SafeContractor vs CHAS: Cost, Assessment and Which One Main Contractors Accept

If a main contractor has asked you for an accreditation and you're weighing up SafeContractor vs CHAS, the honest answer is that the two schemes are closer than the marketing suggests on health and safety — and further apart than you'd expect on the one thing that actually decides tenders. Both sit under the SSIP umbrella. Only one of them can issue the Common Assessment Standard.

That single fact should drive your decision more than price. But price matters too, so here are the published numbers, checked on 14/09/2026, and what they really cover.

TL;DR

CHAS is cheaper at the entry point: CHAS Standard membership starts at £429 per year, while SafeContractor's cheapest plan (Standard) starts at £540 per year, both scaling upward with your employee count. Both schemes are SSIP member schemes assessing against the same SSIP core criteria, so for a straightforward "we need SSIP before you set foot on site" request, either ticks the box. The decisive difference: Build UK lists Veriforce CHAS as a Recognised Assessment Body for the Common Assessment Standard (via CHAS Elite, from £949 per year) and does not list SafeContractor — so if a main contractor's PQQ names the Common Assessment Standard, SafeContractor cannot get you there. SafeContractor's four plans differ by speed and hand-holding, not assessment scope; CHAS's three packages differ by assessment scope, not speed. Choose CHAS if the client wants the Common Assessment Standard or you want the cheapest SSIP-only route; choose SafeContractor if you want someone walking you through the paperwork on a fixed timescale.

SafeContractor vs CHAS: what's the real difference?

The structural difference between SafeContractor and CHAS is what you're buying when you move up a tier.

With Veriforce CHAS, the three membership packages are scope ladders. CHAS Standard covers the health and safety assessment including SSIP; CHAS Advanced adds the modules that meet the former PAS 91 standard; CHAS Elite is the Common Assessment Standard, according to the CHAS contractor packages page (checked 14/09/2026). Pay more, get assessed on more.

With Alcumus SafeContractor, the four plans — Standard, Assisted, Express and Premier — are service ladders. Per the SafeContractor contractor pricing page (checked 14/09/2026), the published differences are how quickly someone contacts you (7, 5, 2 or 1 working days) and how quickly your assessment is reviewed (20, 5, 2 or 2 working days), plus whether you get a dedicated application assistant. The certification itself is described as one SSIP and PAS 91 certification, valid for 12 months. Pay more, get it done faster with more help.

How much does SafeContractor cost compared with CHAS in 2026?

Both schemes price on headcount, so every figure below is a floor, not a quote. The published "from" prices as at 14/09/2026:

Read that table for scope, not just the pound signs. If all you need is SSIP, CHAS Standard at £429 undercuts SafeContractor Standard at £540. If you want SSIP plus PAS 91-equivalent coverage in one certificate, SafeContractor Standard at £540 sits below CHAS Advanced at £659. And if the job needs the Common Assessment Standard, SafeContractor isn't in the running at any price.

Which one do main contractors actually accept?

For health and safety pre-qualification, main contractors that ask for "SSIP" should accept either. The SSIP Forum's own guidance states that all member schemes assess against the same SSIP core criteria and that all assessments are equal, which is why its advice is to hold full assessment with whichever scheme your client has specified — see the SSIP frequently asked questions (checked 14/09/2026). Both CHAS and SafeContractor appear on the SSIP Forum members list; check that page for each scheme's current certified categories and CDM dutyholder roles if you work as a designer or principal contractor.

Where they part company is the Common Assessment Standard. Build UK's Common Assessment Standard page lists seven Recognised Assessment Bodies as at 14/09/2026 — Achilles, Compliance Chain, Constructionline, CQMS, SCCS, Smas Worksafe and Veriforce CHAS — with CHAS delivering it as CHAS Elite (CAS) at desktop level and CHAS Elite (CAS) Assured at site-based level. SafeContractor is not on that list.

That matters commercially because Build UK also names the contractors and clients specifying the Common Assessment Standard, and the list includes Balfour Beatty, Kier, Mace, Skanska, Wates, Galliford Try, Sir Robert McAlpine, HS2 and SCAPE. Build UK states that central government departments and wider public sector bodies should use the Common Assessment Standard to pre-qualify suppliers in accordance with PPN 03/24.

Worked example: a 12-engineer M&E firm chasing a £5k maintenance contract

Say you run a 12-engineer electrical and mechanical firm. A facilities management client wants you on their approved list for recurring commercial maintenance work. Here's how the two routes play out on the published numbers.

