SSIP accreditation readiness checklist for contractors
If a buyer asks for CHAS, SMAS Worksafe, SafeContractor or another SSIP member assessment, it is tempting to start uploading every safety document you can find. A better starting point is to identify the work categories and scheme level you are applying for, then check whether your evidence shows how your business actually manages that work. A tidy policy file cannot compensate for training records unrelated to your trade, generic risk assessments or a subcontracting process nobody follows.
This checklist is a preparation aid based on the current SSIP Core Criteria, checked for this article on 2 October 2026. It is not an application form or a promise that an assessor will approve you. Your selected member scheme may ask for additional information according to its scope, tier and current rules. Use the scheme's actual portal and instructions for the submission.
The Health and Safety Executive says the law does not require third-party conformity assessment. Buyers may still require a particular scheme under their procurement terms. It also says scheme assessment does not prove a construction contractor can manage the risks of a specific site. Keep that distinction in mind as you prepare: accreditation evidence, legal duties, contract requirements and job-specific controls are related, but none is interchangeable with the others.
1. Choose the assessment you actually need
Write down the buyer's request exactly. Does it require any current SSIP-recognised assessment, a named member scheme, or a broader package beyond the SSIP core? Ask the buyer if the wording is unclear. Buying a higher tier because its name sounds stronger may add cost and evidence work without helping you qualify for the opportunity.
SSIP is a forum of member schemes with shared core criteria. CHAS explains that contractors apply through an SSIP member scheme rather than to SSIP itself. CHAS also describes the Deem to Satisfy process, which can allow an existing valid assessment from another member to be recognised subject to eligibility and any additional information. If you already hold a certificate, check mutual recognition before paying for a duplicate full assessment. The HSE similarly encourages proportionate use of scheme recognition.
Record the intended legal entity, work categories, number of workers, sites and whether your business will act as a contractor, principal contractor or another dutyholder. The criteria differ by applicable role. Confirm which edition or tier of a member's product covers the buyer's actual requirement. The SSIP explanation of mutual recognition sets out how member schemes relate; this guide focuses on evidence preparation.
2. Check your health and safety policy and responsibilities
The SSIP Core Criteria ask member schemes to verify that suppliers have created and implemented a suitable health and safety policy. The current criteria refer to a statement of intent signed by the managing director or equivalent and dated within the previous 12 months, with responsibilities and a chain of command defined. That is a scheme criterion. It should not be confused with the separate legal threshold for putting a health and safety policy in writing.
Check that the policy names the current business and reflects the work you do. Who has day-to-day responsibility for health and safety? Who supervises site work? Who reviews incidents, training needs and changes in procedures? If the document names someone who left a year ago, revise it. Then ask whether workers and supervisors can explain their responsibilities in practice.
For a small business, proportionate evidence matters. The HSE's guidance on conformity schemes notes that businesses with fewer than five employees do not have to write down their health and safety policy or significant risk-assessment findings merely because of those general legal rules. A member scheme may still need evidence to assess its criteria. Check the current small-business route instead of assuming either that no evidence is needed or that every applicant must have the same handbook.
3. Match training to the work categories
The SSIP criteria cover arrangements for relevant health and safety training and sample records showing it is current and proportionate to the activities assessed. Build a simple matrix of roles, people, required competence, training or qualification evidence and review dates. Then test it against the work categories in your application.
A card or certificate can help, but it may not prove that a person is competent for every variation of the task. Add experience, supervision and on-the-job assessment where relevant. Check that the people named in examples really work for the business and that records are in date. Where work uses labour-only subcontractors, consider how you provide information and verify their relevant competence. Do not upload a generic course list and leave the assessor to guess who performs the work.
If the gap is significant, make a plan before submitting. Assign an owner and date for the training or supervision improvement. Do not conceal a missing qualification by describing an inexperienced worker as competent. Use a simple role-by-role evidence table, then check the selected scheme's current instructions; its assessor makes the decision against the actual requirements.
4. Assemble work-specific risk and method examples
The current SSIP criterion on risk assessment and safe systems of work calls for documented procedures to identify hazards, complete risk assessments and develop safe systems of work. It asks for examples for the work categories selected, including recent site or project-specific risk assessments and method statements where applicable. COSHH examples are requested where hazardous substances are part of the service.
Choose examples that show the real risks in the activities you want assessed. A scaffolding example should not be a generic decorating risk assessment. A method statement should tell workers how the task was done, what controls were used and how the site affected the method. Check dates, company identity, revision status and whether the example aligns with the application category.
