How Much Does SafeContractor Cost? (2026 Pricing)

SafeContractor — the health and safety scheme run by Alcumus — starts at £540 a year for the Standard plan at the smallest headcount band. Prices are set by employee headcount, and a one-off joining fee is added in your first year. Every plan produces the same SSIP-approved certificate, valid for 12 months. (SafeContractor contractor pricing plans, checked 19/09/2026)

How much does SafeContractor cost in 2026?

These are the published starting figures, for the smallest headcount band only. Your own price will be higher unless you are at the very bottom of the scale.

The gap between the cheapest and dearest plan is £150 a year. What that £150 buys is visible in the two turnaround rows and nowhere else: Standard can take 20 working days to have your assessment reviewed, Premier takes two. (SafeContractor contractor pricing plans, checked 19/09/2026)

What determines which price band you land in?

Employee headcount. SafeContractor states plainly that your annual subscription is calculated from the number of employees in your organisation, and that your final price may be higher than the figure advertised.

What the pricing page does not publish is the band structure itself — where one band ends and the next begins, or what any band above the entry one costs. That is not an oversight you can work around with arithmetic. It means the only way to know your real annual fee is to ask for a quote against your actual headcount.

What isn't on the pricing page?

Four costs and one trap that the headline figure does not cover.

The joining fee

SafeContractor adds a one-off joining fee in year one. The amount is not published anywhere on the pricing page — it says only that a fee "will also apply". We are not going to invent a figure for it. Ask for it explicitly, in writing, as part of your quote, and add it to your first-year budget.

VAT

The pricing page does not state whether its figures are inclusive or exclusive of VAT. Most B2B scheme pricing in this sector is quoted ex-VAT — CHAS and Constructionline both are — so assume you will pay 20% on top and confirm it in your quote. On £540 that is a further £108, taking a first-year Standard membership past £648 before the joining fee is added.

Next year's fee, and the year after

SafeContractor certification runs for 12 months. The joining fee drops away after year one, but the annual subscription does not: it repeats every year, at whatever the price has become. This page is a live demonstration of why that matters — the entry fee moved 29% in a single cycle.

A second scheme you did not mean to need

SafeContractor is SSIP-approved, so under Deem to Satisfy it is accepted in place of another SSIP member scheme for the health-and-safety step. That covers most private main contractors. It does not cover the tiers Deem to Satisfy cannot reach — Constructionline Gold, or the Common Assessment Standard that public-sector and framework buyers increasingly name. If a client asks for one of those, SafeContractor alone will not satisfy it, and you are buying twice.

The expiry date that isn't yours

This one catches people out. If you hold SafeContractor by Deem to Satisfy from another SSIP scheme, SafeContractor states that your certificate is suspended when the original SSIP certificate expires — not when your SafeContractor year runs out. Only the original certification appears on the SSIP portal. So the date that governs whether you are compliant is the other scheme's date, which is rarely the one in your diary. (SafeContractor SSIP page, checked 19/09/2026)

What is the difference between Standard, Assisted, Express and Premier?

Turnaround and support. Nothing else.

All four plans run the same assessment against the same SSIP standard and produce the same certificate. A buyer checking your status cannot tell which plan you bought, and there is no tier of SafeContractor that is "more accredited" than another.

• Standard (£540) — you do the application yourself. First contact within seven working days, assessment reviewed within twenty.
• Assisted (£650) — a dedicated assistant helps you through it. Contact within five working days, review within five.
• Express (£650) — no assistant, but contact within two working days and review within two.
• Premier (£690) — both. Contact within one working day, review within two.

The choice is genuinely a question about you, not about the badge: if you have a tender closing in three weeks, the £110 gap between Standard and Express is trivial against losing the bid. If you have no deadline and are comfortable with paperwork, Standard buys you exactly the same certificate.

Do you pay SafeContractor again every year?

Yes. Certification is issued for twelve months and has to be renewed to stay active. The renewal is the annual subscription again — the joining fee is the only part that does not repeat.

Renewal is also not simply a rubber stamp. SafeContractor's own guidance is that to stay active after expiry you must either renew the original SSIP member certification or complete a full SafeContractor assessment. Letting it lapse and picking it up later is not the same transaction as renewing on time, and can mean redoing work you have already done.

Is SafeContractor cheaper than CHAS?

