Construction compliance guide

What Paperwork Do You Need for a Construction Job in the UK?

The definitive checklist of documents, certificates, and plans every builder and contractor needs before starting work. No jargon, no waffle — just the paperwork that matters.

Nicola Dobbie·Founder, The Site Book

TL;DR

Every construction job needs RAMS, insurance certificates, and competency evidence (CSCS cards) as a bare minimum.
Larger or higher-risk projects add a construction phase plan (CPP), F10 notification to the HSE, COSHH assessments, and formal welfare arrangements.
Missing paperwork can get you turned away from site, hit with improvement or prohibition notices, or prosecuted by the HSE.
This guide covers every document you might need, who is responsible for each one, and when it applies.

In this guide

What paperwork do builders actually need?

If you have ever turned up to a commercial site and been asked for a stack of documents you were not expecting, you are not alone. The amount of paperwork required on UK construction projects has grown significantly over the past two decades, driven by CDM 2015, HSE enforcement, and clients who are increasingly risk-aware.

The good news is that the core documents are the same for almost every job. Once you have a system for producing and managing them, it becomes routine. The bad news is that the consequences of getting it wrong are serious — from being refused entry at the gate to facing prosecution after an incident.

Here is the full list of paperwork you may need, depending on the size and nature of your project. Not every document applies to every job, but you should know what each one is and when it kicks in.

Risk assessments and method statements (RAMS)
Construction phase plan (CPP)
COSHH assessments for hazardous substances
F10 notification to the HSE (for notifiable projects)
Site induction records
Welfare facility arrangements
Health and safety policy (written, if 5+ employees)
Employers’ liability insurance certificate
Public liability insurance certificate
CSCS cards for all operatives
Subcontractor documentation packs
Environmental management plan or waste transfer notes

The HSE’s guidance for builders is the official starting point. This guide breaks each document down in plain English so you know exactly what is required and when.

What is RAMS and when do you need it?

RAMS stands for Risk Assessment and Method Statement. It is the single most commonly requested piece of construction paperwork, and for good reason — it is the document that demonstrates you have thought about what could go wrong and how you are going to prevent it.

The risk assessment identifies hazards, evaluates the likelihood and severity of harm, and sets out your control measures. The method statement describes the step-by-step safe system of work. Together, they form a complete safety plan for a specific task or project. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, every employer must carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments.

You need RAMS for virtually every construction activity that involves significant risk. That includes working at height, demolition, excavation, hot works, electrical work, working near live services, and handling hazardous substances. In practice, if you are doing construction work, you need a RAMS. Most principal contractors will ask to see it before allowing you on site.

The critical thing is that your RAMS must be site-specific. A generic template downloaded from the internet with your company name stuck at the top will not cut it. It needs to describe the actual hazards on the actual site where you are working. For a detailed breakdown, see our complete guide to RAMS.

Do you need a construction phase plan?

Under CDM 2015, a construction phase plan (CPP) is required for every project involving construction work. Yes, every project. The level of detail should be proportionate to the risks, but the requirement itself is universal.

The CPP sets out the overall approach to managing health and safety during the construction phase. It covers the site description, management arrangements, emergency procedures, welfare provisions, and how specific risks will be controlled. On projects with more than one contractor, the principal contractor must prepare the CPP. On single-contractor projects, the contractor is responsible.

For a small domestic job — say, replacing a flat roof on a terraced house — the CPP might be a two-page document. For a multi-million pound commercial development, it could run to 50 pages with appendices. The point is not the length; it is that the key risks have been identified and there is a clear plan for managing them.

The CPP must be in place before the construction phase begins. Starting work without one is a breach of CDM 2015. For more detail, see our guide to construction phase plans.

What are COSHH assessments and who needs them?

COSHH stands for the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. If your work involves any hazardous substance — and in construction, that covers a surprising amount — you need a COSHH assessment for each one.

Common hazardous substances on construction sites include cement (which causes dermatitis and burns), silica dust from cutting brickwork or concrete, solvents and adhesives, timber treatment chemicals, lead paint, and cleaning agents. Even everyday materials like wet plaster or expanding foam can be hazardous if handled incorrectly.

