CERTASS registration

Identify the scheme and eligible activity

Certass explains that its glazing competent-person scheme focuses on eligible replacement work in existing dwellings. Its published guidance distinguishes repairs, enlarged openings, new construction and other categories, some of which need different routes or separate schemes. Homeowners should ask which actual scheme and registration apply rather than infer coverage from a general logo. Trainees should identify whether the job replaces a full unit or changes the opening and report uncertainty before notification. Work outside one route is not automatically unlawful, but it needs the appropriate compliance arrangements rather than an incorrect certificate.

A project record is more than membership

Verify the actual installer and status through the official route. Agree who registers eligible work and what Building Regulations Compliance Certificate the homeowner receives. A business membership claim does not prove that this particular installation has been registered. Suitable products, surveys, workmanship and records remain necessary. Trainees should learn how site information supports the completed notification rather than treat it as an unrelated administrative detail. A certificate should match the actual work and property. Report errors or missing information through the appropriate process rather than assume an invoice supplies equivalent compliance evidence.

Separate planning, guarantees and alternatives

GOV.UK explains that building-control compliance differs from planning permission and that appropriate competent-person routes can cover particular work. Listed-building or other consents may remain relevant. A compliance certificate is distinct from the installer's contractual guarantee and any insurance-backed policy, whose terms need checking. FENSA is another scheme, not the generic legal name for every glazing certificate. Homeowners should assess the actual lawful route and documents rather than demand one brand where another appropriate route was used. Tradespeople must explain limits honestly and avoid promising that membership resolves every contractual or product complaint.

A useful homeowner agreement

Record the actual product, scope, survey, installation, making good, notification route and handover evidence. Clarify work that falls outside the chosen scheme and who handles its approvals. Prices and outcomes vary from job to job, so compare written, itemised quotations rather than relying on a typical figure. Keep compliance records, product information and guarantee or policy documents together but distinct. Tradespeople should retain the information needed to answer later questions about the actual installation. A useful handover gives the homeowner clear evidence and reporting routes rather than broad reassurance that a registered company means all possible issues are covered.

Frequently asked questions

Is a Certass certificate automatically invalid because it is not FENSA?

No. Check the actual recognised route, eligible work and valid compliance evidence.

Does replacing only a glazing unit necessarily qualify for this CPS?

Certass distinguishes such repairs from eligible complete replacements; check its current scheme scope and the actual work.

Related terms

• FENSA registration
• Building Regulations
• Getting into glazing

Sources and further reading

Public sources and further reading. Sources checked: 8 November 2026. Consult the original for details and later changes.

• Certass: eligible and excluded glazing CPS work
• GOV.UK: building-control approval routes