ID means Immediately Dangerous and AR means At Risk. Both are defect classifications a Gas Safe registered engineer writes on a gas safety record when an appliance is found unsafe; NCS stood for Not to Current Standards and is not an unsafe classification at all. The rest of the appliance table is made up of ticks and readings from the safety checks an engineer must carry out at the appliance. This page explains each part of the table, and what a landlord in England has to do once a defect appears on the record.
Appliance flagged ID, AR or NCS and needing work? Call 07447 364648 or WhatsApp us — or see Boiler Service & Breakdowns.
What do ID, AR and NCS mean on a gas safety record?
ID stands for Immediately Dangerous and AR for At Risk. They are the two unsafe classifications an engineer can enter against an appliance on a gas safety record, often called a CP12.
An appliance or installation is Immediately Dangerous when it is a danger to life or property as it stands, either in use or connected to the gas. It is At Risk when one or more defects could become a danger if the appliance is used. Both classifications come from the Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure, which has set out how engineers deal with unsafe gas situations since April 1998. The seventh edition of that procedure took effect on 1 July 2015.
NCS, short for Not to Current Standards, is the third abbreviation people still see on older paperwork. It is not an unsafe classification and does not mean the appliance has failed.
Immediately Dangerous or At Risk: how the two classifications differ
Immediately Dangerous (ID) and At Risk (AR) are the two unsafe classifications used on a gas safety record. The difference is when the danger arises, not whether you may carry on using the appliance.
| Criterion | Immediately Dangerous (ID) | At Risk (AR) |
|---|---|---|
| What the engineer has found | An appliance or installation that is a danger to life or property as it stands, in use or connected to the gas. | One or more defects that could become a danger to life or property if the appliance is used. |
| When the danger exists | Now, without anything else having to change. | Later, if the appliance is used while the defect is still there. |
| Wording on the warning label | Danger Do Not Use. | Danger Do Not Use. The same wording as for ID, not a softer version. |
| What happens to the appliance | Turned off. Engineers are advised to disconnect fittings that put life at risk and ask for your permission first. | Left out of use until a Gas Safe registered engineer has put the defect right. |
Neither classification lets anyone keep using the appliance. It is illegal to use a gas appliance you believe to be unsafe. Switch it off, leave it alone, and have it examined by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Is NCS (Not to Current Standards) still used on gas safety records?
NCS stands for Not to Current Standards and describes an installation that no longer matches today's standards without being unsafe. An older boiler fitted in a cupboard with less clearance than a modern one would need is the sort of thing it covered.
An NCS note is not a failure and is not one of the unsafe classifications. Engineers may still mention such points as advice, which is good practice, and some printed forms still carry the box. Read it as information about the installation rather than a reason to stop using the appliance. Where an engineer has genuinely found an unsafe situation, it is recorded as ID or AR, a warning label goes on the appliance and the appliance stays out of use.
What do the tick columns and readings in the appliance table record?
The ticks and readings follow the four checks an engineer must make immediately after working on a gas appliance. Regulation 26(9) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, as amended, sets them out, and they apply in England.
- Flue effectiveness — whether the flue, the route that carries combustion products out of the building, is doing its job
- Supply of combustion air — whether the appliance gets the air its burner needs to burn cleanly
- Operating pressure or heat input, or both — the gas pressure at the appliance and how much gas it burns
- Safe functioning — whether the appliance as a whole operates safely
Every one of those readings is work for a Gas Safe registered engineer with test equipment. Flue checks, spillage tests, combustion readings and anything behind the appliance casing are not jobs for a householder. The gauge on the front of your boiler measures something different: that is the water pressure in the heating system, and you may read and top it up yourself. The guide on low boiler pressure explains what that gauge is telling you.
Which details must appear next to each appliance on the record?
Regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, as amended, fixes what a landlord's gas safety record must contain. HSE lists the minimum as:
- a description and the location of each appliance or flue checked
- the name, registration number and signature of the engineer who carried out the check
- the date of the check
- the address of the property
- the name and address of the landlord, or of the agent acting for them
- any safety defect found and the action taken to put it right
- confirmation that the check met the requirements of the regulations
Location matters as much as the description. "Boiler, kitchen" and "gas fire, front room" tell you which appliance a defect belongs to; "boiler" on its own does not. The check may only be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer qualified for that type of appliance, and those qualifications are printed on the back of the ID card. Which appliances and flues belong in the table is covered in which appliances appear on a gas safety record.
A gas safety record with a failed appliance is still issued — what then?
A gas safety record is issued once the check is complete, even when an appliance has been classed ID or AR. HSE is clear that the record should not be withheld because defects were found and repairs are still outstanding. That is why a record can show a failure and remain a valid record of the check.
A landlord in England must have any defect noted on the record put right promptly. Until that happens, an appliance suspected of being dangerous must not be used. Only a Gas Safe registered engineer may carry out the remedial work. An appliance that has been reported unsafe, isolated or disconnected must not be reconnected before the defect is corrected — not by you, not by a tenant, not by a general handyman. What the two unsafe classifications mean for the appliance in practice is set out in Immediately Dangerous and At Risk explained.
How long must you keep the record, and when does the tenant get a copy?
Keep each gas safety record for two years. Give existing tenants a copy within 28 days of the check, and give new tenants a copy before they move in. These duties sit with the landlord in England under regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, as amended.
HSE calls the document a gas safety check record. CP12 and "gas safety certificate" are the everyday names for the same paperwork, so the heading on the form may differ from the wording in the regulations. Keeping the older records also shows the history of an appliance: a defect that appears twice in three years says something a single record does not.
If a defect on your record needs clearing, or the annual check on a let property is due, you can arrange a landlord gas safety certificate (CP12) with a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Sources
- HSE – Domestic gas: frequently asked questions
- HSE – Gas safety check records and what to keep
- HSE – Gas safety checks: what if…?
- Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 26
- Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 36
- The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2018
- HSE – Gas safety check: who can do it?