A COSHH assessment identifies the substance, the hazards it presents, who might be exposed, the control measures in place (ventilation, PPE, safe handling procedures), and what to do in an emergency such as a spill or skin contact. You can get the hazard information from the product’s safety data sheet (SDS), which the manufacturer or supplier is legally obliged to provide.

Principal contractors will often ask to see your COSHH assessments before allowing certain work to proceed, particularly anything involving dust, fumes, or chemical products. For a full guide, see our COSHH for builders guide.

When do you need to notify the HSE with an F10?

Not every project needs to be notified to the HSE. The F10 notification is only required for projects that meet certain thresholds under CDM 2015. Specifically, a project is notifiable if it will last longer than 30 working days and have more than 20 workers on site at any one time, or if it will exceed 500 person-days of construction work.

The F10 must be submitted to the HSE as soon as practicable before the construction phase begins. It includes basic project information: the address, the client, the principal designer, the principal contractor, the planned start date, and the expected duration. It is submitted online through the HSE’s notification portal and takes about ten minutes to complete.

If project details change after submission — for example, the principal contractor changes or the duration extends — you should submit an updated F10. Failure to notify a notifiable project is a breach of CDM 2015. For the full process, read our F10 notification guide.

What should a site induction cover?

A site induction is the briefing given to every person before they start work on site. It is a CDM 2015 requirement and a fundamental part of construction safety management. On multi-contractor projects, the principal contractor is responsible for running inductions. On single-contractor projects, the contractor should still induct their own workers and any visitors.

A good site induction covers the site layout and access routes, emergency procedures (fire assembly points, first aid, accident reporting), site-specific hazards and restrictions, welfare facilities (location of toilets, drying room, canteen), PPE requirements, working hours, site rules (parking, smoking, mobile phones), and who to report to. It should also confirm that the inductee holds the right competency cards and has read the relevant RAMS.

Every induction must be recorded. The sign-off sheet should include the person’s name, company, date, CSCS card number, and a signature confirming they have understood the briefing. If the HSE visits and asks to see your induction records, you need to produce them. Paper sign-off sheets get lost, damaged, or left in the van — which is why many contractors are moving to digital induction systems. For more, see our site induction guide.

What welfare arrangements are required on site?

Welfare facilities are a legal requirement under Schedule 2 of CDM 2015 and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations. They must be in place before any work starts on site. The standard is non-negotiable, regardless of project size.

At minimum, you must provide: flushing toilets (not just a portaloo unless the project is very short-term), washing facilities with hot and cold running water, a sheltered area for eating and making hot drinks, a drying room or area for wet clothing, drinking water clearly labelled as such, and changing facilities if workers need to change into and out of protective clothing.

The HSE takes welfare seriously. Inadequate toilet and washing facilities are one of the most common findings during site inspections, and improvement notices for welfare failures are handed out regularly. If you are a principal contractor, you are responsible for ensuring welfare is in place for everyone on site — including subcontractors. Your CPP should detail the welfare arrangements, including who is providing them and where they are located.

On smaller projects where a full welfare cabin is not practical, you can use existing facilities in the building (if it is occupied) or arrange portable facilities. The key is that they must be available from day one.

What insurance certificates do you need?

Insurance is one of the first things a principal contractor or client will ask for. There are two key types of insurance for construction work, and you should be able to produce current certificates for both at short notice.

Employers’ liability insurance (EL)

This is a legal requirement if you employ anyone — including apprentices, labour-only subcontractors who HMRC classes as employees, and casual workers. The minimum cover is £5 million, though most policies offer £10 million. You must display the certificate (or make it easily accessible) at your place of work. Failure to hold EL insurance can result in fines of up to £2,500 for every day you are uninsured.

Public liability insurance (PL)

This covers you if a member of the public or a client’s property is damaged as a result of your work. It is not a legal requirement, but you will struggle to get on any commercial site without it. Most principal contractors require a minimum of £1 million cover, and £5 million is increasingly the norm. If you are doing work near occupied buildings, working on a live site, or carrying out any work that could affect third parties, public liability insurance is essential.

