Preparing a commercial gas inspection enquiry
Arrange the inspection that fits your premises
To get a commercial gas certificate, send the full postcode, premises use, gas supply, appliance list and the document you have been asked for. Upkeepone can then check the inspection needed, the engineer’s work categories and availability, and provide a quotation for the agreed scope.
Use the steps below to prepare the details and understand what happens at the visit. An enquiry does not reserve an appointment; the scope, price and attendance arrangements need to be confirmed.
The direct answer
Four facts are needed before a commercial gas certificate can be matched
How is every area used?
Describe the business, workplace, catering, accommodation, guest, sleeping, residential, industrial or mobile use. Say who owns and controls the gas equipment and whether the site is mixed-use.
Natural gas, LPG or both?
Identify the meter, bulk LPG tank or cylinders, regulators, pipework and isolation arrangements. LPG must be declared because the engineer needs the relevant fuel categories.
What exactly needs inspection?
List every boiler, water heater, cooker, oven, fryer, grill, heater, laundry appliance or item of plant plus flues, ventilation, extraction or interlocks within scope.
Who wants which record?
State whether the enquiry is for an inspection, named record, service, repair, commissioning or several tasks, and provide the wording used by the insurer, managing agent, client or authority.
The certificate name is not enough
CP42 is commonly associated with fixed commercial catering. Boilers, workplace plant, landlord accommodation and mobile LPG can require different scopes, records and engineer categories.
Choose the inspection route
Match the record to the equipment and use
The examples help identify the enquiry to make. Upkeepone must confirm support for the actual installation and work before accepting a booking. The legal guidance below concerns Great Britain; Northern Ireland requirements need a separate check.
| Enquiry | Likely starting route | Scope to declare | Common wrong assumption |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial boiler, heater or plant | Commercial gas inspection, service or maintenance record matched to the plant. | Fuel, input/rating, appliances, flues, ventilation, controls, pipework and areas served. | That every Gas Safe engineer covers every commercial boiler or plant category. |
| Restaurant, takeaway, pub, café or fixed commercial kitchen | Commercial catering inspection; CP42 is a catering inspection form reference in the CORGI range. | Every appliance, flexible connection, restraint, pipework, extraction, make-up air, ventilation and interlocks. | That CP42 covers unrelated boilers, landlord accommodation or mobile units. |
| Mobile catering vehicle or trailer, including a converted catering horsebox | Mobile catering LPG inspection, with a CP44 vehicle/trailer record where appropriate. Describe a freestanding stall or gazebo separately. | Cylinders, regulators, hoses, restraints, ventilation, flame supervision, every appliance and the complete unit. | That a fixed-kitchen catering record covers mobile equipment. |
| Rented residential or guest accommodation | Landlord Gas Safety Record for relevant appliances and flues. | Appliances provided for tenants or guests, areas served, flues, records and any separate workplace or catering equipment. | That the word “commercial” removes residential or guest-accommodation duties. |
| Commercial LPG building or site | Commercial LPG inspection matched to the appliance and supply categories. | Tank or cylinders, storage, regulators, vapour pipework, isolation, appliance list and known installation concerns. | That a natural-gas inspection or appliance-only record covers the LPG supply. |
| Factory, agricultural or specialist industrial premises | Competence and evidence route defined from the installation, process and applicable duties. | Exact site use, process equipment, fuel, plant, supply, standards, risk controls and required evidence. | That the rules and competence route for a shop or restaurant can simply be copied. |
| Mixed-use site | Coordinated or separate records for the workplace, catering, plant, accommodation and LPG scopes. | Every use, shared supply, areas served, asset ownership, access and whether one engineer holds all required categories. | That one certificate title proves every system and duty was covered. |
Seven-step booking journey
From first enquiry to a usable inspection record
Define the premises use
List every workplace, catering, industrial, mobile, residential, guest or sleeping area and explain who owns, occupies and controls the gas equipment.
Map the fuel and supply
Confirm natural gas, LPG or both. Include meters, cylinders, bulk tanks, regulators, pipework, isolation and any recent change to the supply.
Build the appliance schedule
Send every appliance, location, manufacturer, model and data-plate photo. Include equipment that is unused, isolated, tenant-installed or outside the main plant room.
Name the work and recipient
State inspection, service, repair, commissioning or record, and who needs the evidence. Copy the wording supplied by the client, insurer, managing agent or authority; ask how to send supporting files if needed.
Match the engineer categories
Check the registered business and the proposed engineer’s ID card for the fuel and exact boiler, catering, pipework or other work categories required.
Confirm the written quote
Check the included appliances, record, travel, parking, VAT treatment, access assumptions, exclusions, repairs, parts and possible return attendance.
Prepare access and receive findings
Make equipment safely accessible, nominate a site contact and supply previous records. After inspection, review results, defects, limitations, safety actions and next steps.
Check the proposed engineer
Registration and work categories must both match
Check the company first
Use the Gas Safe Register’s business search or HSE’s check-an-engineer route. Confirm that the business details correspond with the provider accepting the work.
