CHAS and Constructionline accreditation: UK tradesperson guide (2026)

Health and safety accreditation schemes like CHAS, Constructionline, SafeContractor, and Altius have become the gatekeepers of commercial and public sector contracting in the UK. If you want to work for a principal contractor, a housing association, a local authority, or a facilities management company, the chances are you will need to be accredited. This guide explains what each scheme is, which one you should apply for, what the process involves, and how much it costs.

What health and safety accreditation is and why it matters

Health and safety accreditation schemes provide a standardised way for principal contractors, clients, and facility managers to verify that a subcontractor or supplier has adequate health and safety policies, procedures, and practices in place. Rather than asking every subcontractor to complete a lengthy prequalification questionnaire (PQQ) from scratch each time they want to tender for work, the client can simply check whether the contractor is accredited by a recognised scheme.

Local authorities often require CHAS or Constructionline accreditation for any contractor working on their estates or housing stock. Principal contractors on larger construction projects often require SafeContractor or Constructionline Silver or Gold. Facilities management companies typically require CHAS or SafeContractor for maintenance contractors. Without the right accreditation, you simply will not be considered for this category of work, regardless of your ability or track record.

The main accreditation schemes

The four main schemes operating in the UK are CHAS, Constructionline, SafeContractor, and Altius. They all assess broadly similar things — your health and safety policy, risk assessments, insurance certificates, method statements, and your track record — but they differ in their focus, pricing structure, and which clients recognise them.

CHAS (Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme) is one of the longest-established schemes and is widely recognised across local government, housing associations, and facilities management. It was originally set up by local authorities and remains the default requirement in much of the public sector maintenance world.

Constructionline is backed by the government and managed by Capita. It operates at Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels, with Bronze being a basic online verification and Gold requiring a more thorough audit. It is widely used by principal contractors on new-build and refurbishment projects.

SafeContractor is owned by Alcumus and is widely recognised across facilities management, retail, and commercial construction. It is broadly equivalent to CHAS in scope and process.

Altius takes a more tailored approach, conducting a bespoke assessment against the specific risk profile of the work being carried out. It is used by some larger principal contractors who want more rigour than a standard accreditation.

CHAS vs Constructionline: which do you need?

The short answer is: apply for whichever scheme the clients you want to work for require. In practice, CHAS is more prevalent in facilities management and public sector property maintenance. Constructionline is more commonly required for construction projects and subcontracting within the construction industry.

If you are targeting both markets — maintenance and construction — it may be worth holding both. The annual cost of holding two accreditations is significant, but the additional contracts you can tender for often justify it. Some contractors start with CHAS (typically cheaper for smaller businesses) and add Constructionline as their business grows.

Note that CHAS and Constructionline have a mutual recognition agreement for some elements of the assessment, which can simplify the process if you hold one and are applying for the other.

What you need to apply

All schemes require broadly the same documentary evidence. You will need: a written health and safety policy (mandatory if you employ five or more people, recommended even if you do not), risk assessments relevant to your trade activities, method statements for your typical work activities, valid public liability and employers' liability insurance certificates, and your company details (registration number, turnover, number of employees, types of work carried out).

For higher levels of accreditation (Constructionline Silver and Gold, for example), you may also need to demonstrate: a documented accident and near-miss reporting process, records of toolbox talks and health and safety training, evidence of how you manage subcontractors, and environmental and quality management procedures.

If you do not have these documents in place, creating them before applying is time well spent. Generic templates are available online, but a document tailored to your specific trade activities and work environment is far more likely to satisfy an assessor than a clearly generic policy with the company name pasted in.

Step-by-step CHAS application process

The CHAS application is completed online through the CHAS portal. The process involves: creating an account and selecting your membership tier based on your company size and turnover; completing the online questionnaire covering your health and safety arrangements; uploading your supporting documents (policy, risk assessments, insurance certificates); and paying the annual fee. Once submitted, a CHAS assessor reviews your application. They may come back with questions or requests for clarification. Once satisfied, your accreditation is confirmed and appears on the CHAS contractor search, which clients use to verify your status.

The process is largely self-service, though CHAS offers support by phone and email. Many trade businesses find it helpful to work through their first application with a health and safety consultant who knows what assessors are looking for.

How much accreditation costs

Fees are structured by company size (usually based on turnover or number of employees) and are reviewed annually. Approximate 2026 fee ranges: CHAS starts from around £249/yr for a sole trader with minimal turnover, rising to £499/yr or more for small companies. Constructionline Bronze starts from around £280/yr and increases with company size; higher tiers cost more. SafeContractor is broadly comparable to CHAS in pricing structure. These are in addition to any costs for document preparation if you use an external consultant.

How long it takes

Allow 4–8 weeks from submitting a complete application to receiving your accreditation. The main variable is how quickly the assessor processes your application and whether they come back with questions that require additional documentation. Applications that are submitted with all the required documents in good order tend to come back faster. Applications submitted with missing or inadequate documents can take considerably longer as the back-and-forth extends the process.

If you have a specific contract opportunity that requires accreditation, start the process as early as possible — do not wait until the tender deadline is weeks away and then discover you cannot be accredited in time.

Maintaining your accreditation

All schemes require annual renewal. The renewal process is generally lighter than the initial application — you are confirming that your arrangements are still in place and updating any changed information rather than starting from scratch. However, you must ensure your insurance certificates, policy documents, and risk assessments are kept current. An expired insurance certificate at renewal time will cause your accreditation to lapse.

If your business changes significantly during the year — you take on employees, expand into new trade activities, or your turnover moves into a higher band — notify the scheme. Failing to keep your accreditation details accurate can result in it being suspended.

Using Trade2Base to store and track compliance documents

The most common reason trade businesses run into problems at accreditation renewal time is that their compliance documents are scattered — insurance certificates in an email folder, risk assessments on a laptop that has since been replaced, method statements that were written three years ago and never updated. Centralising your compliance documents in one place eliminates this problem.

Trade2Base lets you store your health and safety documents, insurance certificates, accreditation confirmations, and training records in your business profile. You can set renewal reminders for each document and accreditation so you are prompted to act in good time — not when a client has already asked for proof of accreditation you assumed was still valid.

When you are tendering for commercial work and a client asks for proof of CHAS or Constructionline accreditation, you can retrieve your certificates instantly from Trade2Base and share them directly, without hunting through email archives or physical files.