CHAS Standard vs Advanced vs Elite Compared

Corrected on 2026-09-02: This guide previously described CHAS as offering two tiers, "Standard" and "Premium Plus", and treated "Advanced" and "Elite" as former names. That was the wrong way round. CHAS publishes three contractor membership packages — Standard, Advanced and Elite — and does not use the name "Premium Plus". Corrected following re-verification against the CHAS published packages page. References to "Premium Plus" below have been replaced with the correct tier names, and the same correction has since been applied across every other guide on this site that used the retired name. The URL of this page is unchanged so that existing links keep working.

Also corrected on 2026-09-02: an earlier version of this guide said PPN 03/24 "does not mention CAS". That was wrong. PPN 03/24, Annex A, paragraph 14 reads: "For works contracts, including the procurement of mixed contracts that include supplies and services, contracting authorities should use the Common Assessment Standard (CAS), in place of the standard SQ template in pre-qualification of bidders." Corrected against the published Cabinet Office PDF.

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 Elite.

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

Tier names and starting prices below are taken from the CHAS published membership packages page and verified September 2026. CHAS revises its packages — check chas.co.uk before relying on a specific figure.

CHAS publishes three contractor membership packages:

CHAS Standard — "Meet SSIP requirements". The core health and safety assessment, and the tier most subcontractors need.
CHAS Advanced — everything Standard covers, and CHAS additionally lists "Meet the former PAS 91 standard" as included at this level. Broader than core health and safety, covering the areas the withdrawn PAS 91 questionnaire used to address. Advanced still shows "Meet SSIP requirements" as included, so it does not trade SSIP recognition away for the wider question set.
CHAS Elite — "Meet Common Assessment Standard requirements". The tier that includes the Common Assessment Standard, which is what public sector and Tier 1 buyers increasingly ask for.

The useful distinction is not "better" versus "worse" — it is scope. Standard assesses health and safety. Advanced widens the question set. Elite adds the Common Assessment Standard. Match the tier to what your client asked for, not to the name that sounds most reassuring.

Because PAS 91 has been withdrawn, the Advanced tier's framing can be confusing — our guide to what replaced PAS 91 explains where that standard went and why the Common Assessment Standard matters more now.

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 Registered Member 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. Use our Construction Insurance Requirements Calculator to check your cover levels against common client requirements before you apply.
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 Elite Adds

Elite 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 Elite:

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 — the threshold is set by regulation 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (Transparency in Supply Chains) Regulations 2015, not by the Act itself — 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.

Elite 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 Elite?

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 Elite If:

Your clients are public-sector bodies requiring CAS-level assessment. 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". (PPN 03/24 supports the same point directly. Annex A, paragraph 14 states: "For works contracts, including the procurement of mixed contracts that include supplies and services, contracting authorities should use the Common Assessment Standard (CAS), in place of the standard SQ template in pre-qualification of bidders" — subject to each authority ensuring the questions used are "relevant and proportionate to the contract being procured". So if a buyer asks you to point at the source, cite the PPN itself; Build UK’s sentence restates it in plain English.) CHAS lists Elite as the package that meets "Common Assessment Standard requirements", making it a route to satisfying that expectation 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 Elite (rather than specifying Constructionline Gold by name), Elite 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 — Elite 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 Elite when the work demands it.

Your budget is limited. Standard starts at £429 per year against Elite's £949. If spending more on accreditation means stretching your cash flow, start with Standard and upgrade when revenue justifies it.

Cost Comparison

Starting prices verified September 2026 from the CHAS published packages page. CHAS states these are "from" prices; the fee you pay scales with the size of your organisation. Always check current fees at chas.co.uk.

	CHAS Standard	CHAS Advanced	CHAS Elite
Published starting price	From £429 per year	From £659 per year	From £949 per year
Assessment scope	Meets SSIP requirements (core H&S)	SSIP, plus the former PAS 91 standard	SSIP, the former PAS 91 standard, public sector requirements and the Common Assessment Standard
SSIP recognition	Yes	Yes	Yes
CAS included	No	No	Yes

The step from Standard to Elite is roughly £520 a year at the published starting points, and the bigger cost is your time rather than the fee: each tier up asks for documentation across more compliance areas. If you already hold environmental and quality policies, the marginal effort is modest. If you would be writing them from scratch, factor that in before choosing Elite because it sounds safer.

For a broader breakdown of accreditation costs across all the major schemes, see our Construction Accreditation Costs guide, or model your own fee against the alternatives with our accreditation cost calculator.

How Elite Compares to Constructionline Gold

Both CHAS Elite 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 Elite lists you on the CHAS database, which is different. If your target clients search Constructionline, you need to be on Constructionline — Elite will not substitute.
Client preference. Some clients specify CHAS, some specify Constructionline. A few accept either. Check the tender document.
Financial assessment method. Both assess financial standing, but neither publishes the detail of how. If the methodology matters to you — because your accounts are unusual, or a previous credit check went against you — ask each scheme directly rather than relying on third-party accounts of it.

For a detailed head-to-head comparison, see our CHAS vs Constructionline vs SafeContractor guide, or work through our accreditation scheme selector to see which one your client base actually requires.

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, Elite covers those areas in one assessment.
Are you targeting public-sector frameworks that ask for the Common Assessment Standard? If yes, Elite is the CHAS package that includes it — Standard and Advanced do not.
Do you already have written environmental and quality policies? If yes, the additional documentation burden for Elite is manageable.
Is your annual accreditation budget above the Standard starting price? Elite starts at £949 per year against Standard's £429. If that difference is within budget, the broader coverage is worth having.
Are you being asked for separate environmental or quality certifications alongside CHAS? If yes, Elite 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 Elite 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 Elite, 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 Elite, 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 Elite 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.

Sources and References

CHAS membership packages — tier names, the per-tier inclusions quoted above, and the published starting prices — chas.co.uk
Common Assessment Standard, and the public-sector position quoted above — Build UK
Employers' liability insurance minimum of £5 million — Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998, reg 3(1): cover "shall in aggregate be not less than £5 million in respect of ... any one occurrence" — legislation.gov.uk
Competent health and safety advice — Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, reg 7(1): "Every employer shall, subject to paragraphs (6) and (7), appoint one or more competent persons to assist him" (paragraphs (6) and (7) exempt a competent self-employed employer or partnership; 7(8) prefers an in-house competent person to an external one) — legislation.gov.uk
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000, reg 7 (the Northern Ireland equivalent) — legislation.gov.uk
Modern slavery statement threshold — the £36 million figure is set by the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (Transparency in Supply Chains) Regulations 2015, reg 2, not by the Act itself — legislation.gov.uk
PPN 03/24, Standard Selection Questionnaire (2024 update) — Cabinet Office (PDF)

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.