the end of 2018 is now defined by the UK BIM Framework, made up of the BS EN ISO 19650 series plus the remaining parts of the BS/PAS 1192 suite. The RICS report on the future of BIM says the principles of Level 2 remain the same and are loosely replaced by information management under ISO 19650.

The Scottish Futures Trust’s guidance describes BS EN ISO 19650 as an internationalisation of the UK’s BIM Level 2 model, with the same principles and high-level requirements and UK-specific content in a National Annex.

In practice, when someone writes “BIM Level 2 compliant” in a brief, read it as: “Can you work to ISO 19650 and show us how?”

Is BIM Level 2 a legal requirement?

Not in the sense most people assume. The 2016 mandate applied to centrally procured public projects. It was a procurement policy, not an Act of Parliament, and trade press reported at the time that enforcement was patchy. For private work, the requirement exists only if the client writes it into the appointment.

That is why the same consultancy can be asked for full ISO 19650 compliance on a school framework job and for nothing more than IFC files on a private extension. The practical rule: read the appointment documents, look for the EIR, and ask early if it is missing.

The requirements, one by one

Below is what a Level 2 project expects. Names follow ISO 19650-2, the delivery phase standard.

Exchange Information Requirements (EIR)

The EIR is written by the appointing party. It says what information is needed, in what format, at what level of information need, and by when. It also sets acceptance criteria.

A clear EIR defined early prevents duplicated work. RICS has highlighted that the absence of a clear, client-defined EIR early in a project often drives rework and risk, which is why consultancies add value by helping clients define it. The UK BIM Framework guidance on developing information requirements is the place to start if you have to write one.

The same logic applies on site. A contractor’s guide to how the RFI process works shows how much cleaner delivery is when requirements are written down before work starts rather than clarified one question at a time.

BIM Execution Plan (BEP)

The BEP is the delivery team’s answer to the EIR. There are two versions, and mixing them up is a common mistake.

• Pre-appointment BEP: essentially a capability statement. It shows the proposed approach, team and tools, and is used to win the appointment.
• Post-appointment (delivery) BEP: confirmed between the appointing party and the lead appointed party after appointment. It sets out the actual workflows for exchanging data, including the TIDP and MIDP.

The UK BIM Framework ISO 19650-3 infographic and the delivery phase guidance show how these fit into the wider process. We cover the plan itself in more depth in our guide to forcing BEP compliance on UK projects.

Common Data Environment (CDE)

The CDE is the single source of information for the project: a managed space where information is shared, reviewed and published with status and revision control. It is a workflow as much as a platform. Buying a licence does not make a project compliant. Someone has to set naming conventions, suitability codes and approval routes, and enforce them.

Information management roles

ISO 19650-2 expects information management tasks to be formally assigned. Who sets up the CDE? Who checks files against the EIR before they are shared? Who maintains the information container naming? Smaller teams often leave these implicit, then discover during a client review that nobody owned them. The clauses on assigning these tasks (5.2.1 and 5.4.3 in the delivery phase standard) are the ones to read first.

Information protocol

The information protocol is the contractual piece. The UK BIM Framework publishes an information protocol template to support ISO 19650-2, which builds on the CIC BIM Protocol. It sits alongside the appointment and sets obligations on information delivery and usage. It is easy to overlook and difficult to fix retroactively.

TIDP and MIDP

The Task Information Delivery Plan (TIDP) lists what each task team will deliver and when. The Master Information Delivery Plan (MIDP) pulls every TIDP together into one schedule. The guidance on information delivery planning explains how they are built. These documents are usually where smaller teams under-invest, and where project sign-off delays begin.

At a glance: what each party owes

What smaller consultancies get wrong

Treating Level 2 as a software purchase. Revit or another authoring tool is necessary, but it is the process that Level 2 audits. Clients ask for your plan, your naming and your checking procedure, not your licence list.

Writing the BEP once. A pre-appointment BEP that never becomes a delivery BEP is a promise nobody has turned into a method.

Skipping acceptance criteria. If the EIR does not say how information will be accepted, you will argue about it at the end. Agree them before work starts.

Underestimating paperwork. Revit and BIM workflows are now standard: the CADagency 2026 employment survey says they have become standard in construction environments. Modelling skill is not scarce. Time to write and maintain TIDPs and MIDPs is.

A practical checklist before you say yes to a Level 2 job

1. Ask whether an EIR exists. If not, ask who will write it.
2. Identify the lead appointed party and who confirms the delivery BEP.
3. Confirm which CDE is used and who administers it.
4. Name your information manager, even if the role sits with an existing engineer.
5. Draft your TIDP with realistic dates tied to design stages.
6. Agree file naming, status codes and review routes before the first upload.
7. Check the information protocol for liability and usage clauses before signing.
8. Plan a pre-issue check against the EIR for every exchange.

Our perspective

We work as remote civil and structural engineers embedded in UK consultancies’ workflows, so we see Level 2 from the delivery side. The pattern is consistent: firms rarely fail on technical modelling. They fail on the paperwork that sits around it. A calculation is correct, the model is sound, and the deliverable still bounces because it was not named, statused or issued the way the EIR demanded.

Our view is that outsourced capacity is most valuable when it takes that load as well as the drawing work. We align outputs to UK standards and Eurocodes, and we work inside the client’s own systems and conventions so that the client keeps the relationship and the control. That includes following the client’s CDE rules rather than imposing ours. If the delivery BEP says a model is issued as S2 on Friday, then the model is issued as S2 on Friday.

One piece of advice we repeat: write the acceptance criteria before the first model is started. It costs an afternoon at the beginning and saves weeks at sign-off.

— Mohammed

Getting help with Level 2 delivery

If your team is stretched by a Level 2 appointment, we can take on CAD and BIM modelling, rebar and steel detailing, calculations and drawing packages as an extension of your team, with NDA protection and kick-off within 48 hours. See our CAD and BIM services, our write-up of BIM and Revit modelling support for UK consultancies, or talk to us about remote engineering support.

FAQ

What are BIM Level 2 requirements?

They are the information management processes now set out in BS EN ISO 19650 and the UK BIM Framework: an EIR from the client, a BEP from the delivery team, a CDE, assigned information management roles, and delivery plans (TIDP and MIDP). Individual clients decide how much of this they require, so read the appointment documents.

Is BIM Level 2 still used in the UK?

The name has largely been retired, but the method continues. GOV.UK’s handbook says the former Level 2 is now defined by the UK BIM Framework. Tenders that still say “Level 2” generally expect ISO 19650-aligned working.

Do I need a certificate to say I am BIM Level 2 compliant?

There is no single mandatory certificate. Some clients ask for third-party accreditation, others ask only for a BEP and evidence of process. Check the tender requirements, and be ready to show your procedures and past project documents.

What is the difference between the pre-appointment and delivery BEP?

The pre-appointment BEP shows how you intend to work and helps you win the appointment. The delivery BEP is confirmed after appointment and sets out the actual workflows, responsibilities and information exchanges, including the TIDP and MIDP.

Sources

• Government Construction Strategy 2016-20 coverage, Construction Management
• Construction framework handbook 2021, GOV.UK
• The future of BIM, RICS (April 2023)
• Transition to BS EN ISO 19650, Scottish Futures Trust
• RICS
• Developing information requirements, UK BIM Framework
• ISO 19650-3 infographic, UK BIM Framework
• Delivery phase guidance, UK BIM Framework
• Information protocol template, UK BIM Framework
• Information delivery planning guidance, UK BIM Framework
• 2026 Employment Survey, CADagency
• The Construction RFI Process, Rocky Mountain Underground

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