TL;DR: An HSE visit usually ends in one of three ways: a clean bill of health, written advice, or an enforcement notice. The single biggest factor that decides which is whether your records back up your safety claims. This guide gives you the full list of documents and records to have on file, organised the way an inspector will ask for them.
Why HSE inspections happen
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspects workplaces in Great Britain to check compliance with the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and supporting regulations. Inspections can be:
- Planned — proactive visits to higher-risk industries (construction, manufacturing, food, agriculture).
- Reactive — following a complaint, a RIDDOR-reportable incident, or media coverage.
- Follow-up — to check earlier issues have been addressed.
Local authority Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) carry out the same role for offices, retail, hospitality and food premises.
What an inspector is allowed to do
Under section 20 of the 1974 Act, an inspector can enter your premises without notice, take photos, take samples, examine records, take statements, and require any person to give them facilities and assistance. Refusing to cooperate is itself an offence.
That sounds intimidating. In practice, most inspections are conversational and follow a predictable structure: a tour, a records review, and a closing meeting. The records review is where most enforcement notices originate — and where most of them can be avoided.
The full document and records list
1. The "core" health & safety documents
- Health & safety policy statement — required if you employ 5 or more people. A signed, dated statement of intent plus organisation and arrangements.
- Risk assessments for every significant activity, reviewed and dated. (See our step-by-step risk assessment guide.)
- Method statements / safe systems of work for higher-risk tasks. Often packaged as a RAMS pack.
- Fire risk assessment under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
- COSHH assessments for hazardous substances under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, with safety data sheets.
- DSE assessments for screen users.
- Manual handling assessments for any task involving moving loads.
- PPE register showing what was issued, to whom, and when.
2. People records
- Training records for everyone exposed to the hazards in your assessments — induction, role-specific training, refresher dates, competence certificates (CSCS, IPAF, PASMA, forklift, first aid, food hygiene, etc.).
- Toolbox talk records with topic, date and signatures.
- Health surveillance records where required (HAVS, noise, respiratory).
- DSE user assessments and eye test arrangements.
A simple staff training tracker with renewal alerts is the easiest way to keep this auditable.
3. Incident and accident records
- Accident book (BI-510 or equivalent) for all injuries, however minor.
- RIDDOR records of every reportable incident, kept for 3 years. (See our RIDDOR guide.)
- Near-miss log — not legally required but a sign of a mature safety culture.
- Investigation reports with root cause and corrective actions.
4. Equipment, plant and premises records
- PUWER inspections for work equipment.
- LOLER thorough examinations for lifting equipment (every 6 or 12 months depending on use).
- PAT records for portable electrical equipment.
- Fixed-wiring inspection report (EICR) every 5 years.
- Asbestos register for any non-domestic premises built before 2000.
- Legionella risk assessment and water hygiene records.
- Fire alarm and emergency lighting test records.
- Fire extinguisher service certificates (annual).
5. Construction-specific (CDM 2015)
If your work falls under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 you'll also need the F10 notification (where the project is notifiable), the construction phase plan, the pre-construction information, and the health & safety file at handover.
6. Insurance and registrations
- Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) certificate — minimum current checkout terms million, displayed where employees can read it.
- Public liability insurance certificate.
- Professional indemnity if applicable.
- Trade body memberships and accreditations (CHAS, SafeContractor, SMAS, etc.).
Keeping the certificates in a single insurance & compliance storage area means you can hand them over in seconds.
7. Contractor and subcontractor records
- Pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs) for each contractor.
- Their risk assessments, method statements and insurance certificates.
- Site induction records.
- Permits to work for hot work, confined spaces, working at height.
8. Worker representation
Records of consultation with employees on health and safety, and minutes of any safety committee meetings under the Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996.
What an inspector typically asks for first
In most inspections we see, the opening sequence is:
- "Can I see your health and safety policy?"
- "Can I see your risk assessments?"
- "Can I see your accident book?"
- "Can I see training records for the people working on the site today?"
- "Can I see your insurance certificate?"
If those five appear through the guided workflow, the tone of the visit changes immediately.
What weakens an inspection
- Documents that exist but no-one on site can find.
- Risk assessments dated three years ago.
- An accident book with one entry from 2022 in a workplace with 30 staff.
- Training records that don't match the people actually on site.
- Cleaning, inspection or temperature records signed in advance.
What strengthens it
- One organised place where every document lives.
- Recent review dates on every assessment.
- Training records that show induction and refresher.
- An incident log with corrective actions closed out.
- Visible evidence — toolbox talk attendance, near-miss log, PPE issue records.
How long should you keep each record?
Different documents have different retention periods. As a working baseline:
- Risk assessments — keep current versions plus the previous one for at least 3 years.
- Accident book entries — 3 years from the date of the last entry.
- RIDDOR records — 3 years from the date of the incident.
- COSHH health records — 40 years from the date of the last entry (these protect future claims for occupational disease).
- Asbestos surveys and registers — for the lifetime of the building, updated whenever conditions change.
- LOLER thorough examination reports — at least until the next report supersedes them, but ideally indefinitely.
- Training records — for the duration of employment plus 6 years.
If you store paper records, make sure they're in a single, identifiable location and that the named person on duty can find them. If you store them digitally, make sure off-site backups exist and that the system is genuinely accessible during an inspection — not behind a single login no-one else has.
Five questions to ask yourself before the inspector arrives
- Could the receptionist, through a guided workflow, point me to the H&S policy, the latest risk assessment, the accident book, the EL certificate and the training matrix?
- Has every risk assessment been reviewed in the past 12 months and signed off?
- Are all open corrective actions assigned to a person and a deadline, with progress visible?
- For the people working today, can I produce the relevant training records and competence certificates?
- If something happened on site this morning, would the resulting investigation be obviously joined up with all of the above?
If something does go wrong on the day
If an inspector identifies an issue, stay calm and cooperative. Ask exactly what is required, what the deadline is, and confirm in writing. Most issues can be resolved with a written action plan and a follow-up visit. Argumentative or evasive responses tend to escalate matters quickly, and may turn what would have been a verbal warning into a formal notice or a Fee for Intervention charge against your business.
Build your pack organised for inspection review in one place
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