Do not invent a completed project if the business is new. SSIP says member schemes should take a sensible approach for start-ups that have not yet completed a full project, potentially using example documents demonstrating capability for the planned work. Ask the selected scheme what it will accept. Never present an illustrative document as evidence from a job that did not happen.
For the underlying risk-assessment process, use HSE's steps for managing risk. For the evidence that your selected scheme requests, use its current instructions and the SSIP Core Criteria. Neither source turns a generic sample into proof of how your business controls a particular job.
5. Explain how you manage subcontractors
If your business appoints subcontractors or consultants, the SSIP Core Criteria address appointment, organisational capability and monitoring. Explain how you select people for the work, what evidence you request, how you communicate site information and how performance is reviewed. If you allow further subcontracting, show how that chain is managed.
Avoid creating a policy that claims all subcontractors are “fully compliant” without a real selection process. A stronger example shows the scope of a recent appointment, the relevant evidence examined, who approved it and what happened when information expired or the job changed. If you do not subcontract, say so and check whether the criterion is not applicable in your chosen assessment.
If you use software to organise repeated supplier-evidence requests, ask for a demonstration of the released workflow and confirm its scope for your business. A software record can help organise what was requested and reviewed, but it does not transfer the assessor's or buyer's judgment to the system.
6. Check incident, enforcement and improvement information
The SSIP criteria ask for information about relevant HSE enforcement or prosecutions over the period stated in the current criteria and what corrective action was taken. Do not rely on memory or a vague “none known” answer. Check the legal entity and trading names, gather the required details and explain any corrective action truthfully. The current criteria say member schemes verify answers against the HSE register. They also include Republic of Ireland-specific HSA references where a supplier works there.
Scheme questions may also cover how you report and learn from accidents and near misses. Keep the answer grounded in what your organisation actually does. An incident log is useful only if people know when to report, someone investigates proportionately and corrective actions are completed. If the process has weaknesses, fix them rather than writing a polished description of a process that does not exist.
7. Check any role-specific criteria
The SSIP page distinguishes general supplier criteria from criteria for CDM dutyholders and other roles. A business seeking principal contractor assessment should expect questions that do not apply to a firm acting only as a subcontractor. The current criteria address matters including site induction arrangements, emergency planning and communication with the principal designer and client for principal contractor roles.
Do not copy a principal contractor answer into an application when your business does not perform that role. Conversely, do not assume a general contractor assessment covers an additional dutyholder role. Compare your intended work, tender requirements and the exact scheme category, then prepare evidence for the category you have selected. If a tender asks for broader Building Regulations competence, treat that as a separate scope to verify rather than claiming SSIP core assessment alone proves it.
8. Do a document-quality pass before submitting
Make a submission index with four columns: criterion, evidence file, date and reviewer. For each item ask:
- Does this evidence belong to the legal entity in the application?
- Is it current under the selected scheme's rules?
- Does it cover the activities and dutyholder role being assessed?
- Is it a real, readable example rather than a blank template?
- Do the people named in policies, training records and examples still hold those roles?
- If a criterion is not applicable, have you explained why rather than leaving it blank?
- Does any statement contradict another document or promise a control the business does not perform?
Review the answers with a supervisor or manager who knows the work. An assessor may ask for clarification; a clear index makes that easier. Do not submit confidential client or worker information unnecessarily. Follow the member scheme's instructions for secure upload and redaction while retaining enough context for the assessment.
Using an internal readiness review without mistaking it for approval
An internal evidence review can reveal missing records and assign fixes before you submit. Compare every result with the current member scheme instructions. If you assess readiness in software, confirm what the released workflow actually checks, how evidence is handled and which edition includes it. An internal score cannot guarantee assessment success, certify a firm or prove it can manage a particular project. Assessment and certification remain decisions of the chosen scheme. The HSE's distinction between general scheme assessment and site-specific suitability still applies after you obtain a certificate.
Final readiness check
Before pressing submit, confirm the scheme and level match the buyer request, the company details are consistent, the work categories are accurate, the required documents are current and the examples reflect actual practice. Resolve missing evidence or explain a legitimate not-applicable answer. Keep a copy of what was submitted and who reviewed it, then respond to assessor questions with source documents rather than broad assurances.
After approval, record the certificate's scope and expiry and keep the supporting arrangements current. A new trade, larger project or different dutyholder role may require fresh evidence. A certificate is a useful procurement signal, but it is not a permanent or universal finding that every future job will be safe.
Next step: Check the current SSIP Core Criteria and the instructions for your chosen member scheme. Build a criterion-to-evidence index, fix missing records and ask the scheme how it will assess anything genuinely not applicable.