The Church of England is introducing the Building Management Portal, a new national digital system for managing applications relating to works on churches, their contents, and churchyards.
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About the Building Management Portal
The new Building Management Portal is set to go live on Tuesday, October 6 2026.
The portal will replace the Online Faculty System. It will be used for List A, List B, and faculty applications, and will provide a clearer and more structured way for applicants, parishes, DAC teams, archdeacons, registrars, chancellors, and consultees to work through the application process.
The Online Faculty System was closed on Wednesday, September 30 2026 to allow time for a final export of data to the new portal before it goes live. The final DAC meeting under the old system took place on Tuesday, September 22 2026.
The legal process itself is not changing. The Building Management Portal provides a new digital route for managing the same permission framework, with clearer workflow stages, improved case visibility, and role-based access.
Users will access the system through the CofE Portal. This provides a secure login route and includes two-factor authentication. Some users may need to complete a one-time registration process so that their role, diocese, and church access can be assigned correctly.
Existing and some historic cases from the Online Faculty System will be migrated into the Building Management Portal. As part of onboarding, dioceses will be asked to review imported information and test representative cases so that any data or access issues can be identified before the final transition. You will be notified when your infomation has been imported to the new system so please check your new church profile carefully when you receive notification.
Training resources, FAQs, videos and details of training sessions on the new portal can be found below.
If you have questions about a current or future application, please contact, DAC Secretary, Suzannah Meade.
Further national information is available on the Church of England website.
Training Resources
The Church of England has produced some training videos to help parishes get started with the Building Management Portal.
An introduction to the Building Management Portal
Watch this introductory video to learn about the Building Management Portal
The Building Management Portal: Registration and account management
A step-by-step guide to creating an account and account management.
Diocesan training sessions
To support parishes with the rollout of the BMP, we are running online Zoom training sessions for incumbents, churchwardens, PCC members, and anyone in the parish who is involved with requesting faculties. These sessions will provide guidance on registering for and using the BMP, helping participants to feel confident in using the new system.
Sessions will take place via Zoom at 11am - 12pm on the following dates:
- Tuesday 20 October 2026
- Tuesday 17 November 2026
- Tuesday 8 December 2026
- Tuesday 19 January 2027
Register for a training session using the form below:
The registration form can also be accessed on the link below.
Monthly drop in sessions
We are planning Monthly drop in sessions for questions and ongoing support. Further details will be added here in the coming weeks.
Next steps: What you need to do in preparation for the new Building Management Portal
1. Note the dates for the OFS shutdown
2. Register for the CofE Portal
You can register for the Cofe Portal at: cofeportal.org/register
3. Login for the Building Management Portal
Users will access the portal through the CofE Portal
4. Attend a DAC drop in session
A link to drop in sessions will be added shortly
FAQs
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What is the Building Management Portal?
The Building Management Portal is the Church of England's new national digital platform for managing applications relating to church buildings, their contents and churchyards.The new Building Management Portal will be easier to use, saving you time on your church faculty applications.
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What is the CofE Portal?
The CofE Portal brings together a number of really useful websites and system across the Church of England. Its purpose is simplify access for you and to bring together all of the sites and systems under just one username and password. Thr Building Management Portal is just one 'gateway' within this Portal.
The CofE Portal is located here: cofeportal.org
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Why do I have to register for the Cofe Portal and not the Building Management Portal?
The CofE Portal provides the single sign-on. The Building Management Portal uses this for authentication, and so users must be registered with it.
For users who already have a CofE Portal account, this connection process is straightforward. For this reason, it is recommended that as many users as possible are registered on the CofE Portal in advance, as this will simplify onboarding and ensure that two-factor authentication is already in place. This reflects current security requirements and is necessary to meet cybersecurity standards.
More FAQs can be found by visiting the Building Management Portal page of the Church of England website.
