Sharing Common Assessment Standard data between assessment bodies

A supplier with a current Common Assessment Standard (CAS) certification from one recognised assessment body may want its assessment visible to buyers who use another body's portal. Build UK provides a data-sharing process for that purpose. Sharing does not mean buying or passing a second CAS assessment, and it does not let you claim certification you do not hold.

This guide covers the administrative route after certification. For the assessment itself, see our CAS overview. Buyers checking a bidder should use the separate CAS verification guide.

Check eligibility first

Confirm that your company holds current CAS certification from a body on Build UK's current Recognised Assessment Body list. Record the certified legal name, body, product or level, reference and expiry. General platform membership, an SSIP health and safety certificate or a submitted but unfinished CAS application is not the same thing.

Next identify which additional bodies' portals matter to your target buyers. Build UK publishes the receiving-body data-sharing forms or directs suppliers to the relevant portals. Choose based on actual procurement routes rather than submitting every form by habit. A buyer may also accept the original certificate directly; ask what it wants to see.

Complete the receiving body's form

Build UK says the supplier should complete the data-sharing form for each receiving recognised assessment body. The form may be on the receiving body's site or inside its portal. Follow its current instructions for identity, certification and consent. Keep a copy or reference of each request, the recipient and the date.

Build UK also says the supplier must email the body that originally certified it to give permission for data to be shared. Do both steps. A form sent only to the receiving body may not complete the permission chain. Ask the original body what exact reference it needs; do not send sensitive financial or personal records by unsecured email merely because the process mentions an email.

The source body's and receiving body's current privacy notices and terms govern what data is shared and how the supplier is represented. Build UK's data-sharing overview describes the common data-sharing approach, but the live forms control the practical request.

The shared record covers specified verified answers and time-critical details; the data-sharing process does not transfer underlying certificates or other documents. Send supporting evidence separately if the buyer requires it, using the buyer's approved route.

Confirm visibility before citing it in a bid

After the request, check the receiving portal or ask the body to confirm that the record is visible. Compare the legal name, assessment level, status and expiry with the original certification. If the receiving portal has not updated, supply the original certificate to the buyer while resolving the issue; do not say the data is visible where it is not.

Sharing is a visibility step, not a new certification decision by the receiving body. Buyers should still verify the current assessment and its relevance to their contract. If the buyer requests additional project-specific evidence, supply it separately. A CAS assessment does not replace task-specific competence, insurance or site controls.

Keep a sharing register

For each body, record the form used, date sent, permission email sent to the original body, response, portal visibility, renewal date and person responsible for follow-up. Recheck after annual CAS renewal and any legal-entity change. An old shared record should not be treated as evidence of an indefinitely valid certificate.

The contractor prequalification software buyer page is relevant if your team also needs to organise certificates, owners and renewal dates across its supply chain. Ask for a demonstration of the document workflow. Complys is not a Build UK recognised assessment body and does not submit a CAS data-sharing request or certify a supplier for you.

Sources and claim boundaries

• Build UK — Common Assessment Standard, Data Sharing section: current body list, receiving-body form and permission email to original assessor.
• Build UK — Data Sharing: An Overview: the shared-data mechanism.
• HSE — Are you a contractor?: why work-specific capability still matters after organisation-level prequalification.

Editorial note: Recognised bodies, forms and portal arrangements change. Recheck Build UK's current list and the two bodies' live instructions immediately before publication.