The question every contractor asks once a buyer demands CHAS, SMAS or Constructionline: how long before the certificate is in hand?
Here is the honest picture, based on the schemes we handle every week. Your application is ready to submit within 5 working days of us receiving everything we need. After submission, the decision sits with the scheme, and each one moves at its own pace.
- PQS: 3 to 5 working days
- CHAS Standard: 10 to 20 working days
- CHAS Advanced and Elite: 15 to 25 working days
- SMAS: 10 to 20 working days
- SafeContractor: 15 to 25 working days
- Constructionline: 25 to 30 working days
So a straightforward CHAS Standard application, with your documents in order, lands in roughly three to five weeks end to end. Constructionline Gold is the slow one; allow six weeks and you will not be caught out.
What slows things down is rarely the scheme. It is the gathering: insurance schedules, a current health and safety policy, RAMS, training records. If a tender deadline is driving the application, start the accreditation first and write the bid while it processes.
Our accreditation support packages start at £299 + VAT and include the policies, RAMS and COSHH assessments the schemes ask for. Prices are on our accreditations page.