1. 1
   Read the actual wording, not the logo. "Must hold a current SSIP certificate" is a different requirement from "must be certified to the Common Assessment Standard". The first is satisfied by either scheme; the second only by a Recognised Assessment Body.
2. 2
   SSIP-only route. CHAS Standard from £429 versus SafeContractor Standard from £540 — before headcount uplift and joining fees. On 12 staff, both will quote above the floor, so get both quotes in writing before choosing.
3. 3
   Common Assessment Standard route. CHAS Elite from £949 per year is your direct option of the two. Constructionline Gold and Smas Worksafe Pro are the other desktop routes on Build UK's list, so price those too rather than assuming CHAS Elite is the only door.
4. 4
   Deadline pressure changes the maths. If the tender closes in three weeks and your health and safety policy is a mess, SafeContractor's Assisted plan (dedicated assistant, review within 5 working days) or CHAS Assist (initial assessment within two working days of submission) can be worth more than the £100-odd difference in headline price.
5. 5
   Diary the renewal the day you pass. SafeContractor certification lasts 12 months. Miss it and you drop off the client's approved list at exactly the wrong moment.

Do you need both SafeContractor and CHAS?

Almost never — at least not for health and safety. Under the SSIP Deem to Satisfy arrangement, an assessment completed with one Registered Member scheme is recognised by other Registered Member schemes, so if a second client insists on a different scheme name you can usually register with it on the mutual recognition route instead of repeating the full assessment. The SSIP FAQs also point to a model letter to buyers asking them to recognise the certification you already hold.

The catch is what mutual recognition doesn't reach. Deem to Satisfy covers the health and safety core criteria — not the Common Assessment Standard, not Constructionline Gold's wider modules, and not a main contractor's own bespoke PQQ. Our guides on what SSIP mutual recognition does not cover and SSIP mutual recognition explained go through those boundaries in detail.

So which should you pick?

Our position, on the published evidence as at 14/09/2026: pick CHAS if a client has named the Common Assessment Standard, if you're bidding for public sector work under PPN 03/24, or if you simply want the cheapest published route to an SSIP certificate. Pick SafeContractor if your blocker is the paperwork itself rather than the scope — the Assisted and Premier plans exist precisely because most small contractors fail on document wording, not on how they actually work.

What neither scheme solves is the admin that follows: the annual renewal date, the same insurance certificate and training matrix re-uploaded to a second portal, and the client-specific questionnaires that sit outside mutual recognition entirely. That residual grind is what TradeComply tracks — renewal dates and evidence in one place — for £9.90 a month.

For deeper detail on each scheme's fees, see our guides to CHAS cost and SafeContractor cost, the three-way CHAS vs SafeContractor vs Constructionline comparison, and the Common Assessment Standard explained. If renewal dates are your real problem, start with accreditation renewal deadlines. All our head-to-heads are indexed on the scheme comparison hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is SafeContractor cheaper than CHAS?

Not at the entry point. As at 14/09/2026, CHAS Standard membership starts at £429 per year while SafeContractor's Standard plan starts at £540 per year. SafeContractor's entry plan is described as covering SSIP and PAS 91, which at CHAS sits in the Advanced package from £659, so the cheaper option depends on which scope your client actually requires.

Does SafeContractor count as SSIP?

Yes — SafeContractor is an SSIP member scheme and appears on the SSIP Forum members list, and the SSIP Forum states that all member schemes assess against the same SSIP core criteria. Check the SSIP Forum members page for the specific certified categories and CDM dutyholder roles if your client asks for principal contractor or designer coverage.

Can SafeContractor give me the Common Assessment Standard?

No. Build UK's list of Recognised Assessment Bodies for the Common Assessment Standard, checked 14/09/2026, names Achilles, Compliance Chain, Constructionline, CQMS, SCCS, Smas Worksafe and Veriforce CHAS. SafeContractor is not listed, so a client requiring the Common Assessment Standard needs certification from one of those bodies — CHAS Elite is the CHAS route.

How long does each scheme take to assess you?

SafeContractor publishes its turnaround by plan: assessment review within 20 working days on Standard, within 5 on Assisted and within 2 on Express and Premier. CHAS states that with CHAS Assist your initial assessment can be completed within two working days of submission. Both timelines depend entirely on you having the documents ready.

If I already hold one, do I have to redo everything for the other?

Usually not for health and safety. The SSIP Deem to Satisfy route lets another SSIP member scheme recognise an assessment you already hold, and SSIP publishes a model letter asking buyers to accept your existing certificate. Mutual recognition does not extend to the Common Assessment Standard or to a client's own bespoke questionnaire, so confirm the exact requirement with the scheme before paying twice.

Last reviewed: 14/09/2026. Prices, tiers and Recognised Assessment Body lists change without much notice. This page is informational only — confirm your figures and requirements with the scheme or your client before you commit.