Why accreditation matters (and why it is not the law)

You can legally trade as a builder or contractor without CHAS, Constructionline or SafeContractor. What you cannot do is get through most pre-qualification questionnaires without one. Main contractors, housing associations, councils and facilities managers use these schemes to check health and safety competence once, instead of sending every subcontractor a 40-page questionnaire.

For a contractor turning over £500K+ the real question is not "do I need one?" but "which one opens the work I want, and how do I avoid paying for three that check the same thing?"

The main schemes in plain English

Scheme	What it is	Who tends to ask for it
CHAS (Veriforce CHAS)	Health and safety pre-qualification with tiered levels; its Elite level is a recognised Common Assessment Standard certificate.	Councils, housing, schools, many main contractors.
Constructionline	Supplier pre-qualification database used by buyers to find and vet contractors; Gold and Platinum levels are CAS certificates.	Tier-1 contractors and public sector buyers.
SafeContractor (Alcumus)	Health and safety contractor approval, widely used outside pure construction.	Facilities management, retail, commercial property clients.
SMAS Worksafe	SSIP health and safety assessment; Worksafe Pro is a recognised CAS certificate.	Smaller main contractors, domestic/commercial clients.
ISO 9001 / 14001 / 45001	Full management system certifications (quality, environment, health and safety), audited by a certification body.	Frameworks, larger tenders, tier-1 supply chains.

Scheme levels and names change; always check the current package on the scheme's own website before you apply.

What each scheme costs in 2026

Prices below are the published annual fees on each scheme’s own website in October 2026. They are starting prices for small businesses; CHAS and SafeContractor scale by number of employees, Constructionline by turnover. Check the live price for your size before you buy.

Scheme and level	Published price (per year)	SSIP	Common Assessment Standard
CHAS Standard	From £429	Yes	No
CHAS Advanced	From £659	Yes	No (meets the former PAS 91)
CHAS Elite	From £949	Yes	Yes
Constructionline Bronze	£399 + VAT (turnover under £75K) to £1,749 + VAT (£2.5M–£3.5M), plus a one-off joining fee	Yes	No
Constructionline Gold	£749 + VAT (under £75K), £2,549 + VAT (£1M–£1.5M), £3,099 + VAT (£2.5M–£3.5M), plus joining fee	Yes	Yes
SafeContractor Standard	From £419, plus a one-off joining fee	Yes	No
SafeContractor Express / Premier	From £499 / £549, plus joining fee	Yes	No

Constructionline prices shown are for a company that does not already hold another SSIP certificate; the joining fee was £99 for the smallest band and £299 from £1M turnover when we checked. Sources: CHAS packages, Constructionline sub-contractor memberships, SafeContractor pricing.

What this means for a £1M–£3M contractor: the cheapest way to cover most tier-1 and public sector requests is usually one CAS-level certificate (CHAS Elite or Constructionline Gold), not three separate memberships. Paying for CHAS Standard, SafeContractor and Constructionline Bronze at the same time can easily cost more than one Gold or Elite certificate and still leave you without CAS.

How long approval takes

Timing depends on how ready your paperwork is, far more than on the scheme. SafeContractor publishes its review times by plan: assessment review within 20 working days on Standard, and within 2–5 working days on its faster Assisted, Express and Premier plans. CHAS and Constructionline do not publish a single fixed turnaround, and every scheme sends documents back for correction if your policies or evidence are weak. If a tender deadline is close, budget for one round of corrections and apply at least a month ahead.

All three are annual. Put the renewal date in your calendar 60 days early: a lapsed certificate is one of the most common reasons a contractor is knocked out at pre-qualification.

The Common Assessment Standard and SSIP, explained

The Common Assessment Standard is run by Build UK. It is one industry-agreed question set and assessment standard, so a contractor can be assessed once and accepted by many clients. Build UK lists seven recognised certification bodies: Achilles, Compliance Chain, Constructionline, CQMS, SCCS, Smas Worksafe and Veriforce CHAS. Central government departments are directed to use the standard under procurement note PPN 03/24, which is why it matters if you want public sector work.

SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) works at a more basic level. Member schemes recognise each other's health and safety assessments ("deem to satisfy"), so a pass with one member scheme can help you get recognised by another without repeating the whole assessment. It saves time and money, but a client is still entitled to insist on its own preferred scheme.

