A gas safety record that looks nothing like the examples online can still be entirely valid. No prescribed form exists: Gas Safe Register does not issue one, so merchants, engineer software and even landlords produce their own layouts. What counts in England is the content set by regulation 36(3)(c) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 as amended. Eight entries have to be there, from the location of each appliance to the engineer's registration number. If your document is missing those, the problem is not the design — and it may not be a gas safety record at all.
Is a gas safety record valid if it looks nothing like the examples online?
A landlord gas safety record is valid whatever it looks like, provided it carries the content the Regulations require. Gas Safe Register does not issue a prescribed form. Merchants print their own pads, and engineer software produces its own PDF layout. A landlord may even draw up their own pad, but it must be handed to the Gas Safe registered engineer before the check starts.
Colour, logo, page count and the order of the boxes therefore prove nothing. Two records from the same street can look completely unalike and both be sound. "CP12" is an old trade name for the same document, not a legal term, so a form that never uses the words "CP12" or "certificate" is not suspect for that reason.
Judge a gas safety record by its fields, not its design. In England the required content is set by regulation 36(3)(c) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 as amended. A plain sheet with every required entry is valid. A polished one missing the engineer's registration number is not.
Which fields must a landlord gas safety record contain in England?
Eight entries make a landlord gas safety record complete in England, listed in regulation 36(3)(c) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 as amended. Read your document against this list rather than against a sample you found online.
- A description of each appliance or flue checked, and where in the property it is
- The name, registration number and signature of the engineer who carried out the check
- The date the check was carried out
- The address of the property where the appliance or flue is installed
- The name and address of the landlord, or of the agent acting for them
- Any safety defect found
- Any remedial action taken
- Confirmation that the check covered the matters in regulation 26(9)(a) to (d)
Regulation 26(9) covers the effectiveness of the flue, the supply of combustion air, the operating pressure or heat input, and whether the appliance works safely. Since 2018 the engineer may test combustion performance instead, where measuring pressure or heat input is not reasonably practicable. All of that is work for a Gas Safe registered engineer, never for a tenant or landlord. Note too that the landlord does not sign the record; only the name and address have to appear.
Does a PDF or a photo of a gas safety record count, or must it be on paper?
An electronic gas safety record is acceptable, which is why many look like a plain PDF with no letterhead at all. HSE sets three conditions for keeping records electronically: they can be reproduced as a paper copy when asked for, they are protected against loss and alteration, and they clearly identify the engineer who did the check. A scanned signature or a typed name with a registration number meets the last point.
The copy still has to reach the tenant. In England the landlord gives existing tenants a copy within 28 days of the check, and new tenants a copy before they move in. An emailed PDF satisfies that as long as the tenant can get a printed copy when they want one.
Landlord gas safety record or Benchmark checklist: which document are you holding?
Many documents that "look wrong" are not gas safety records at all. The Benchmark checklist is the one most often mistaken for one, because an engineer fills it in at the same visit and it also has a yearly entry.
| What to look at | Landlord gas safety record | Benchmark checklist |
|---|---|---|
| Why it exists | Required of landlords in England by the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 as amended | Manufacturer code of practice document covering commissioning and servicing, and supporting the warranty |
| Where you find it | Issued as a separate record after each safety check | Bound into the boiler literature that stays with the appliance |
| What it records | Appliances and flues checked, defects found, remedial action taken | Commissioning readings at installation and one entry per annual service |
| Who receives it | The tenant, within 28 days of the check | Stays with the householder as evidence for the manufacturer warranty |
| What keeps it current | A fresh check at least every 12 months | A service entry each year to keep the warranty running |
Two other documents cause the same confusion. A Building Regulations compliance certificate comes from a competent person scheme after a boiler is installed, and arrives within eight weeks of the work finishing. A boiler service report is a record of maintenance, nothing more. HSE is explicit that an annual service must not be assumed to cover the points of a safety check, and a safety check is not in itself effective maintenance, which the difference between a gas safety check and a boiler service sets out in full.
Why is the next check date on some records less than 12 months after the check?
A gas safety check is due at least every 12 months, so a next-due date closer than that is lawful and common. Since the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 came into force on 6 April 2018, the check may be carried out in the two months before the deadline without losing the original date. The anniversary stays put, and the gap between two checks reads as anything from ten to twelve months.
An expiry date is not one of the required entries at all. Some forms print "next check due", some print "expiry", and some print neither. None of that affects validity. If you want the check done early without moving the deadline, say so when you book it, and the engineer records the date of the check as usual.
How can you tell an unfamiliar gas safety record is genuine?
Check the engineer's details on the record against their Gas Safe ID card, rather than comparing layouts. Every Gas Safe registered engineer carries one. The front shows a photograph, a registration number and an expiry date. The back lists the categories of gas work the engineer is qualified to carry out.
Two things should line up. The registration number on the record should match the card, and the appliance that was checked should fall within a category shown on the back. A card qualified for cookers only does not cover a boiler. More on reading the name, number and signature together is in our guide on checking a gas safety certificate is genuine. If a tenant has no record at all, HSE takes reports through its LGSR1 form.
Why does a gas safety record show no "pass" or "fail"?
The Regulations ask for defects found and remedial action taken, not a verdict, so a record with no pass or fail box is still complete. Wording varies between forms because terms such as "At Risk" and "Immediately Dangerous" come from industry practice rather than from the Regulations. Both lead to the same outcome: a Danger Do Not Use warning label on the appliance.
Using an appliance known to be unsafe, or allowing someone else to use it, is a criminal offence. An appliance that has been disconnected must not be reconnected before the fault is put right by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Where heating has been disconnected in a let property, the landlord arranges the remedial work and provides alternative heating in the meantime. Our guide to the ID, AR and NCS codes on a gas safety record explains the shorthand you may see in the defects column.
If a field is missing from your record, or the next check is coming round, you can book the check and the record through our landlord gas safety certificate service.
Sources
- HSE — Gas safety check records and what to keep
- legislation.gov.uk — Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 36
- legislation.gov.uk — GSIUR 1998, Part E: gas appliances, safety precautions
- legislation.gov.uk — Gas Safety (Installation and Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2018
- HSE — Landlords: a guide to landlords' duties (INDG285)
- HSE — Guidance for students using gas appliances in rented accommodation
- HSE — Gas safety checks: what needs them?
- HSE — Gas safety checks: what if…?
- HSE — Domestic gas: frequently asked questions
- HSE — Gas safety: home owners
- GOV.UK — Private renting: your landlord's safety responsibilities
- GOV.UK — Building regulations approval: use a competent person scheme
- Ideal Heating — Benchmark
- HSE — LGSR1: details of property with no record of a gas safety check