The WPJ blog

All businesses and engineers that undertake gas work must be registered with Gas Safe, the scheme owned by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) that exists to protect consumers from unsafe gas practices.

Qualification requirements

To be accepted onto the Gas Safe Register, valid evidence must be held to demonstrate competence in gas safety such as:

• National Accredited Certification Scheme for individual Gas Fitting Operatives (ACS)
• ACS aligned National/Scottish Vocational Qualifications (NVQ/SVQ)
• Qualification Credit Framework (QCF)

Evidence of competence must be less than five years old.

Becoming registered with the Gas Safe Register

You can apply for registration online or by downloading the registration form on the Gas Safe website. The cost of a new application is £362 plus VAT, which covers one engineer and registration fees for a year.

The Gas Safe Register will process the information you supply and inform you of the outcome of your application.

Once you have received confirmation of being accepted onto the Register you can carry out gas work and use the Gas Safe brand. You will be provided with:

• a license card for each engineer, which should be carried at all times and shown to customers at the start of a job.
• a Business Registration Certificate that acts as additional proof for your customers to demonstrate that your company is registered.
• a VAT receipt for the payment made.
• brand guidelines detailing how to use the Gas Safe logo to its full advantage.

The ongoing commitment of the Gas Safe Register

One of the key functions of the Gas Safe Register is to evaluate gas work through probation and inspection in order to maintain industry standards and reassure customers of the high quality work of registered businesses and engineers.

When a business registers for the first time, or following an extended break, it will be given probationary registration status.

This means that the business is fully registered and able to carry out gas work but they must be aware of the following:

• Probation lasts for three months
• You must keep a record and notify the Register of all gas work completed
• Any history you already have on the registration scheme will be used to inform your progress through the probationary period
• Businesses will move out of probationary registration once competence has been fully demonstrated and this may entail the extension of the probation period if deemed necessary

Engineers and the management of gas work is inspected regularly using a variety of inspection methods, including:

• Inspection of completed work
• Accompanying you on site and observing the work being carried out
• Knowledge assessments
• Recognition of high quality work
• Assistance to put things right when work does not go to plan
• Staff dedicated to pursuing unregistered engineers in your area

Registration lasts for one year thus engineer licence cards will expire twelve months after registration or earlier if competencies are due to terminate before this.

A registration renewal reminder will be sent but businesses and engineers are responsible for ensuring that their registration does not lapse. Renewal can be paid for by logging into your online account, calling the Gas Safe Register contact centre and paying over the phone, completing a renewal pack and enclosing a cheque for the fee, or by setting up a Direct Debit for payment to be taken automatically.