Practical completion is the formal point at which the contractor declares the works are sufficiently complete that the client can take possession of the property and use it for its intended purpose. It is triggered by a Practical Completion Certificate, signed by the contract administrator or equivalent. The certificate triggers several contractual events: the end of the construction period, the start of the defects liability period (typically twelve months), the release of half the retention (typically 2.5% of the contract value), and the transfer of insurance responsibility from contractor to client. The word practical is doing work in the term. The project does not have to be perfect, only complete enough that the client can use it. Outstanding snagging items are addressed during the defects liability period. The term is UK-specific JCT terminology; American English uses substantial completion. The honest version: practical completion is often declared optimistically. A contractor under pressure to close a project will issue a PC certificate before the work is genuinely complete, and the client signs because they want their house back.