What is an asbestos register?
The asbestos register is the record at the heart of the duty to manage — and the first thing anyone should check before working on an older building. Here is what it should contain and how it relates to the management plan.
What the register is
The asbestos register is the up-to-date record of the asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) in a building. It is what the duty to manage asbestos requires you to keep, and it is populated by an asbestos survey.
What the register should contain
It helps to separate the core register information — the minimum record you need — from the useful management fields that make the register work harder for you.
Core register information
Location
Where each asbestos-containing material (ACM) is — building, floor, room and position — precisely enough that anyone can find it before working nearby.
Type, description and extent
What the material is (for example pipe insulation, ceiling tiles, cement sheet), whether asbestos is confirmed or presumed, and how much of it there is.
Condition
The current condition of each material — good, or damaged and more likely to release fibres — which drives the risk.
Inspection dates
When each material was inspected, so the record can be kept current and the next check scheduled.
Risk assessment
The HSG264 assessment of each material — a material assessment and a priority assessment — leading to a risk score.
Useful management information
Recommended action
What should happen — manage in place and monitor, repair, encapsulate, or remove — and by when.
Owner
Who is responsible for the action on each material.
Due date
When each action is due, so nothing is left open indefinitely.
Evidence of completion
A record that the action was carried out — useful when you need to show the duty was met.
Next condition check
When each material is next due to be re-inspected, based on its condition and risk.
Register vs management plan
The register says what and where the asbestos is, its condition and its risk. The management plan says how the risk will be managed — who is responsible, what actions are needed, and the timescales. The plan draws on the register, and the two must stay consistent: when a material is re-inspected, remediated or removed, both are updated together.
Keeping it current
A register is only useful if it is live. Review the register and your management arrangements at least once a year, and sooner whenever the condition, location or likelihood of disturbance of a material changes, or the building or its use changes. The frequency of the individual condition inspections should be risk-based — set according to each material's condition and how likely it is to be disturbed. A survey PDF left in a drawer is not a managed register.
A living register, not a PDF in a drawer
Complys holds a structured, editable asbestos register — each material's condition, HSG264 risk score, recommended action and re-inspection date — and tracks review dates across a property portfolio. Upload an existing survey and it becomes a living record. It does not carry out the survey — that stays with a competent surveyor.
Asbestos management software →FAQs
What is an asbestos register?
The up-to-date record of the asbestos-containing materials in a building: the location, type, extent and condition of each material, its inspection dates and its HSG264 risk assessment. It is the record the duty to manage asbestos requires, and the thing anyone about to work on the building should check first.
What must the register contain?
As a minimum: the known or presumed ACMs, their type, amount/extent and location, their condition, the inspection dates, and the material and priority (HSG264) risk assessments. Fields like the recommended action, who owns it, its due date, evidence of completion and the next check date are not part of that minimum, but they are extremely useful for actually managing the risk.
What is the difference between the register and the management plan?
The register records what and where the asbestos is, its condition and its risk. The management plan records how the risk will be managed — who is responsible, what actions are needed and the timescales. The plan draws on the register, and the two must be kept consistent as materials are re-inspected, remediated or removed.
How often should the register be reviewed?
Review the register and your management arrangements at least once a year, and sooner whenever the condition, location or likelihood of disturbance of a material changes, or the building or its use changes. The frequency of individual condition inspections should be risk-based — set according to each material's condition and how likely it is to be disturbed.
Related: duty to manage asbestos, asbestos survey types, and asbestos management software. General information, not legal advice.