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What are Gas safe registered engineers? In this article we answer many questions you may have about Gas safe registered engineers and explain how you can check if your engineer is on the Gas safe register.

What is Gas Safe Register?

The Gas Safe Register is one of the most trustworthy official services to utilise online as it displays the many qualified gas businesses and engineers available across the United Kingdom, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey. All gas businesses and individuals must, by law, be on the Gas Safe Register; otherwise, they are considered illegal engineers.

Gas safe engineers must be aligned with a registered business and given a unique license allowing them to undertake gas work for a specific business as they have proven they hold current and valid qualifications. Qualified engineers will obtain such evidence through plenty of training and various assessments.

The register isn't regarded as a trade association nor a membership body; it is operated on behalf of authorities such as the Health and Safety Authority, Capita PLC and other executives for every region, including Great Britain, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Guernsey and Jersey.

To receive capita gas registration, each business must have at least one active gas safe engineer.

What does the Gas Safe register do?

The purpose of the gas safe register is primarily to protect tenants, homeowners and customers from the detrimental dangers they could encounter when dealing with the aftermath of incompetent gas work. The register thoroughly investigates any reports from customers of suspect or illegal gas work in their vicinity and passes their details onto the HSE (Health and Safety Executives). The HSE will then take this information into account and prosecute individuals or businesses carrying illegal gas work for households across the UK.

Gas safe is known for running campaigns, for example, the annual gas safety week, which is implemented to increase awareness and educate people on the many risks of illegal gas work; this year, it will be taking place between 12th-15th September 2022.

More than one million UK are at risk each year from the work of illegal and unsafe gas fitters, according to recent gas safe research. Research has discovered that 1 in 5 of our household gas appliances are so dangerous that they must be immediately disconnected, including 75,000 gas fires, 645,000 unsafe pipework, 32,000 gas metes and 147,000 gas boilers. It is all too rare that homeowners genuinely check whether or not their working engineer is gas safe registered to complete the necessary jobs.

However, you mustn't stress; multiple local engineers take gas safety incredibly seriously, do frequent checks on the individual engineers' qualifications and skill levels against the official criteria set by the Gas Safe Register, and do criminal record checks for suspicious activity. Rest assured, do a quick search on the website and get contacting for free quotes and trustworthy service from reliable professionals in your area.

Gas Safety Certificates & Records

Gas safety certificates and records are a crucial part of any gas appliance installed, safety checks or service as they prove that a professional qualified for the job has completed the work required to stay safe and functioning throughout your home.

They also display the compliance of your appliances and their installation with the gas safety standards within your local area.

Is your engineer Gas Safe registered?

You must check that any gas work, safety checks or services completed inside your home are done by a gas safe engineer on the register. You can search up your current professional on the Gas Safe Register website as it has a search engine called 'Find a Gas Safe Engineer' whereabouts you can discover local registered engineers by typing in your postcode. 

Consumers can check that their designated engineer is legally permitted for gas work by inputting the licence number found on the Gas Safe ID card into the 'Check an Engineer' service, which is also on the website. The website will allow you to locate identification pictures of your specific engineer and their qualifications, telling you the gas work they are certified to undertake. 

We encourage home and property owners to check whether a business is registered by texting the word GAS with the necessary business registration number to the number 85080; you'll receive a response text to confirm the registration of your engineer. You can also call the number 0800 111 999; they will respond to any questions, queries and any gas emergency you may have.

How to check an engineer is Gas Safe

It is vital to check the authenticity of your engineer to see whether or not they are liable to complete gas work as a gas safe registered individual. Unsafe work from an unqualified engineer is highly dangerous as they are likely inexperienced or not fully developed in their skillset. If they make a mistake, you and your household will be at serious risk of various issues, even carbon monoxide poisoning.

The best way to assess whether or not you're dealing with a gas safe registered engineer is many of them are provided, early on, with a 1-6 digit number. They are given a new Gas Safe ID card annually containing a unique 7-digit licence number as proof of their place on the register.

Licence cards are annually re-issued with a brand-new different number, so if your engineer's number never changes throughout the years, we encourage you to seek services elsewhere. It's essential to spot the warning signs of an untrustworthy engineer.

Every licence card will display the following:

Before an engineer begins work on any gas appliance within the property or home, it's paramount to check their Gas Safe ID card to ensure you find all of these factors that highlight their eligibility. You can also look up their ID or business registration numbers on the gas safe register website to verify their existence on the list.

Such will confirm they are a gas safe engineer and the work style they complete. It would be best if you were wary as not all gas safe registered professionals are qualified to work on boilers or other gas appliances within the home. Some work predominantly with natural gas, yet not LPG, and some purely work on domestic appliances but not commercial ones.    

Suppose you suspect an engineer or business in your local area is working illegally or unsafely with gas; it would help if you report them to the official Gas Safe Register. In doing so, you could potentially save your neighbours or community from receiving unqualified work that could put them and their households in danger.

Are you looking for Gas Safe boiler services in Retford or the surrounding area of Nottinghamshire? If you find yourself struggling with any of the above problems or more, don't hesitate to contact our professional team.