Not any more. It used to be, by a small margin. At the 19 September 2026 check the position has reversed:

CHAS Standard is £429/year +VAT against SafeContractor's £540, so CHAS is now around £111 cheaper at entry level. Both price by headcount, so the gap moves as your team grows and neither publishes the bands — get quotes from both for your actual size before assuming this ordering holds for you. The full picture is in SafeContractor vs CHAS and CHAS cost.

Is SafeContractor the cheapest SSIP scheme?

No, and at current prices it is some way from it. Constructionline's Bronze tier starts at around £219/year and bundles SSIP at every paid tier, and SMAS Worksafe comes in around £345/year for micro firms. Against £540, both are materially cheaper for a small contractor whose client has not named a specific scheme.

That last clause is the whole question. Because every SSIP member scheme is mutually recognised, the cheapest SSIP-approved membership you can buy will satisfy a generic "must hold SSIP" requirement — see the cheapest SSIP scheme compared. You only need SafeContractor specifically when a client names SafeContractor specifically.

Which plan do you actually need?

1. 1
   Check what the client actually asked for. If the wording is "SSIP" or "SSIP-approved", you do not need SafeContractor — you need the cheapest SSIP scheme for your size. If it names SafeContractor, read on.
2. 2
   Get a quote for your real headcount. The published £540 is the entry band. Ask for your band and the joining fee together, in writing.
3. 3
   Work backwards from your deadline. Standard's assessment review can take 20 working days, and that clock starts after first contact, which can itself take 7. If a tender closes inside six weeks, Standard is a risk and Express is £110 of insurance.
4. 4
   Decide whether you want the hand-holding. Assisted and Premier buy a dedicated assistant. If your evidence is already in order, it buys you little; if this is your first assessment, it can be worth the £110.
5. 5
   Diary the renewal, and the right date. Twelve months from certification — or, if you came in via Deem to Satisfy, the original scheme's expiry, which is earlier.

Frequently asked questions

How much is SafeContractor per year?

From £540/year for the Standard plan at the smallest headcount band, rising with employee numbers. Assisted and Express start at £650 and Premier at £690. A one-off joining fee applies in year one, and the pricing page does not state whether the figures include VAT — assume they do not and confirm it in your quote.

Is there a joining fee for SafeContractor?

Yes. SafeContractor states that a one-off joining fee applies in addition to the annual subscription, but does not publish the amount. Request it in writing as part of your quote before committing, because it is the one first-year cost you cannot estimate from the website.

Why did SafeContractor's price go up so much?

SafeContractor has not published a reason. What is observable is the movement: the Standard plan was £419/year when we checked in June 2026 and is £540 as of September 2026, a 29% rise. Assisted and Express moved from £489 to £650 and Premier from £544 to £690. Any comparison you read that still quotes £419 has not been re-checked since the change.

Does SafeContractor include VAT in its prices?

The pricing page does not say. Comparable schemes in this sector — CHAS and Constructionline — quote ex-VAT, so the safe assumption is that SafeContractor does too and you should budget 20% on top. On the £540 Standard plan that is £108, before the joining fee. Confirm it in your quote rather than relying on the assumption.

Is SafeContractor cheaper than CHAS?

No, not at current prices. CHAS Standard is £429/year +VAT against SafeContractor Standard at £540 — roughly £111 in CHAS's favour at entry level. SafeContractor was marginally cheaper before its 2026 increase. Both price by headcount and neither publishes its bands, so get a quote from each for your actual size.

Do the dearer SafeContractor plans get me a better certificate?

No. All four plans run the same assessment against the same SSIP standard and issue the same certificate. The price difference buys turnaround speed and application support. A main contractor checking your status cannot tell which plan you bought.

How long does SafeContractor take?

It depends on the plan, and on two separate clocks. First contact takes up to 7 working days on Standard, 5 on Assisted, 2 on Express and 1 on Premier. The assessment review then takes up to 20 working days on Standard, 5 on Assisted and 2 on Express or Premier. At the slow end that is over five working weeks before you hold a certificate.

Does SafeContractor renew automatically every year?

Certification is issued for 12 months and must be renewed to stay active. SafeContractor's guidance is that after expiry you must either renew the original SSIP member certification or complete a full assessment again — so a lapsed membership is not always a simple restart. If you hold SafeContractor via Deem to Satisfy from another scheme, your certificate is suspended when that scheme's certificate expires, not when your SafeContractor year ends.