What Accreditations Do I Need for Commercial Work?
The short answer
Legally, very few: employers' liability insurance if you employ people, plus the registrations your trade needs (Gas Safe, waste carrier and so on). CHAS, SafeContractor, Constructionline and ISO are not the law. Get one only when a specific tender or client asks for it.
- The law asks for little. Employers' liability insurance if you employ anyone, trade registrations like Gas Safe, a waste carrier registration if you move waste, and trained, competent people.
- Clients ask for much more. Main contractors, councils and facilities managers use CHAS, SafeContractor, Constructionline, SMAS and ISO to pre-qualify suppliers. No single scheme opens every door.
- Sviat's rule: get an accreditation only when a specific tender asks for that specific scheme. Most take 2–3 months, so you'll have time.
- What wins the first commercial jobs: insurance, H&S paperwork, CSCS cards, a clean capability statement and relationships. Accreditations alone don't bring enquiries.
You want to move from homeowner jobs to commercial work: offices, shops, fit-outs, work for main contractors. Someone tells you that you need CHAS. Someone else says Constructionline. A third says ISO. Each costs money and paperwork, and nobody can tell you which one will actually bring work.
Here's the straight answer. What the law requires, what each type of client asks for, and the order to do it in so you don't waste money. Want it mapped to your own target clients? Book a free strategy call.
This is general information from a contractor's experience, not legal advice.
What the law actually requires
Most of what gets called "accreditation" isn't the law. These are the things that are:
| Requirement | Who needs it |
|---|---|
| Employers' liability insurance (minimum £5 million cover) | Anyone who employs people, with few exceptions |
| Gas Safe registration | Anyone doing gas work |
| Waste carrier registration | Anyone transporting construction waste, including your own |
| Asbestos awareness training | Workers who could disturb asbestos, which on older commercial buildings is most trades |
| Competent, trained people and a health and safety policy | Every contractor; written policy once you have 5 or more employees |
| Trade-specific rules | For example, certification for electrical work and F-gas certification for refrigeration and air conditioning |
Public liability insurance isn't compulsory, but almost every commercial client will ask to see it before you set foot on site. If you design anything (design and build, temporary works), expect to be asked for professional indemnity cover too.
Paying for a scheme before you have the basics. No scheme will pass you without insurance certificates, a health and safety policy, risk assessments and training records.
What clients ask for, by client type
Accreditation schemes exist so buyers can check your health and safety competence once, instead of sending every supplier a 40-page questionnaire. That means the right scheme depends entirely on who you want to work for:
| Client | What they usually ask for |
|---|---|
| Large main contractors (tier 1) | An SSIP or Common Assessment Standard certificate, CSCS cards for everyone on site, RAMS, insurance certificates |
| Smaller main contractors | Insurance certificates, H&S policy, RAMS and CSCS cards; a scheme is often "nice to have" |
| Councils, schools, housing associations | Often CHAS or Constructionline; bigger contracts may ask for ISO 9001, 14001 or 45001 |
| Facilities managers, retail and office landlords | Often SafeContractor or another SSIP scheme |
| Private commercial clients and developers | Insurance, track record, references; schemes rarely decide it |
These are patterns, not rules. Scheme names and levels change, and every buyer writes their own requirements. Our CHAS vs Constructionline vs SafeContractor guide explains what each scheme is and what it costs.
Not sure which accreditation the client wants?
Still stuck working out what commercial clients need from you? Book a free call with our team and we'll map the shortest route to your first contracts.
Sviat's rule: only when a tender asks for it
I made this mistake myself. At Craftex I paid a lot for accreditations, and on their own they never paid off. Get an accreditation only when a specific tender for a specific project asks for that specific accreditation. Most schemes take 2–3 months, so you will have time once the request is real. Don't buy them hoping work will start pouring in. It won't.
Craftex today holds CHAS, SafeContractor and three ISO accreditations, so this isn't advice from someone who's against them. It's advice from someone who has paid for them and knows which ones earned their keep: the ones a real client asked for.
The trap looks like this:
- You buy three schemes upfront because "commercial clients want them".
- You pay annual renewals on all three while you still have no commercial clients.
- The first tender you see asks for a different one.
The schemes check largely the same things. Many SSIP schemes recognise each other, so once you hold one, a second can be quicker and cheaper. Another reason not to buy them all at once.
Not sure which accreditation, if any, your next client needs?
Book a free call and we'll work it out from the work you actually want.
The order to do it in
1. Get the basics in a folder. Insurance certificates (employers' and public liability), H&S policy, a RAMS template for your trade, training records, CSCS cards, waste carrier registration, company details. This is what every client asks for first, and what every scheme checks.
2. Pick the clients, not the scheme. Write down 10 commercial clients or main contractors you want to work for. Ask each what they require from a new subcontractor. You'll find the real answer in two days of phone calls, not in a sales brochure.
3. Apply when a specific opportunity asks. A main contractor wants you on their supply chain, or a tender you can win lists a scheme. Now you apply, for that scheme, at the level they ask for.
4. Let ISO wait for the right contract. ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 are full management systems with external audits. They make sense when frameworks or larger public tenders you're bidding for ask for them. See ISO 9001 for construction companies.
What actually wins the first commercial jobs
Accreditation gets you through the door. It doesn't make anyone pick you. What does:
- A one-page capability statement: what you do, projects you've done (with photos), the size of job you take, your insurance cover.
- Relationships with estimators and buyers at main contractors, built before the tender, not during it.
- Fast, complete paperwork. RAMS and insurance in the client's inbox the same day they ask.
- A clean first job. Finish on time, keep the site tidy, hand over the documents. Main contractors reuse subcontractors who don't cause problems.
Marek and Piter won a £450K tender after working with us, and say the fee has already returned five times over. Individual results, not typical or guaranteed.
Finding the work itself is a separate job. See how to move from residential to commercial work, how to get on construction frameworks and how to win council contracts as a small builder.
Accreditation checklist
If a tender has landed and you need the accreditation done properly in time, our accreditation support service helps you prepare it.
Is the bigger goal a commercial business that grows? Then 1-to-1 mentoring with Sviat, who runs Craftex today, is built to show results in about 4 months. Book a free strategy call to talk it through. To see where your business stands now, take the free 4-minute Construction Business Scorecard.
Before you pay for any scheme
- Insurance, H&S policy, RAMS and training records are in one folder
- CSCS cards for everyone who'll go on site
- A real client or tender has asked for this specific scheme
- You've checked whether a scheme you already hold is recognised
- You know the renewal cost and date before you sign up
