Free Health & Safety File Checklist

Health & Safety File Checklist FAQs

• Is this Health & Safety File Checklist free?

  Yes. It is free to download, with no sign-up and no email address needed. Select Download the Word checklist and the file downloads straight away.

• What format is the checklist?

  A Microsoft Word document (.docx) of 9 A4 pages, with no macros. It has project and file details on the first page, a set-up page, ten numbered review sections, a practical final review, an outstanding actions table, key references and a completed / reviewed record. Each prompt is a Word content control, and each check has tick boxes with space for the evidence, reference or action. The document is not locked, so it can be adapted, printed, or saved as a PDF once completed.

• When is a Health and Safety File required under CDM 2015?

  For projects involving more than one contractor, including where that is reasonably foreseeable. Where there is only one contractor, the regulation 12(5) (opens in a new tab) Health and Safety File requirement does not apply to the project.

• Who prepares the Health and Safety File?

  The Principal Designer, during the pre-construction phase, and it keeps the file reviewed, updated and revised while it remains appointed. The Principal Contractor provides relevant information to the Principal Designer (regulation 12(5)⁠–⁠(7) (opens in a new tab)).

• What should a Health and Safety File contain?

  Information likely to be needed during future construction work to protect health and safety. Depending on the project, that may include a description of the work, residual hazards, key structural principles, hazardous materials, removal or dismantling arrangements, cleaning and maintenance equipment, significant services and relevant as-built information (L153 (opens in a new tab), Appendix 4). Not every category applies to every project.

• Does every document from the project need to go in the file?

  No. The file should be proportionate and include what future construction work needs, not everything the project produced. Records should not be included merely because they existed; where a record contains something genuinely useful for future work, retain, extract or reference that information.

• Should the Construction Phase Plan be included in the Health and Safety File?

  Not simply as a project record. HSE guidance says the file should not include things that will be of no help when planning future construction work, such as the Construction Phase Plan (L153 (opens in a new tab), Appendix 4, paragraph 4). If it contains a specific item of lasting relevance, extract or reference that item.

• Should RAMS and Method Statements be included?

  Routine construction-phase RAMS and Method Statements should not be filed merely because they were used during the project. Where one records something that remains relevant to future work, such as a temporary-works element left in place, extract or reference that information.

• Is the Health and Safety File the same as an O&M manual?

  No. The file is specifically concerned with information likely to be needed to protect health and safety during future construction work. There may be overlap, and relevant O&M information can be included or referenced where it meets that test.

• Who updates the Health and Safety File during the project?

  The Principal Designer, while it remains appointed. If the Principal Designer’s appointment ends before the project does, the Principal Contractor takes over reviewing, updating and revising it (regulation 12(6) and (9) (opens in a new tab)). CDM 2015 does not set a fixed review frequency.

• What happens if the Principal Designer appointment ends before completion?

  The Principal Designer passes the file to the Principal Contractor, which then reviews, updates and revises it for the remainder of the project (regulation 12(8)⁠–⁠(9) (opens in a new tab)). A sensible handover identifies the current revision, outstanding information and known gaps.

• Who receives the Health and Safety File at project completion?

  The client. The Principal Designer passes it on where it remains appointed; where the Principal Designer’s appointment ended earlier and the Principal Contractor holds the file, the Principal Contractor passes it on (regulation 12(10) (opens in a new tab)). Handover is not a formal sign-off or certification of the file.

• How long should the client keep the Health and Safety File?

  CDM 2015 sets no fixed number of years. The client must ensure the file is kept available for anyone who may need it to comply with relevant legal requirements (regulation 4(5)(b) (opens in a new tab)), and HSE guidance advises keeping it for as long as it is relevant, normally the lifetime of the building (L153 (opens in a new tab), Appendix 4, paragraph 7).

• What happens to the file if the client sells the building or transfers its interest?

  The client provides the file to the person acquiring its interest in the structure and makes sure that person is aware of the nature and purpose of the file (regulation 4(7) (opens in a new tab)).