SSIP Accreditation Explained

SSIP isn't a scheme you join — it's the umbrella that makes the others interchangeable. SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) keeps the core health & safety assessment consistent across more than 50 UK member schemes, so a single approved certificate is accepted everywhere. Understand SSIP and you stop paying for duplicate assessments.

What SSIP actually is

SSIP is a forum/umbrella body. Its members — CHAS, SafeContractor, SMAS, Constructionline (via Once For All Health & Safety), and around 50 others — all assess contractors against the same SSIP Core Criteria, which align with HSE guidance. The scope is health & safety only.

That shared standard is what enables mutual recognition: because every member assesses against the same criteria, your certificate from one can be accepted by another.

Deem to Satisfy: one assessment, recognised across members

Deem to Satisfy (DtS) is the agreement that lets a valid SSIP certificate from one member be accepted by other members without re-assessment. SSIP reports that over £10 million was saved in 2023 alone through reduced duplicate assessments.

We cover exactly how to use it — and its limits — in SSIP mutual recognition explained. If you've seen the name Acclaim change, that scheme is now Once For All Health & Safety — see Acclaim is now Once For All Health & Safety.

Where SSIP stops

This is the part that catches subcontractors out. Deem to Satisfy covers the health & safety core only. It does not cover:

• Financial and professional standing vetting (e.g. Constructionline Silver and above).
• The Common Assessment Standard — a broader pre-qualification standard that replaced PAS 91 (withdrawn by BSI in April 2023) and adds environmental, CSR, information-security and building-safety sections. See the Common Assessment Standard question set.
• Client-specific PQQs — bespoke pre-qualification questionnaires a buyer may run on top.

How this maps to the schemes

Every scheme in our comparison hub is an SSIP member, so for the core health & safety badge they're interchangeable. They differ on price and on the extra layers — directory listing, financial checks, the Common Assessment Standard — that sit outside SSIP. And whichever you choose, the underlying evidence is the same: see the contractor compliance documents checklist.

Frequently asked questions

What is SSIP in construction?

SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) is an umbrella body whose member schemes all assess contractors against the same core health & safety criteria. It exists so that one health & safety assessment can be recognised across schemes, rather than contractors being assessed repeatedly for the same thing.

Is SSIP the same as CHAS?

No. CHAS is one SSIP member scheme; SSIP is the umbrella standard CHAS (and ~50 other schemes) assess against. Holding CHAS gives you an SSIP-approved certificate, but SSIP itself isn't something you join directly.

Does an SSIP certificate cover the Common Assessment Standard?

No. SSIP covers health & safety only. The Common Assessment Standard is a broader pre-qualification standard covering finance, environmental, CSR and more — you need a scheme tier that specifically carries it, such as CHAS Elite or Constructionline Gold.