Check the person attending
The front of the ID card identifies the engineer and expiry date. Confirm that the person arriving is the person shown rather than relying on a company name alone.
Read the reverse
The back of the card shows the work types held. Confirm natural gas or LPG and the exact boiler, catering, pipework or other categories needed for the declared job.
Describe specialist premises accurately
HSE identifies different competence arrangements for factories, mines, quarries, agricultural premises and certain other sites. Do not book these as an ordinary shop or restaurant enquiry.
Disclose previous gas work and unfinished alterations
Where Gas Safe registration is required, HSE says an engineer must not knowingly sign off gas work carried out by an unregistered person. Explain who installed or altered the equipment and supply any existing records. The engineer needs to establish the inspection, commissioning or remedial work required; a booking cannot retrospectively make unlawful work acceptable.
Inspection, service and repair
Specify the work instead of expecting one certificate to include everything
| Work type | Typical purpose | What to confirm in writing |
|---|---|---|
| Safety inspection | Assess the declared installation and record relevant checks, results, defects, actions and limitations. | Equipment schedule, inspection scope, record supplied and treatment of inaccessible or unsafe items. |
| Appliance service | Manufacturer-led maintenance, cleaning, adjustment, component inspection and appliance tests. | Named appliances, service tasks, consumables, necessary safety checks and documents. Agree any additional inspection or certificate explicitly; statutory records required by the work must still be supplied. |
| Fault diagnosis or repair | Investigate a known symptom or defect and carry out agreed remedial work. | Diagnostic labour, parts, authorisation limit, isolation, return visit and whether reinspection is required. |
| Installation or alteration | Design, install, alter or replace appliances, pipework, ventilation, flues, controls or interlocks. | Design responsibility, work categories, installation scope, commissioning and final documentation. |
| Landlord check | Complete the annual check and record for relevant rented residential or guest accommodation. | Relevant appliances and flues, record recipient, access, defects, follow-up action and separate commercial systems. |
Agree the inspection boundary and any extra work
The quotation should allow for the tests needed to complete the selected inspection. A separate installation tightness test, purging or commissioning job needs its own assessment. Gas-safety checks involving ventilation or interlocks do not automatically include extraction cleaning, airflow design, electrical alterations or specialist repairs.
For LPG, identify the tank or cylinder supply and ask where the inspection boundary falls. Supplier equipment, storage and buried pipework must not be assumed to be covered by an appliance record.
Copy this booking brief
The information that helps Upkeepone check the right route
- Site: postcode, business type, every use of the premises and whether anyone lives, sleeps or stays as a guest.
- Responsible parties: landlord, tenant, employer, managing agent, maintenance contractor and who controls access or equipment.
- Fuel: natural gas, LPG or both; meter, tank or cylinder arrangement; supplier where relevant; regulators and isolation.
- Equipment: every boiler, water heater, catering appliance, heater, laundry appliance or item of plant and its location.
- Photos to have ready: readable data plates, appliance overview, plant room, kitchen line, LPG supply and relevant pipework. Take photographs only from a safe, accessible position. The enquiry form has no upload field; describe the equipment first and ask how to share files.
- Systems: flues, chimneys, ventilation, extraction, make-up air, interlocks, safety devices and known access limitations.
- History: previous records, maintenance, defects, warning notices, isolation, alterations, incidents and unresolved recommendations.
- Required outcome: exact certificate or record wording, recipient, inspection, service, repair or commissioning requirement.
- Attendance: deadline, trading hours, shutdown window, parking, congestion charges, permits, loading, keys, security and site contact.
Keep one agreed version of the booking details
Date the appliance list you send and identify any updates in your next reply. If another person arranges access, give them the same list and the agreed inspection scope so the engineer is directed to the correct equipment.
Before the visit, confirm the site contact, appointment arrangements and person receiving the record. Tell us promptly if equipment is added, the required document changes or the shutdown window becomes unavailable; the scope, price or attendance plan may need to be reviewed.
Prepare for attendance
Prevent an avoidable incomplete visit
Unlock and clear the agreed areas
Arrange keys, escorts, permits, roof or plant-room access and safe working space. Do not move or dismantle gas equipment unless authorised and competent to do so.
Provide controls and responsible staff
Nominate someone who understands the building, appliance operation, shutdown arrangements and recent faults. Share manuals or commissioning information where available. Some checks need equipment running; others may interrupt the gas supply, cooking, heating or hot water. Agree a safe access and shutdown window before attendance.
Declare additions and unused appliances
Tell the engineer about later additions, tenant equipment, isolated items, external appliances, mobile units and any system outside the original quotation.
Report concerns before arrival
Gas smells, carbon-monoxide alarms, unsafe notices, damaged flues, poor ventilation or an appliance already turned off must not be hidden inside an ordinary certificate request.
