How to check a contractor is 12D registered on UKAS CertCheck

Where the register is

Since 16 June 2022 the public list of organisations certified to NHSS 12D has been UKAS CertCheck at certcheck.ukas.com. Before that date the list was held by Lantra on its Schedule of Suppliers pages, and older guidance still points there. The certification body uploads and maintains each entry; the certified organisation is expected to confirm that its entry appeared and to review it at least once a year.

CertCheck limits how many searches you can run in a day, so have the exact registered company name ready before you start. Searching by a trading name may return nothing even when the organisation is certified.

What the entry should say

A 12D certificate is an ISO 9001 certificate with the scheme added to it, so the entry should show both: ISO 9001 and NHSS 12D, issued by a certification body that UKAS has accredited for 12D as well as for ISO 9001. The scope wording matters. The scheme document sets out standard scope wording and five categories of work: mobile and short-duration works, static layouts, dual carriageways with a limit of 40 mph or less, convoy working, and multi-phase temporary signals. A contractor can only be relied on for the categories its scope names. If you are buying convoy working and the scope stops at static layouts, the registration does not cover the job.

Check the site count too. An organisation with more than one depot must tell its certification body about each location and the scope at each, so a contractor working out of a depot that is not on the certificate is a question to ask.

Motorways and high-speed roads are a different scheme

12D covers rural and urban roads. Work on motorways and on high-speed dual carriageways needs an organisation registered to 12A/B or 12C. A 12D entry on CertCheck, however clean, does not cover that work.

Subcontractors need their own entry

National Highways states that any subcontractor used must hold its own registration to the relevant sector scheme, and that a certified main contractor cannot act as an umbrella for an unregistered supplier. The scheme's client guidance says the same from the other direction: the client is expected to make sure everyone on site is trained and every subcontractor is registered, whether or not they are directly employed. So if the crew that turns up is from a different company, look that company up too.

Checking the people, not just the company

A registered company can still send an operative whose card has lapsed. The scheme document names two platforms that show a card holder's skills and their expiry dates: CSCS Smart Check and the Lantra card checker at lantra.co.uk/certificate-checker/. Each skill on a card has its own five-year expiry, and Lantra withdrew the period of grace after expiry from 1 April 2026, so a skill that expired last week is simply expired. The scheme expects supervisors to carry out spot checks of cards on site, and the client's own supervisory staff are told to do the same.

The questions a client is told to ask

The scheme document's guidance for clients ends with a checklist. Rather than repeat it, here is what it comes down to, grouped the way most buyers work through it.

• The paperwork. Is the organisation on CertCheck, does it hold ISO 9001, has that certificate been extended to 12D, and is the certification body accredited for both?
• The fit. Does the certified scope cover the actual works, including the road type and the categories of work you are buying?
• The history. Can the contractor show its latest surveillance report, or say when the next visit is due, and have any action points been closed within six months?
• The crew. Do the named people hold the training and competence evidence the scheme requires, are their cards valid and in date, and is the work within the scope of what they are qualified to do?
• The chain. If any of it is subcontracted, ask the same questions of the subcontractor.

The client guidance also reminds buyers that after a serious incident the police may ask for the contractor's policies, procedures, works records and the quality records for the traffic management system, which is a good reason to keep copies of what you were shown.

If the entry is missing

A missing entry does not always mean the contractor is uncertified. Newly certified organisations can take a short time to appear, and the scheme asks them to check for their own entry within two weeks. Ask to see the certificate and then ask the certification body named on it to confirm. Certification bodies are required to report ceased or reduced scopes promptly, so an entry that has quietly gone is worth a direct question.

If you are the contractor rather than the client, SchemeReady's self-assessment asks about your CertCheck entry, your scope wording and your card checks alongside the rest of the scheme; see how it works.