Do I need a gas safety check?
Landlords: yes, every 12 months, by law, with a certificate. Businesses: the law says maintain gas appliances safely, and an annual service by a Gas Safe engineer is how you prove it, but the "commercial gas certificate" is not a statutory document. Who must be Gas Safe registered, what it costs, and what you should not be sold.
Looking for the technical detail? Read the version for professionals → GSIUR 1998, Gas Safe registration categories, BS 6173, IGEM/UP standards and commercial catering ventilation interlocks.
Landlord of a rented home? Annual gas safety check, Gas Safe engineer, CP12 to the tenant. That's the law, no discussion.
Business with gas? The law says keep it safe. There's no statutory "commercial gas certificate", but annual servicing by a correctly registered engineer is how you prove the duty is met, and for a commercial kitchen it isn't optional in any practical sense.
Where are buyers oversold? "Commercial gas certificates" sold as a legal document, engineers without the right registration category, and service plans on multi-year terms for what is one visit a year.
What the law actually requires
Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 36: landlords must have every gas appliance and flue they provide checked for safety every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer, keep the record for two years, give a copy to existing tenants within 28 days and to new tenants before they move in. Since 2018 the check can be done up to two months early without losing the anniversary date.
Regulation 35: employers and self-employed people must ensure gas appliances, flues, pipework and fittings at their premises are maintained in a safe condition. Regulation 3: any work on gas must be done by a Gas Safe registered business, and the engineer must be registered for that category of work. Regulation 4 and the Health and Safety at Work Act put the general duty on anyone in control of premises. "Maintained in a safe condition" is the duty; annual servicing to the manufacturer's instructions is how it's evidenced.
Where a commercial kitchen has mechanical ventilation, BS 6173 requires the gas supply to be interlocked with the extract so the gas cannot flow if the ventilation fails. Gas Safe engineers treat a missing interlock as "at risk" under the Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure. It's one of the few upgrades on this site that is effectively mandatory.
Commercial insurers, especially for catering, require annual servicing by a Gas Safe engineer and will ask for the record. Commercial leases almost always require the tenant to maintain gas installations in the demise and to provide evidence on request.
Northern Ireland: the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004 impose the same duties.
What this means for your premises
Rented home you let: annual CP12. Non-negotiable.
Office or shop with a gas boiler: annual service by a commercially registered engineer (or domestic-registered if the boiler is a domestic-type unit under 70 kW; ask which applies). Keep the service report.
Restaurant, café, takeaway, pub: annual service of every appliance by a catering-registered engineer, the ventilation interlock in place, flue and ventilation checked. This is the premises type where things go wrong and where the engineer's registration category matters most.
LPG: its own registration category. Check the engineer holds it.
Your options
Landlords
Book the annual check with any Gas Safe registered engineer. Use the two-month early window so the date never slips. Get the CP12, send it to the tenant, keep it for two years.
Businesses
One visit a year by a Gas Safe engineer registered for your category of work: appliances serviced to the manufacturer's instructions, installation tightness tested, flues and ventilation checked, and a written record issued. Pay per visit or take a one-year agreement.
Before you book, check the card. Every Gas Safe engineer carries an ID card listing the categories of work they're registered for. A domestic-only engineer cannot legally service your commercial catering equipment. Check the card, and check the register online.
Commercial kitchens without an interlock: get it fitted. It's a one-off cost and it stops your gas being condemned on the next visit.
What it should cost
Landlord CP12 for a home with a boiler and one or two appliances: £60 to £120. Commercial service, small premises, one or two appliances: £100 to £250. Commercial kitchen with several appliances: £250 to £600 or more. Ventilation interlock supplied and fitted: typically £400 to £900. A boiler service and a landlord check on the same visit is usually cheaper than two visits.
What you shouldn’t be sold
- A "commercial gas safety certificate" as a legal requirement. There isn't one. What the law requires is maintenance by a registered engineer and a record of it. The record matters; the word "certificate" doesn't.
- An engineer without the right category. Domestic registration doesn't cover commercial or catering work. Ask to see the card.
- A multi-year service plan. One visit a year. Nothing about that needs a term.
- Appliance replacement on the strength of "at risk". "At risk" means a defect exists that needs fixing. It's not a condemnation, and it often means a part, not a new unit. Get the fault in writing and a second price.
- Boiler cover plans for commercial premises. Priced for domestic peace of mind, rarely worth it for a business that can call an engineer.
- CO alarms sold as a legal requirement for your shop. They're a legal requirement for landlords of homes, sensible everywhere, and cost £20.
Check what else your business needs
Gas is one of the specific assessments that hangs off your general risk assessment. Kitchens also need the fire risk assessment to reflect the cooking risk and a wet chemical extinguisher. Run the Compliance Check for the full picture.
Sources
- Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulations 3, 35 and 36 — legislation.gov.uk
- HSE, Gas safety: landlords and letting agents — hse.gov.uk
- HSE, Gas safety in catering and hospitality, CAIS23 — hse.gov.uk
- Gas Safe Register — gassaferegister.co.uk
- BS 6173:2020, Specification for installation and maintenance of gas-fired catering appliances for use in all types of catering establishments
- Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004
Quick answers
- Is an annual gas safety check a legal requirement?
- For landlords of rented homes, yes: every 12 months, by a Gas Safe registered engineer, with a Landlord Gas Safety Record (CP12) given to the tenant. For businesses, the law requires gas appliances, flues and pipework to be maintained in a safe condition. It does not set a 12-month interval, but manufacturers and the HSE expect annual servicing and it is the only practical way to prove the duty is met.
- What is a CP12?
- The Landlord Gas Safety Record: the form a Gas Safe engineer completes after the annual landlord check. It must be given to existing tenants within 28 days and to new tenants before they move in, and kept for two years. It is a landlord document. There is no statutory equivalent for commercial premises.
- Do I need a commercial gas safety certificate?
- There is no statutory commercial gas certificate. What you need is evidence that a Gas Safe engineer with the right commercial qualifications has serviced and checked the appliances and installation, usually annually. Engineers issue a commercial gas safety record or service report for that. Insurers and landlords often ask for it, so keep it.
- Who can work on gas?
- Only a Gas Safe registered engineer, and only one whose registration covers the type of work: domestic, commercial, catering, or LPG. A domestic-registered engineer cannot legally work on a commercial kitchen. Check the ID card and the register at gassaferegister.co.uk.
- How much does a gas safety check cost?
- A landlord CP12 for a home with a boiler and one or two appliances, typically £60 to £120. A commercial service on a small premises with one or two appliances, £100 to £250. A commercial kitchen with several appliances, £250 to £600 or more. The interlock and ventilation check for a kitchen is extra if it has not been done.
- Do I need a gas interlock in my commercial kitchen?
- If your kitchen has mechanical extract ventilation, BS 6173 and the Gas Safe technical bulletins require the gas supply to be interlocked with the ventilation so the gas shuts off if the extract fails. An engineer finding no interlock will classify the installation as at risk. It is one of the few genuinely mandatory upgrades in small-business compliance.
- Do I need a carbon monoxide alarm?
- Landlords in England must fit a CO alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker. Scotland and Wales have similar rules. For commercial premises it is not a specific legal requirement but it is cheap, expected by insurers and covered by your general risk assessment.
This is general information about UK compliance, written for the person paying the bill. It isn’t legal advice. If your situation is unusual, get a professional to look at it.