CHAS Standard vs Premium Plus: Which Tier Do You Need?

CHAS is the most widely held construction accreditation in the UK. But "getting CHAS" is not a single decision — you need to choose a tier. For most SMEs, that choice comes down to CHAS Standard or CHAS Premium Plus.

The difference is not just price. It determines what compliance areas you are assessed against, which client requirements you can satisfy, and whether you need additional accreditations to fill the gaps. This guide helps you make that decision based on what your clients actually ask for.

For a step-by-step guide to the CHAS application process itself, see our How to Get CHAS Accreditation guide.

The Current CHAS Tier Structure

Note: CHAS has restructured its tiers in recent years. The tier names below reflect the most current publicly available information (last verified February 2026). Verify the exact current structure at chas.co.uk before relying on specific tier names.

CHAS currently offers two primary tiers for contractor assessment:

CHAS Standard — Core health and safety assessment.
CHAS Premium Plus — Extended assessment covering health and safety plus environmental, quality, financial, and social compliance areas.

CHAS has previously used the names Advanced and Elite for its tier structure, and marketing materials may still reference these. The substance matters more than the label: the key distinction is between a core H&S-only assessment and a broader, multi-criteria assessment. If you see different tier names on the CHAS website, map them to these two categories — core H&S versus extended compliance — and the guidance below still applies.

What CHAS Standard Covers

CHAS Standard assesses your core health and safety management arrangements. The assessment is aligned to the SSIP Core Criteria and covers the fundamental areas that every SSIP member scheme evaluates.

Specifically, Standard assesses:

Health and safety policy — Signed by a director, dated within 12 months, specific to your business activities. Must include a statement of intent, organisation of responsibilities (naming individuals), and practical arrangements.
Risk assessments — Activity-specific, covering the significant hazards associated with your operations. Assessors look for genuine engagement with the risk assessment process, not generic templates.
Method statements and RAMS — Risk Assessment Method Statements for high-risk activities, demonstrating a step-by-step approach to safe working.
Training and competence — Evidence that your workforce holds appropriate qualifications: CSCS cards, SMSTS/SSSTS for managers and supervisors, trade-specific certifications (IPAF, PASMA, asbestos awareness), first aid, and records of ongoing training including toolbox talks.
Insurance — Current employers' liability insurance (minimum £5 million, though many clients require £10 million) and public liability insurance. Professional indemnity if you provide design services.
Accident and incident reporting — Procedures for reporting under RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013) and evidence that you investigate incidents and act on findings.
Subcontractor management — How you assess and manage the health and safety competence of subcontractors you engage.
Competent health and safety advice — Evidence of access to competent H&S advice, whether in-house (e.g., a NEBOSH-qualified person) or through a retained external consultant. This is a requirement under Regulation 7 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Standard is the SSIP-assessed level. Holding CHAS Standard means you are SSIP-recognised, and other SSIP member schemes should accept the core H&S assessment through mutual recognition. For detail on how mutual recognition works, see our practical guide to SSIP mutual recognition.

What CHAS Premium Plus Adds

Premium Plus retains everything in Standard and adds assessment across several additional compliance areas. These align closely to the Common Assessment Standard (CAS), which is the cross-industry framework for extended prequalification in construction.

The additional areas assessed at Premium Plus:

Environmental management — A written environmental policy covering waste management, pollution prevention, energy use, and environmental awareness. You do not need ISO 14001, but you must demonstrate genuine engagement with your environmental responsibilities relevant to your operations.
Quality management — Procedures for managing quality across your projects. Again, ISO 9001 certification is not required, but you need documented processes for quality control, defect management, and continuous improvement.
Financial standing — An assessment of your financial health, typically using credit reference data and financial statements. This gives clients assurance that you are solvent and capable of delivering the work.
Anti-bribery and corruption — A policy and procedures demonstrating compliance with the Bribery Act 2010. For SMEs, this typically means a written policy, staff awareness, and a process for reporting concerns.
Modern slavery — A statement and procedures addressing the Modern Slavery Act 2015. Businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more are legally required to publish a modern slavery statement, but many clients now expect all suppliers to demonstrate awareness and due diligence regardless of turnover.
Equal opportunities and diversity — A policy and evidence of commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion in your workforce and supply chain.

Premium Plus gives you a single assessment covering the same scope that would otherwise require multiple separate certifications or evidence packages. That consolidation is where its value lies.

Who Needs Premium Plus?

The answer depends entirely on what your clients require. Not what sounds impressive — what actually appears in your PQQs and tender documents.

You Likely Need Premium Plus If:

Your clients are public-sector bodies requiring CAS-level assessment. Procurement Policy Note PPN 03/24 and the broader push towards standardised prequalification mean that public-sector buyers are increasingly expecting suppliers to demonstrate compliance across the full CAS scope — not just core H&S. CHAS Premium Plus maps directly to CAS, making it a convenient route to satisfying these requirements through a single assessment.

You are in a Tier 1 contractor supply chain that specifies extended compliance. Some principal contractors require their subcontractors to hold an accreditation covering environmental, quality, and equality criteria alongside H&S. If your Tier 1 client accepts CHAS Premium Plus (rather than specifying Constructionline Gold by name), Premium Plus delivers that coverage. Check your accreditation requirements against what is actually specified.

You want to reduce total accreditation costs by consolidating. If you currently hold CHAS Standard plus separate environmental and quality certifications — or if you are providing evidence of these areas manually for each tender — Premium Plus may be cheaper overall. One assessment, one annual fee, one renewal process, covering multiple compliance areas.