In practice: one CAS certificate plus SSIP recognition covers most requests a growing contractor receives. Buying three overlapping memberships "just in case" is an easy overhead to cut.

How to choose: a 4-question decision framework

1. Who are your next 12 months of clients? List the last five tenders or subcontract packages you wanted. Write down exactly which scheme each one asked for. That list, not a sales call from a scheme, decides your first accreditation.
2. Do you want tier-1 or public sector work? If yes, prioritise a CAS-level certificate (for example CHAS Elite or Constructionline Gold).
3. Are your clients outside construction (FM, retail, property)? Check whether they name SafeContractor or another scheme specifically.
4. Are frameworks on your 2–3 year plan? Then start building the documents ISO 9001/14001/45001 will need now: policies, risk assessments, method statements, training records, subcontractor checks. The same paperwork feeds every scheme.

Accreditation is only one part of winning tenders. If you are already accredited but losing on quality scores, read how to win construction tenders in the UK.

What to have ready before you apply

Every scheme asks for a version of the same pack. Have these ready and signed before you start the application:

• Health and safety policy, signed and dated by a director, with named responsibilities
• Risk assessments and method statements (RAMS) for the work you actually do
• Employer’s liability and public liability insurance certificates
• Training records and CSCS or equivalent card details for your team
• Your competent health and safety advice arrangement (in-house or external)
• Accident and incident reporting procedure, plus your accident book
• How you check and manage your own subcontractors
• For CAS and higher levels: environmental, quality, equality and financial information

Our own construction company, Craftex, holds CHAS, SafeContractor and three ISO certifications. The lesson from going through them ourselves is simple: build the pack once, use it every week on site, and every new scheme becomes a short exercise instead of a new project.

Mistakes that fail or delay applications

• Generic downloaded policies. Assessors look for policies that match how your company actually works, signed and dated by a director.
• No evidence behind the policy. Toolbox talks, training records, RAMS and accident book entries need to exist, not just be promised.
• Wrong work categories. Applying under categories you don't really do invites extra questions and delays.
• Letting renewals lapse. Most schemes are annual. A lapsed certificate can knock you out of a tender at the worst possible moment.
• Treating it as paperwork, not a system. The contractors who pass easily have the same set-up pack in place: contracts, payment application templates, policies and records that are used every week.

FAQ

Is CHAS a legal requirement for contractors in the UK?

No. No accreditation scheme is a legal requirement to trade. Clients, main contractors and public bodies ask for it at pre-qualification, so in practice it decides which tenders you can enter.

What is the Common Assessment Standard?

An industry-agreed pre-qualification question set and assessment standard run by Build UK, certified by recognised bodies including Veriforce CHAS, Constructionline, Achilles, Smas Worksafe, CQMS, SCCS and Compliance Chain. Central government departments are directed to use it under PPN 03/24.

What is SSIP and does it mean I only need one scheme?

SSIP links health and safety schemes so that a pass with one member scheme can be recognised by another. It reduces duplication, but some clients still insist on their own preferred scheme or on CAS.

Which accreditation should a contractor get first?

Start from your target clients: check what your last five target tenders asked for. For tier-1 and public sector work, a CAS-level certificate usually covers most requests.

How much does CHAS cost in 2026?

CHAS publishes prices from £429 a year for Standard, £659 for Advanced and £949 for Elite (the Common Assessment Standard level), scaling with the number of employees.

How long does it take to get accredited?

It depends mostly on how ready your documents are. SafeContractor publishes assessment review times of up to 20 working days on its Standard plan and 2–5 working days on faster plans. Apply at least a month before a tender deadline.

Do I need ISO 45001 as well as CHAS?

Not usually at first. ISO 45001 is a full management system standard; schemes like CHAS check competence at pre-qualification level. Larger frameworks and tier-1 clients may ask for ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 as you grow.

This guide is general information, not legal or compliance advice. Scheme names, levels and requirements change; check the current rules with the scheme and with Build UK before applying. Sources: CHAS, Constructionline and SafeContractor published pricing (checked October 2026); Build UK — Common Assessment Standard; SSIP (ssip.org.uk).