Professional indemnity and other cover

If you provide design services (even informally, such as suggesting structural changes), professional indemnity insurance protects you against claims of negligent advice. Contractor’s all-risks insurance covers damage to the works themselves, tools, and materials on site. While not always required, these policies fill important gaps that EL and PL do not cover.

Do you need CSCS cards and competency records?

The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) is the industry-standard way of proving that workers have the right training, qualifications, and health and safety awareness for the work they are doing. While CSCS cards are not strictly a legal requirement, they are required by virtually every principal contractor on commercial projects.

To get a CSCS card, workers must pass the CITB Health, Safety and Environment test and hold a recognised qualification or industry accreditation relevant to their trade. Different card colours indicate different levels: green for labourers, blue for skilled workers, gold for supervisors, and black for managers. The card includes a photo, expiry date, and the holder’s occupation.

Beyond CSCS cards, you should maintain competency records for specialist activities. If your workers operate plant machinery, they need a valid CPCS (Construction Plant Competence Scheme) card. If they work with asbestos, they need specific training certification. Scaffolders need a CISRS card. Electricians need their relevant Part P or BS 7671 qualifications. The principal contractor will typically check these during the induction process.

Keep copies of all cards and certificates on file, with expiry dates tracked. When a card expires, the holder cannot work on site until it is renewed. Having a system to flag upcoming expiries saves last-minute scrambles.

What about environmental paperwork?

Environmental compliance is increasingly part of the paperwork burden for construction projects. The key documents you may need include waste transfer notes, a site waste management plan, and evidence of environmental risk controls.

Under the Duty of Care regulations, you must ensure that any waste produced on your site is handled, transported, and disposed of by authorised carriers and at licensed facilities. Every time waste leaves your site, you should receive a waste transfer note describing the type and quantity of waste, where it is going, and who is carrying it. You must keep these notes for at least two years — or three years for hazardous waste consignment notes.

If your project is near a watercourse, you may need to implement pollution prevention measures and document them. If you are demolishing a building, you may need an asbestos survey before any work begins. If the site is in or near a conservation area, there may be additional requirements around dust, noise, and working hours that need to be documented.

Larger projects may require a formal Site Environmental Management Plan (SEMP) covering dust suppression, noise management, water run-off, protected species, and waste segregation. Even on smaller projects, keeping your skip hire receipts and waste transfer notes in order is good practice — and the Environment Agency can ask to see them.

What paperwork do you need from subcontractors?

If you are the principal contractor or main contractor managing a project with subcontractors, you are responsible for ensuring they are competent and have the right documentation. This is not optional — under CDM 2015, the principal contractor must ensure that all contractors on site are suitably competent and have adequate resources for health and safety.

Before allowing a subcontractor on site, you should collect and verify the following:

Task-specific RAMS for the work they will be carrying out on your site
Current employers’ liability insurance certificate (minimum £5 million)
Current public liability insurance certificate (check it meets your project requirements)
Company health and safety policy (if they employ five or more people)
CSCS cards for all operatives who will be on site
COSHH assessments for any hazardous substances they will bring to site
Evidence of specialist training or accreditation where relevant (e.g., CPCS, asbestos awareness, PASMA)
Completed subcontractor induction sign-off

Chasing subcontractors for paperwork is one of the biggest time drains for principal contractors. Many firms now use digital platforms to request, collect, and track subcontractor documentation — which is far more reliable than a folder of emailed PDFs. For a subcontractor’s perspective on what they need to prepare, see our subcontractor documents guide.

How do you keep on top of it all?

The paperwork burden in construction is real, and it only grows as your business takes on bigger projects. The builders who handle it well tend to share a few habits: they use templates and systems rather than starting from scratch each time, they collect subcontractor documentation before work starts (not after), and they keep everything in one place where it can be found quickly.

The worst approach is the “filing cabinet of PDFs” — emails with attachments scattered across inboxes, paper documents in a van glove box, and insurance certificates that expired three months ago without anyone noticing. If the HSE turns up, you need to be able to produce documents within minutes, not days.

Digital compliance platforms have become the norm for medium and large contractors precisely because they solve this problem. Everything is in one place, expiry dates are tracked automatically, and you can see at a glance whether a project or subcontractor is compliant. For smaller firms, even a well-organised cloud folder with a tracking spreadsheet is better than nothing.

