Once all documents are uploaded, the project administrator should perform a thorough quality check before submitting them for review in WELL Online. The project team can submit documentation for review in WELL Online under the Reviews tab.

After a project submits the comprehensive documentation, the WELL Reviewer will begin the preliminary documentation review. The project administrator is notified when all documents are reviewed by the third-party reviewers. Project teams have the opportunity to address any review comments from the WELL Reviewer to resubmit for a final documentation review.

The process and timeline differs depending on how you are engaged in WELL. Select the correct tab below to learn more about the review process for your project.

• As a WELL at scale subscriber, you may submit up to two review cycles per subscription year. Each cycle consists of up to two review rounds. Milestones like WELL Precertification, WELL Certification or a WELL Rating are only awarded at the end of a review cycle (i.e. after round two, or after round one if you choose to accept that review as final).

  The process is the same for both review cycles. See the flowchart below, then keep reading for more information:

  

  Review process

  1. Submit your documentation, including the WELL at scale review form, and performance testing results (if applicable) for review. 

  2. Allow approximately 20-25 business days for review. 

  3. During the review, you may receive a request from the reviewers for mid-review clarification. The project administrator will receive an email notifying them of this request, and the status of your review in your WELL at scale account will change to ‘Require clarification’. Respond to this request as quickly as possible and re-submit for review. Your review will be on hold until your response is received

  4. After the first round of review is complete, view your review report. 

  5. Decide whether to accept this review as final–in which case you will waive your second review in

  

  The overall process for both the preliminary and final rounds of review is identical.

• The third-party WELL Reviewers conduct two rounds of review of submitted documentation: preliminary and final.

  Preliminary review

  This is your first round of review. WELL Reviewers may flag areas that require attention from your project team. If this is the case, your project team can address any feedback and resubmit your documentation for the final round of review.

  • If, after the preliminary review, the project is determined to be in compliance with WELL criteria, the reviewer will notify you of your project’s success.

  Final review

  This is the second and final round of review. If the project is determined to be in compliance with WELL criteria, the reviewer will notify you of your project’s success.

  • If the required number of features have not been met (15 for the WELL Health-Safety Rating, 21 for the WELL Performance Rating or WELL Equity Rating), review the technical advice provided and submit for curative action review. There are additional fees associated with curative action review.
  • For more information, see the WELL Program Guidebook and WELL Health-Safety Rating pricing or WELL Performance Rating pricing.

  Review timelines

  For both preliminary documentation and final documentation review, you can expect a response from your WELL Reviewer within 8 to 10 business days for WELL Health-Safety Rating and WELL Equity Rating projects or 20-25 business days for WELL Performance Rating projects.

  For multiple-location submissions, review timelines may be longer, with a maximum of up to 25 business days.

  If you are seeking to pursue both a WELL Rating and WELL Certification, Certification can be pursued concurrently with a WELL Rating. When you submit both reviews together, they will be returned together. The review timeline for WELL Certification is 20-25 business days for each review.

  If you submit for preliminary review concurrently, when you submit for final review, it should also be submitted concurrently. Submitting final reviews separately will trigger an additional review fee.

• For both the preliminary and final rounds of documentation review, the WELL Reviewer will return the review within 20-25 business days after documentation is submitted. Once all documents are verified as satisfactory, then the project may proceed to performance verification.

  If you are seeking the WELL Health-Safety Rating and WELL Certification, both can be pursued concurrently. When you submit both reviews together, they will be returned together.

  It is important to remember that select WELL features require annual submissions to verify the continued implementation of WELL requirements.

  More information on Performance Verification and WELL Certification can be found in the Performance Verification Guidebook and the WELL Program Guidebook.

• Overview

  All projects must successfully pass Documentation Review. The WELL Reviewer will begin this review once a project submits all design and protocol documentation attesting to conditions in place (Implementation-stage documents, see "Document Stages" under Documentation Requirements).

  Timeline

  After documentation is submitted, the WELL Reviewer will respond with review comments within 20-25 business days, indicating if documentation submitted for each feature is satisfactory. The project will be notified if GBCI finds any submissions to be inaccurate or unsatisfactory, or if further documentation is required. The project will have an opportunity to amend existing documents or submit additional materials for a second review. The WELL Reviewer will respond with the results of the second review within 20-25 business days.

  If any additional reviews are required, additional fees will apply. Any additional rounds of review will also be completed within 20-25 business days.

  Projects that have achieved Precertification

  When a WELL Community project that has achieved WELL Precertification submits for Documentation Review, it does not need to submit any documents for features achieved utilizing implementation-stage documents, provided that relevant project conditions have not changed. The project does need to submit new documentation for features that used intent-stage documentation, since that documentation referred to a different state in the construction process.

  Next steps

  If all documents are found to be satisfactory, then the project may proceed to Performance Verification.