You are targeting frameworks with broad compliance requirements. Public-sector frameworks and larger private-sector procurement exercises are increasingly holistic. They want assurance across H&S, environment, quality, financial standing, anti-bribery, and equality in a single prequalification step.

CHAS Standard Is Likely Enough If:

Your clients only specify health and safety accreditation. If your PQQs ask for "CHAS" or "SSIP accreditation" without specifying a tier, Standard satisfies the requirement. Do not pay for coverage you are not being asked to demonstrate.

You work on smaller contracts in the private sector. Domestic refurbishment, small commercial works, and private residential projects rarely require environmental or quality management assessment at accreditation level.

You are a first-time applicant building a track record. Standard is more accessible on both cost and documentation requirements. Get through the assessment, build your systems, and upgrade to Premium Plus when the work demands it.

Your budget is limited. Standard costs less than Premium Plus. If spending more on accreditation means stretching your cash flow, start with Standard and upgrade when revenue justifies it.

Cost Comparison

Pricing is subject to change. Last verified: February 2026. Always check current fees at chas.co.uk. The figures below are indicative and based on publicly available information.

CHAS pricing varies by company size (based on employee count). As a general guide for SMEs:

	CHAS Standard	CHAS Premium Plus
Typical annual fee (small SME)	£400–£600+VAT	£600–£900+VAT
Assessment scope	Core H&S only	H&S + environmental, quality, financial, anti-bribery, modern slavery, equality
SSIP recognition	Yes	Yes (for the core H&S element)
CAS alignment	Partial (core H&S)	Full
Typical assessment time	1-4 weeks	2-6 weeks (more documentation to review)

The cost difference between Standard and Premium Plus is meaningful for a small business, but it is not dramatic. The bigger cost factor is your time: Premium Plus requires you to prepare, maintain, and submit documentation across more compliance areas. If you already have environmental and quality policies in place, the marginal effort is modest. If you need to create them from scratch, factor in that preparation time.

For a broader breakdown of accreditation costs across all the major schemes, see our Construction Accreditation Costs guide.

How Premium Plus Compares to Constructionline Gold

Both CHAS Premium Plus and Constructionline Gold cover a similar scope: H&S, environmental, quality, financial standing, equality, and modern slavery. Both align to the Common Assessment Standard.

The key differences:

Database access. Constructionline is a searchable register. Holding Constructionline Gold means buyers can find you through the Constructionline platform. CHAS Premium Plus lists you on the CHAS database, which is different. If your target clients search Constructionline, you need to be on Constructionline — Premium Plus will not substitute.
Client preference. Some clients specify CHAS, some specify Constructionline. A few accept either. Check the tender document.
Financial assessment method. Constructionline uses Dun & Bradstreet data for financial checks. CHAS uses its own process. The outcomes are broadly similar, but the methodology differs.

For a detailed head-to-head comparison, see our CHAS vs Constructionline vs SafeContractor guide.

Making the Decision: A Practical Checklist

Run through these questions:

Do any of your current tender documents or PQQs ask for environmental, quality, or financial compliance evidence? If yes, Premium Plus covers those areas in one assessment.
Are you targeting public-sector frameworks that reference CAS or PPN 03/24? If yes, Premium Plus aligns directly to CAS.
Do you already have written environmental and quality policies? If yes, the additional documentation burden for Premium Plus is manageable.
Is your annual accreditation budget above £600+VAT? If the difference between Standard and Premium Plus fees is within your budget, the broader coverage is worth having.
Are you being asked for separate environmental or quality certifications alongside CHAS? If yes, Premium Plus may consolidate those requirements and reduce total cost.

If you answered no to all five questions, Standard is the right starting point. You can upgrade to Premium Plus at your next renewal without losing continuity.

Preparing Your Documentation

Whichever tier you choose, the quality of your documentation determines whether you pass first time.

For Standard, use our Health & Safety Documentation Checklist to systematically verify every requirement before applying.

For Premium Plus, you will need everything on the Standard checklist plus:

Written environmental policy (covering waste, pollution, energy, environmental training)
Quality management procedures (covering quality control, inspection, defect management, continuous improvement)
Financial information (accounts, credit references as requested)
Anti-bribery and corruption policy
Modern slavery statement or policy
Equal opportunities and diversity policy

None of these need to be ISO-certified or excessively formal. They need to be genuine, specific to your business, and backed by evidence that you implement them in practice. Assessors can distinguish between a policy that reflects how a business actually operates and one that was downloaded and renamed the night before the application.

To get a quick benchmark of your readiness across all the documentation areas, try our Construction Accreditation Readiness Scorer.

The Upgrade Path

If you hold CHAS Standard and want to move to Premium Plus, you do not need to start from scratch. CHAS allows upgrades during your accreditation period. You will need to submit the additional documentation for the extended compliance areas and pay the difference in fees (or the Premium Plus fee at renewal).

The smoothest path: apply for Standard, build your environmental, quality, and compliance documentation over the following months, and upgrade at your annual renewal. This spreads the workload and avoids rushing to create policies you have not yet embedded in your operations.

For guidance on the renewal process itself, see our CHAS Renewal Guide.

Disclaimer: This guide is based on publicly available information and common industry practice. TenderReady is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of CHAS or any other named accreditation body or scheme. Tier structures, assessment criteria, pricing, and processes are subject to change — always verify current details with CHAS directly.