The key principle is simple: if you cannot produce a document when asked for it, it might as well not exist. Your paperwork system — whatever form it takes — needs to make retrieval fast and reliable.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about construction paperwork in the UK.

What is the minimum paperwork needed for a small building job?

Even for a small job, you will need a risk assessment and method statement (RAMS), public liability insurance, and a health and safety policy if you employ five or more people. If you are working on a domestic property and acting as the only contractor, the client’s CDM duties transfer to you under CDM 2015, which means you must plan, manage, and monitor the work to ensure it is carried out safely. For jobs involving hazardous substances you will also need COSHH assessments. The scale of the paperwork should be proportionate to the risk, but the legal obligations still apply regardless of job size.

Do I need a construction phase plan for every project?

A construction phase plan (CPP) is required for every project that falls under CDM 2015, which in practice means every commercial construction project in the UK. The level of detail should be proportionate to the risks involved. A straightforward kitchen refit for a domestic client does not need a 40-page document, but it does need a written plan covering the key risks, how they will be managed, and the arrangements for welfare and emergencies. On projects with a principal contractor, they are responsible for preparing the CPP before the construction phase begins.

What insurance do I need as a builder in the UK?

At minimum, you need employers’ liability insurance if you employ anyone (this is a legal requirement with fines of up to £2,500 per day for non-compliance). Public liability insurance is not legally required but is effectively essential — most clients and principal contractors will not let you on site without it, and it protects you if a member of the public is injured or their property is damaged because of your work. Many builders also carry professional indemnity insurance and contractor’s all-risks insurance. Typical minimum cover is £1 million for employers’ liability (the legal minimum is £5 million) and £1–5 million for public liability.

Who is responsible for paperwork on a construction site?

It depends on the project structure. On projects with multiple contractors, the principal contractor is responsible for the construction phase plan, site rules, inductions, and coordination of health and safety. Each contractor is responsible for their own RAMS, COSHH assessments, insurance, and competency records. The client has duties too — including appointing a principal designer and principal contractor on projects with more than one contractor, and making sure pre-construction information is provided. On single-contractor domestic projects, the contractor picks up the client’s duties automatically.

What happens if I do not have the right paperwork?

The consequences range from being turned away at the site gate to criminal prosecution. Principal contractors routinely refuse entry to subcontractors who cannot produce valid RAMS, insurance certificates, and CSCS cards. If the HSE inspects your site and finds missing or inadequate documentation, they can issue improvement notices (giving you a deadline to fix the problem), prohibition notices (stopping work immediately), or prosecute. Fines for health and safety offences are based on turnover and can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. Directors can also face personal prosecution and even imprisonment for serious breaches.

Do I need CSCS cards for all workers on site?

CSCS cards are not a strict legal requirement, but they are an industry standard and most major contractors and clients require them. The Build UK code of practice states that all workers on site should hold a valid CSCS card appropriate to their occupation. Getting a CSCS card involves passing the CITB Health, Safety and Environment test and holding a relevant qualification or completing an industry accreditation. There are different card types for different roles — from labourer (green card) to skilled worker (blue card) to manager (black card). If you are working on commercial sites, you will almost certainly need them.

How long should I keep construction paperwork?

There is no single rule for all documents, but as a general guide: RAMS and risk assessments should be kept for at least three years (or longer if the work involved asbestos, where records must be kept for 40 years). Insurance certificates should be kept for at least 40 years for employers’ liability (claims can be made decades after exposure to harmful substances). COSHH assessments and health surveillance records should be kept for 40 years. Training records and induction sign-offs should be kept for the duration of employment plus six years. When in doubt, keep it. Storage is cheap; defending a claim without records is not.

How The Site Book helps

The Site Book takes the pain out of construction paperwork by putting everything in one place, with smart tools to speed up the hard parts.

Create site-specific RAMS from a plain-English job description — no blank templates
Build your construction phase plan with a step-by-step wizard
Track COSHH assessments and link them to the right projects
See your compliance status at a glance with a real-time dashboard

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