Practical completion and snagging: finishing a job on paper

↑ Part of the Getting Paid series · Getting paid on time

Practical completion is the point at which a job counts as finished, even though a few small things are still to put right. Those small things go on a snag list, agreed with the customer, and you clear them afterwards. Recording the date matters more than most trades realise: the final payment, the release of any retention, and the start of any defects period or guarantee can all run from it. If nobody writes it down, none of them has a start date.

This page sits under our guide to getting paid on time. It covers what practical completion means on an ordinary job, how to run the walk-round, what to hand over, and how to keep the snag list from turning into a second job.

Part 1What practical completion means

---

On a large contract, practical completion is certified by someone named in the contract, against wording that lawyers have argued about for years. On most trade jobs it is simpler: the work is done, the customer can use what you built, and anything outstanding is minor enough to be listed and fixed without getting in their way.

The test that matters in practice is whether anything left is trivial. A bathroom with a missing bead of sealant is complete. A bathroom with no working toilet, or a run of cracked tiles, is not, however usable it looks.

Part 2Agree it at a walk-round

---

Arrange a walk-round with the customer when you believe the work is finished. Go through the job together, room by room or item by item, and write down anything that needs putting right. Then confirm in writing that the works are complete from that date, with the list attached.

An email is enough:

• The date of the walk-round, which is the date of practical completion.
• The snag list, item by item, specific enough that both of you will know when each is done: "Reseal bath to wall, left-hand end", not "sealant".
• When you will come back to clear it.
• What happens next: the final invoice, any retention due, and when any guarantee period starts.

Agreeing a snag list is not the customer agreeing the work is perfect. A homeowner keeps their legal rights over anything found later, and your paperwork should not suggest otherwise. What the list does is separate the small finishing items from the job itself, so the job can be called finished and paid for.

Part 3What to hand over

---

A tidy handover makes the job feel finished, and it heads off the phone call six months later. Depending on the work:

• Certificates the work needs, such as electrical or gas safety certificates and building control sign-off.
• Manuals and warranties for anything you fitted: the boiler, the shower, the extractor, the appliances.
• How to use and look after it: where the stopcock is, how to bleed the radiators, how long before the new floor can be mopped.
• Your guarantee, in writing, with its start date.

Part 4Keep the snag list from growing

---

A snag list is a list of defects in the work you agreed to do. It is not a list of new things the customer would now like. When an item turns up that was never in your quote, a different shade, an extra socket, the shelf they have decided they want, it is a variation: priced and agreed before you do it. Our guide to handling variations covers how to raise it without an argument.

Clear the genuine snags quickly, ideally in one return visit, and confirm in writing when they are done. A list that drags on is the most common reason a final payment drags on with it.

Part 5Why the date decides when you're paid

---

Practical completion is usually the trigger for several things at once:

• The final payment, if your stage payments end on completion.
• The first release of any retention, often half at practical completion. Our guide to retention covers the rest.
• The start of any defects period or guarantee, which then ends on a date you can both point to.

A date in an email you both have is evidence of when each of those began. A job that drifts to an end without one leaves every one of them open to argument.

Common questionsPractical completion: quick FAQ

---

What is practical completion?

The point at which the work counts as finished, apart from minor items that can be listed and fixed without stopping the customer using it. On most trade jobs it is the date of a walk-round where the snag list is agreed.

What is a snag list?

A written list of small defects or unfinished items in the work you quoted for, agreed with the customer at the walk-round, which you then come back and clear.

Can a customer refuse to pay until every snag is done?

Your terms set when the final payment falls due, so put on the quote that it is due at practical completion, with the snags cleared afterwards. A homeowner can still hold back a fair sum against genuine defects or unfinished work until it is put right, and on work the Construction Act covers, a customer who wants to pay less than the sum due has to send a pay less notice in time. Keep the snag list short and specific so there is little to hold back against.

Does agreeing a snag list mean the customer accepts the work?

No. It records what is outstanding at that date. A homeowner keeps their legal rights over anything found later, whatever the list says.

When does the defects period start?

Usually at practical completion, which is why the date should be written down and agreed. Your terms should say so.

This guide is general information for UK tradespeople, current to the best of our knowledge in 2026, and is not tax, accounting or legal advice. Rates, thresholds and how they apply to you change, so confirm your position with HMRC, a qualified accountant or a solicitor before relying on it. TradeDraft accepts no liability for decisions made on the basis of this guide. Questions: hello@tradedraft.co.uk.