How to get your competent person certification
In this article
As a sole trader or a small business, demonstrating professionalism and competency in your work is crucial for winning more customers and growing your business. However, in many cases, good customer reviews, consistent marketing, and local word-of-mouth might not be enough to get you those larger, more expensive contracts.
Fortunately, there are plenty of other ways you can prove to potential customers that you’re a tradesperson who knows what they’re talking about, such as by joining one of the UK government’s approved competent person schemes.
The perfect way to demonstrate credibility to your customers, joining a competent person scheme is a simple process that comes with plenty of other benefits. Here’s what you need to know about these schemes and how to sign up for them.
What is a competent person scheme?
A competent person scheme refers to a government-approved programme that’s dedicated to helping tradespeople display their skills to customers and assure them that any work carried out will be up to the minimum expected building regulations laid out in UK law.
In return for this guarantee of work quality, traders are given the go-ahead to self-certify any work they carry out, saving time and money on lengthy third-party approval procedures and minimising the chance that a customer will need to have follow-up work done on their property down the line.
It's important to note that minimum regulation compliance doesn't always guarantee a quality job, so customers may expect other assurances such as previous reviews.
What are the main UK competent person schemes?
As of 2025, the UK government has approved numerous different competent person schemes for all manner of trade industries. Below is a full list of the major ones you can currently apply for:
- ATTMA
- APHC
- ASSURE
- Blue Flame Certification
- BBA
- BESCA
- Gas Safe Register (GSR)
- CIGA
- CERTASS
- Certsure
- EAS
- Fensa
- HETAS
- NAPIT
- CompetentRoofer
- OFTEC
Is joining a competent person scheme a legal requirement?
No, there is no legal requirement to sign up for a competent person scheme. However, it is strongly recommended that you do so. First and foremost, it reflects well on your business and your capabilities. Secondly, certain councils and businesses may refuse to work with you if you don’t have scheme backing.
Who can apply for a competent person scheme?
Competent person schemes are open to any and all tradespeople who are looking to give their credentials a boost, provided that the scheme is relevant to their area of work, expertise, and training.
On top of this, only tradespeople who meet the minimum requirements laid out by each scheme will be able to begin the certification process. If you can’t meet these at the present time, you’ll need to reapply at a later date.
How do competent person schemes maintain quality?
To successfully qualify for a competent person scheme certification, traders are expected to pass a work assessment that checks the quality of their work against that of UK building regulations.
This is required both for your initial certification and annually for the following two years after you qualify. After this point, how often you need to be reassessed will depend on the specific requirements of your scheme.
Regardless of this length of time, qualified traders are expected to keep their skills up to snuff between assessments; otherwise, they’ll lose their certification and have to repeat the process from scratch.
What are the benefits of joining a competent person scheme?
There are several benefits that come with getting CPS certified. Here are just some of the main ones that come with joining a competent person scheme:
- It demonstrates that you’re a reliable, safe, and high-quality tradesperson whose work meets or exceeds the expected government standards.
- It can save you and your customers time in the long run by allowing for self-certification.
- It can save you money on construction supervision and building control fees.
- It can help you avoid penalties for not meeting building regulations.
- It enables you to provide customers with insurance-backed warranties.
- You’ll be backed by your chosen scheme’s dedicated complaints procedure in the event that a customer does take issue with the quality of your work.
- You’ll provide customers with a CPS certificate upon finishing your work, which can make it easier for them to sell their property in the future, delivering further value for money.
How to join a competent person scheme
While all competent person schemes operate on the same fundamental principle, the joining process varies from program to program, so your best option for signing up is to visit the website for your chosen scheme directly and read the joining process.
Please note, however, that all competent person schemes require applicants to have a relevant Minimum Technical Competence (MTC) in order to apply, as well as employer’s liability insurance up to a certain cover level – in addition to this, certain competent person schemes, such as FENSA, also require you to have a set level of public liability insurance in place, too.
Finally, joining a competent person scheme is not always free, and you may need to pay an initial sign-up fee, followed by a set fee per year to maintain your membership with each scheme you choose to apply for.
Show your competency as a Trusted Trader
Much like acquiring the right builders’ insurance, applying for recognition from a competent person scheme is only going to benefit your business, making it a fantastic step to take for traders at all stages of their careers.
However, if you want to build further trust with customers, then you might want to think about joining a reputable online trade directory, such as by becoming a Which? Trusted Trader.
By signing up as a Trusted Trader, you can promote yourself as a Which? backed business that customers can trust. Not only that, but you’ll get your very own business page where you can display past examples of work and customer reviews.
