CHAS Membership Levels: Foundation, Standard, Advanced and Elite Compared

If a main contractor has told you to "get CHAS" and you are now staring at three badges and a free sign-up, the confusing part is that the CHAS membership levels are not a simple small/medium/large ladder — they are three different standards at three different prices, and only one of them is what most clients actually mean. Below is what each level is assessed against, what Veriforce CHAS currently charges, why "Foundation" is not a level at all, and the single question to put to the client before you spend a penny.

Last reviewed: 11/11/2026.

TL;DR

CHAS sells three assessed contractor membership levels: Standard (from £429 a year), Advanced (from £659 a year) and Elite (from £949 a year), according to the Veriforce CHAS membership packages page checked on 11/11/2026. All three include the SSIP health and safety assessment, so if your client just wants "SSIP" or "CHAS", Standard does it. Advanced adds the modules from the withdrawn PAS 91 question set; Elite is the one that certifies you to Build UK's Common Assessment Standard, which is what public buyers and the big main contractors increasingly name by that exact title. CHAS Foundation is free, but it is a learning and preparation hub — it carries no assessment and no certificate, so it will not satisfy a PQQ.

How many CHAS membership levels are there?

Veriforce CHAS offers three paid contractor membership packages. Its own "how to join" page puts it plainly: you have three membership level options, running from an entry-level health and safety assessment up to the Common Assessment Standard (CHAS, how to join, checked 11/11/2026).

(Veriforce CHAS membership packages and "from" annual prices, checked 11/11/2026.)

What is the difference between CHAS Standard, Advanced and Elite?

The mechanism behind the tiers is worth understanding, because it explains why the gap between levels is about question sets, not about quality. CHAS Standard is assessed against the SSIP Core Criteria — health and safety competence only. CHAS Advanced keeps that and bolts on the broader commercial modules that used to live in PAS 91, the BSI pre-qualification standard withdrawn in 2023; the CHAS Advanced page describes compliance across around 10 risk management areas, from health and safety through to equality, diversity and inclusion (CHAS Advanced, checked 11/11/2026). CHAS Elite swaps that in-house module set for Build UK's Common Assessment Standard question set and its 13 risk management areas.

Level	Assessed against	What it proves to a client	From (per year)
CHAS Standard	SSIP Core Criteria + self-certified insurance	Health and safety competence; SSIP certificate	£429
CHAS Advanced	SSIP + former PAS 91 modules (~10 areas)	H&S plus environmental, modern slavery, EDI, financial standing	£659
CHAS Elite	Common Assessment Standard (13 areas), desktop or site-based	Full CAS certification accepted by Build UK members	£949
CHAS Foundation	Nothing — free courses and templates	Nothing on a PQQ	£0

	Standardfrom £429	Advancedfrom £659	Elitefrom £949★
Meets SSIP requirements	✓ Yes	✓ Yes	✓ Yes
Former PAS 91 standard	✕ No	✓ Yes	✓ Yes
Common Assessment Standard	✕ No	✕ No	✓ Yes
Named on Build UK's Recognised Assessment Body listAs CHAS Elite (CAS) / Elite (CAS) Assured	✕ No	✕ No	✓ Yes
Covered by SSIP mutual recognition at another schemeDeem to Satisfy covers the H&S core criteria only	✓ Yes	part	part

Is CHAS Foundation a membership level?

No. CHAS Foundation is a free sign-up that gives you courses and guidance — health and safety policy statements, RIDDOR reporting procedures, COSHH, PUWER, asbestos awareness, training records — to get you assessment-ready. CHAS describes it as a launchpad for contractors who want to become CHAS-verified but still need time and resources to prepare, and states you are not required to upgrade afterwards (CHAS Foundation, checked 11/11/2026).

There is a fourth thing that muddies searches for CHAS membership levels: Verified Supplier, the separate package for off-site suppliers who don't carry out construction work. CHAS's Verified Supplier joining page lists pricing starting at £79 plus a variable one-off joining fee starting at £49, based on employee numbers, though that page looks older than the contractor pricing — confirm the current figure with CHAS before budgeting. TODO(verify): current Verified Supplier price bands and new-member joining fee.

Which CHAS membership level does your main contractor actually need?

This is where most subcontractors overspend. "Have you got CHAS?" is shorthand on a site, and nine times out of ten the person asking wants proof of health and safety competence — which is the SSIP certificate that comes with the cheapest level. The exception is a client who names the Common Assessment Standard, or a public buyer following the Build UK route: that is CHAS Elite and nothing below it.

One question settles it, and it fits in a text message to the quantity surveyor or supply chain administrator who sent the PQQ:

"Which standard are you assessing us against — SSIP, or the Common Assessment Standard?"