After the inspection
Check what was inspected, what was found and what happens next
| Review | Questions to ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Appliance schedule | Does the record list every agreed appliance, location and identifier? | An omitted asset is not covered merely because the document says commercial gas certificate. |
| Checks and results | Are the agreed tests, observations, safety devices, flue, ventilation and other results recorded? | The evidence must correspond with the scope and equipment, not a generic template. |
| Defects and limitations | Are unsafe findings, isolation, warning notices, inaccessible equipment and limitations clear? | A record can contain defects; it is not automatically a pass or guarantee of future condition. |
| Remedial work | What must be repaired, by whom, and is another inspection or record required? | Repairs, parts and return attendance are separate unless expressly included. |
| Responsible recipient | Who receives and retains the record, and does a tenant, guest-accommodation operator or client need a copy? | Record distribution and retention depend on the applicable duty and commercial arrangement. |
Renewal and maintenance
Do not copy one annual rule across every commercial installation
Annual checks can apply
Gas appliances and flues provided for tenants or serving relevant residential or guest accommodation can fall within annual landlord gas-safety duties.
Interval depends on equipment and use
HSE catering guidance says the interval depends on the equipment, its use and manufacturer recommendations. It describes annual inspection as a reasonable general minimum, rather than a single legal certificate rule for every business. Check any additional insurer, lease or client conditions separately.
Use a suitable maintenance plan
Non-residential workplace equipment still requires safe maintenance, but the Regulation 36 annual landlord record does not automatically apply to equipment used exclusively in the non-residential part.
Follow the installation-specific duties
Tanks, cylinders, regulators, pipework, pressure systems or specialist industrial plant can require separate risk, maintenance or examination arrangements beyond an appliance record.
LPG inspection routes
Choose fixed commercial, landlord or mobile LPG support
Commercial LPG gas certificate
Describe the LPG appliances and supply at the fixed site. Upkeepone checks which installation elements and engineer categories the inspection needs before confirming availability.
LPG landlord gas certificate
For relevant LPG appliances and flues provided for tenants, with property, appliance and supply details checked before booking.
Mobile catering LPG certificate
Declare the vehicle or trailer and its appliances, cylinders, regulators, hoses and ventilation so the required mobile inspection can be assessed. Explain any separate stall or event setup.
UK LPG certificate hub
Compare catering, caravan, landlord, boiler, plant and appliance routes before requesting an engineer.
Possible gas escape
Do not use a certificate booking for an emergency
For a suspected gas escape, leave the affected area and call from a safe place: 0800 111 999 for natural gas in Great Britain, or your LPG supplier for LPG. Avoid ignition sources and turn off the supply only if safe. Call 999 for fire or immediate danger. Do not use unsafe equipment or restore a supply until a competent person has dealt with the problem.
Service areas
Commercial inspection areas and booking conditions
For commercial natural gas and LPG inspections, our priority areas are London, Essex and Kent. We also cover Hertfordshire, Surrey, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Sussex. Other UK locations are considered by request.
Attendance depends on the postcode, installation, access, travel and appropriately qualified engineer availability. Coverage does not confirm support for every appliance or specialist system. Upkeepone must accept the installation, inspection scope and appointment arrangements before a visit is booked.
Related commercial guides
Check the requirement, scope, cost factors and renewal route
Which gas certificate does a commercial landlord need?
Separate workplace-only equipment from residential or guest accommodation, catering, plant and LPG duties.
What is a commercial gas certificate?
Understand what a commercial record can evidence and why the document name cannot replace the inspection scope.
Commercial gas certificate cost
See how premises, fuel, appliances, access and requested evidence affect a written quotation.
How long is a commercial gas certificate valid?
Check which annual landlord duties, catering guidance or workplace maintenance interval applies to the installation.
Primary UK sources
Verify competence and duties at source
HSE: check an engineerHow to find and verify a registered business or engineer and review qualifications.
HSE: Gas Safe Register and ID cardsWhy the front identifies the engineer and the reverse shows categories of work held.
HSE: non-residential and mixed-use gas dutiesThe workplace-only distinction and equipment that also serves residential accommodation.
HSE: gas safety in catering and hospitality (PDF)CAIS23 guidance on competence, maintenance, inspection intervals and kitchen gas safety.
HSE: who can complete landlord checks?Registered work, engineer competence and why someone else’s unregistered work cannot simply be signed off.
CORGI Direct: CP42 form purposeThe publisher’s commercial catering inspection record; a form reference, not a universal legal requirement.CORGI Direct: CP44 form purposeThe publisher’s safety-check form for mobile catering vehicles and trailers.
Booking questions
Getting a commercial gas certificate FAQs
How do I get a commercial gas certificate?
Does every UK business need the same commercial gas certificate?
Is CP42 the certificate for every commercial gas installation?
What information should I send before requesting a quote?
Who can carry out a commercial gas inspection?
Can one engineer cover boilers, catering equipment and LPG?
What happens if the inspection finds a defect?
How often do I need a commercial gas inspection?
How much does a commercial gas certificate cost?
Where can Upkeepone consider commercial gas enquiries?
Ready to request the right inspection?
Send the postcode, premises use, fuel, appliance list and required record
Use the commercial inspection form to send the premises, fuel, appliances, required record and access details. Include the real deadline so Upkeepone can check the work, quotation and engineer availability. The appointment is agreed after those checks; the inspection findings determine any safety action or further work.
Possible gas escapes must follow the emergency route above.
