Plain-English guides to the standards used to assess noise and acoustics in planning, permitting and building control — and which report you need for each.
| Standard | What it covers | Report |
|---|---|---|
| BS 4142 | Noise from industrial and commercial plant affecting nearby homes | Plant & Machinery Noise |
| BS 8233 | Internal noise levels inside new homes | Residential Development Noise |
| Approved Document E | Sound insulation between dwellings | Sound Insulation Design |
| Reverberation time criteria | How long sound lingers in a room, and the targets per building type | Room Acoustics Design |
Working outside the UK?
These four are the UK frameworks, and they are the ones most often asked for by name. The same physics applies everywhere, under different labels:
| Topic | UK | EU / ISO | US / Canada | AU / NZ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant noise | BS 4142 | ISO 9613-2 | ANSI/ASA S12.9, local ordinance | AS 1055 |
| Residential internal levels | BS 8233, ProPG | WHO 2018, END | HUD, FHWA | AS 3671, AS 2107 |
| Sound insulation | Approved Document E | ISO 717, ISO 12354 | ASTM E413 STC, E492 IIC, IBC 1206 | NCC Part F |
| Room acoustics | BB93, HTM 08-01 | ISO 3382-2 | ANSI/ASA S12.60, ASHRAE | AS/NZS 2107 |
Tell us the country and the authority in your brief and we assess against the right one. See reports and prices.