What the client says	Level that satisfies it
"We need you SSIP accredited"	CHAS Standard
"Have you got CHAS?" (no standard named)	CHAS Standard — then ask the question above
"We work to the old PAS 91 modules"	CHAS Advanced
"You need the Common Assessment Standard"	CHAS Elite
Public sector framework naming CAS	CHAS Elite
"We want Constructionline Gold"	Not a CHAS level at all — see Constructionline costs

Build UK's own page explains why Elite is the one clients increasingly name: companies holding the Common Assessment Standard are certified once a year by a Recognised Assessment Body, and that certificate is accepted by a growing list of contractors and clients who no longer specify a particular assessment body (Build UK, Common Assessment Standard, checked 11/11/2026). Build UK lists CHAS Elite (CAS) for the desktop route and CHAS Elite (CAS) Assured for the site-based audit.

What does upgrading from CHAS Standard to Elite actually cost?

Take an illustrative case: a 12-engineer electrical and mechanical firm, currently on CHAS Standard because a facilities management client asked for SSIP two years ago. A housing association now puts a recurring commercial maintenance contract worth around £5,000 a year out to tender and names the Common Assessment Standard in the PQQ.

On the published "from" prices, the ladder from Standard to Elite is £429 to £949 — a difference of £520 a year before VAT, and more once the employee band for 12 staff is applied, since CHAS states membership costs scale with the size of your organisation. Against a £5,000 contract that is a real bite, but it is a bite you take once a year and reuse across every client who names CAS. What makes it sting is paying it twice: firms that buy Elite for one tender, let it lapse, then re-apply as a new member a year later.

For the full picture on bands, joining fees and renewals across all three levels, see our breakdown of what CHAS actually costs and the CHAS documents checklist for what you need in hand before you start either assessment.

Does SSIP mutual recognition cover the higher CHAS levels?

Partly, and the limit matters. SSIP Deem to Satisfy means another SSIP member scheme should accept your CHAS health and safety assessment without putting you through the core criteria again — that is the SSIP layer, and it travels. The Common Assessment Standard modules in CHAS Elite are a different animal: CAS covers 13 risk areas including financial standing, environmental management and building safety, and an SSIP certificate does not substitute for them. Our guide on what SSIP mutual recognition does not cover goes through the gaps in detail, and the Common Assessment Standard explained covers how the CAS question set is structured.

The practical consequence for anyone choosing between CHAS membership levels: if you end up holding CHAS Standard for your SSIP and, say, Constructionline Gold for a client who insists on it, you now have two schemes, two annual renewal dates and the same insurance certificates, RAMS and training records going into two portals. That duplication is not solved by mutual recognition — compare the options in our scheme comparison hub before adding a second subscription.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CHAS Standard enough to satisfy an SSIP requirement?

Yes. The Veriforce CHAS membership packages page lists "meet SSIP requirements" as included on CHAS Standard, Advanced and Elite alike, so the entry-level package produces the SSIP certification most main contractors are asking for when they say "have you got CHAS?".

Is CHAS Foundation really free?

Yes — CHAS states that Foundation is 100% free and that you do not have to be a CHAS member to join it. It gives you courses and guidance to prepare for assessment, but it is not an assessment and produces no certificate you can quote on a PQQ.

Does CHAS Elite include SSIP and the Common Assessment Standard?

Yes. CHAS lists SSIP, the former PAS 91 standard and the Common Assessment Standard as all included at Elite, which is why it is the most expensive level at from £949 a year as at 11/11/2026. Build UK names CHAS Elite (CAS) on its list of Recognised Assessment Body products.

Which CHAS membership level do I need for public sector work?

If the buyer names the Common Assessment Standard, you need CHAS Elite — CHAS marks "meet public sector requirements" as included only at Elite. Public buyers do not all specify CAS, so read the tender documents rather than assuming the top tier, and ask the buyer if the wording is unclear.

How long does a CHAS membership level last?

CHAS membership runs annually, and Build UK confirms that Common Assessment Standard certification is carried out once a year by a Recognised Assessment Body. Time-critical documents inside your submission — your health and safety policy, insurance, training certificates — expire on their own dates, which is the part most contractors get caught out by.

Picking the level is the easy half — keeping it current is the other half

Whichever CHAS membership level you land on, you have just bought yourself an annual renewal date, a pile of evidence that expires on its own schedule, and a decent chance that the next client names a standard your current tier doesn't cover. TradeComply tracks the renewal date on every accreditation you hold, reminds you at 60, 30 and 7 days by email and calendar, and keeps your insurance, RAMS, training records and method statements uploaded once and reused for every scheme that asks — with share links so a main contractor gets your current certificate without an email chain. You can see what that costs on the page. The advice above stands either way: ask which standard the client means before you buy a level you don't need.