Before any decisions are made, it helps to understand how the HSE classifies asbestos work. There are three distinct categories, each carrying its own requirements around training, notification and documentation. Here is what each one actually means:
Category | What It Covers | Legal Requirements |
|---|---|---|
Non-Licensed Work | Lower-risk materials in sound condition, including most textured coatings, cement sheets and garage roofs, floor tiles, soffits, guttering, water tanks and cisterns. | UKATA-trained operatives and controlled working methods. No notification required. Consignment note mandatory for all waste. |
Notifiable Non-Licensed Work (NNLW) | The same material types as non-licensed work, but where the condition, method or duration of the job increases the risk, such as degraded cement removal or extended adhesive work. | Trained operatives, notification to the enforcing authority before work starts, operative health records kept for 40 years, consignment note mandatory. |
Licensed Work | The highest-risk materials, covering pipe lagging, thermal insulation, sprayed coatings and most asbestos insulating board (AIB) work. | Full HSE asbestos licence, 14-day notification, sealed enclosures with decontamination facilities, independent four-stage air clearance, medical surveillance for operatives. |
Non-licensed asbestos removal does not mean uncontrolled. Every non-licensed job we carry out in Kent is staffed by UKATA-trained operatives, supported by a written risk assessment and method statement, carried out using controlled removal techniques, and closed with consignment documentation under the Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005.
What it does mean in practical terms is that most domestic jobs - the garage roof, the textured ceiling, the floor tiles - can be completed correctly and safely without the additional costs and lead times that the licensed regime involves.
Every HSE-compliant asbestos removal job includes a written risk assessment and method statement. All hazardous waste is transported securely to a licensed facility, and you receive a consignment note confirming legal disposal under the Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005.
Notifiable asbestos removal sits between the two other categories. The materials involved are the same types found in non-licensed work, but factors such as the condition of the material, the method required or the anticipated duration push the risk level higher.
When your job falls into this tier, we handle the notification to the enforcing authority on your behalf before anything starts. You are not required to do anything. We also retain operative health records for the full 40 years the law requires.
From your perspective, the job runs the same way as any other. The additional administration all happens on our side.
1
A surveyor inspects the material in question, establishes exactly what it is, sends samples to a UKAS-accredited laboratory where confirmation is needed, and records the correct HSE work category before a price is put together.
2
A written RAMS document is produced for every job we take on. It sets out the controls, the order of works, the containment measures and the clean-down procedure, written specifically for your property rather than copied from a previous job.
3
For NNLW jobs, the enforcing authority is notified before work begins. Licensed jobs run under the HSE's 14-day notification process. Whichever applies, we manage it entirely on your behalf.
4
All removal work follows the method statement precisely. Trained operatives apply containment appropriate to the work category, and waste is double-bagged at the point of removal.
5
Waste is collected by a registered carrier and delivered to a licensed disposal facility. Your consignment note is produced as the permanent legal record of that process. This happens on every job, without exception.
6
Once the site is clear and the work is complete, you receive written confirmation. Any NNLW records required by law are held on our side, with copies made available to you whenever they are needed.
FAQS
For standard domestic non-licensed removal, no notification is required at all. If the work falls into the NNLW or licensed asbestos removal category, the notification is a legal obligation that sits with us, not you. We submit it before the start date and let you know once it is done.
You find out at the free survey. We state the applicable category clearly in your written quotation alongside the price, so you have a full understanding of the legal basis for the work before you spend anything.
No. The categories are based on the nature of the material being worked on, not on the level of care applied. Trained operatives, written method statements and consigned disposal are requirements across all three tiers. Licensed work adds enclosures, air clearance and medical surveillance because the specific materials involved make those controls necessary.
It is the legal document that records the movement of your asbestos waste from your property to the licensed facility that accepted it. It is required under the Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005 and we issue one on every job we complete. When you come to sell your property, it is often the first document a solicitor asks for.
If you want to see our RAMS format, review a sample consignment note or get a category assessment for your specific material before making a booking, just get in touch and we will send it straight over.
For enquiries related to our services, please reach out.
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Send us your postcode and a description of the material you’ve found. A surveyor will be with you the same week, and your fixed written price follows within 48 hours.
