Competence, accreditation and certification: how to describe them on your website without getting it wrong.
Most asbestos websites use "accredited", "certified" and "qualified" as if they mean the same thing. They do not, and the people checking you know the difference. Here is what each term means, the mistakes that undermine trust, and what an HSE mystery shopper study of 59 laboratories tells survey and analysis firms about the claims they make.
- Competence is the objective. Accreditation and certification are evidence that help demonstrate it.
- Only UKAS accredits. Examination bodies such as RSPH and BOHS award qualifications, and certification bodies certificate. Nobody is "accredited" by a training provider or a trade association.
- Survey firms are accredited to ISO/IEC 17020 under UKAS RG8; laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025 under UKAS LAB 30.
- Accreditation covers a defined scope. Claiming it for services outside that scope is a common and costly mistake.
- An HSE mystery shopper study found laboratories detected asbestos in 99.6% of cases where it was present, but only 7% recognised a deviating sample.
Three words, three different things
An article in the autumn issue of ATaC News sets out a distinction that runs through every tender, audit and enforcement visit in the sector. Its rule of thumb is worth repeating: certification demonstrates achievement, accreditation provides independent assurance, and competence demonstrates capability.
- Competence is what the law cares about. The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and the Approved Code of Practice, L143, focus on whether people and organisations can do the work safely and consistently. It combines knowledge, training, experience, judgement and continuing development.
- Accreditation is independent assessment of an organisation's technical competence against international standards, and in the UK only the United Kingdom Accreditation Service provides it. Survey organisations are accredited to ISO/IEC 17020, guided by UKAS RG8. Laboratories and analytical services are accredited to ISO/IEC 17025, guided by UKAS LAB 30 and the procedures in HSG248.
- Certification confirms that a person, product or management system met a standard at a point in time. Examination bodies such as RSPH and BOHS award qualifications; certification bodies certificate management systems such as ISO 9001.
The website mistakes that cost trust
Buyers who know the sector notice these immediately, and so, increasingly, do AI assistants that cross-check claims against registers.
- "Accredited by" anyone other than UKAS. A training provider, trade association or examination body does not accredit. Say "qualified", "certificated", "member of" or "audited by" as appropriate.
- Claiming accreditation without the scope. A survey firm accredited for management surveys may not be accredited for every service it lists. State the accreditation number and link to your UKAS schedule so the scope is visible.
- Qualifications without people. "Our surveyors are P402 qualified" is weaker than named surveyors with their qualifications and experience. Competence is demonstrated by individuals.
- Logos instead of evidence. A logo cannot be checked. A membership number or accreditation number linked to a register can. We cover how in how to show your credentials so machines can verify them.
An accreditations page is the single most valuable page on most asbestos websites.
Every Envirorank website includes one: licence, accreditation numbers and scope, memberships and qualifications, each in text and structured data and linked to its register.
What the HSE mystery shopper study tells survey and analysis firms
Between October 2024 and February 2026, HSE, working through a third party, sent four previously validated proficiency samples to 59 laboratories as if they came from a doctor's surgery before refurbishment. ATaC's analysis of the results is balanced. Across 236 samples there was one false negative and no false positives: a 99.6% success rate at detecting asbestos where it was present. But errors were much higher than in the announced proficiency scheme on samples containing more than one asbestos type, and only 7% of laboratories recognised the deviating sample, despite that being a requirement of HSG248 and ISO/IEC 17025.
The lesson for survey and analysis firms marketing themselves is not to hide from this. Buyers and AI tools reward specifics. A laboratory or survey firm that states its accreditation scope, its proficiency testing schemes (AIMS for bulk identification, RICE for fibre counting, AISS for soils), its internal recheck rate and how it handles deviating samples gives a buyer far more confidence than a page of adjectives. See websites for surveyors and analysts for how we structure that.
The questions buyers are being told to ask
The ATaC article suggests duty holders ask about relevant experience, how competence is assessed and maintained, supervision, track record, whether the accreditation scope matches the service, continuing development and how errors are corrected. Each one is a question your website can answer before a buyer asks it. The full buyer checklist is in what buyers check before shortlisting, and the terms are defined in our glossary.
AI tools check your claims. A wrong word costs you the citation.
Buyers who know the sector spot an incorrect "accredited by" in seconds. AI assistants are getting just as sharp: they cross-check what a website claims against registers and other sources, and they leave out firms whose claims do not match or cannot be verified.
That makes the accuracy and structure of your credentials one of the most important things on your website right now. A new website with a proper accreditations page, the right terms, accreditation numbers and scope in text and structured data, and named qualified people, is what gets a survey firm, laboratory or contractor cited. Monthly AI visibility work keeps it current as certificates renew. More in how AI search chooses asbestos companies.
Sources: ATaC News articles in ARCA and ATaC News, Issue 133, Autumn 2026; CAR 2012; L143; HSG248; UKAS.
Questions this raises
Who can accredit an asbestos company in the UK?
Only UKAS. Survey organisations are accredited to ISO/IEC 17020 and laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025. Training providers, trade associations and examination bodies do not accredit.
Is a qualified asbestos surveyor automatically competent?
No. A qualification is one part of competence, which also depends on experience, supervision, assessment and continuing professional development.
What did the HSE mystery shopper study find?
Across 236 samples sent covertly to 59 laboratories, asbestos was detected in 99.6% of cases where it was present, with no false positives. Errors were higher on multi-type samples, and only 7% of laboratories recognised the deviating sample.
Get your credentials right, and get cited for them.
The free check scores how your licence, accreditations and memberships appear to buyers and AI tools, and our team reviews your site within one working day.
