Safety and the Law · 4 lessons
Gas safety law: who may do gas work
Who may do gas work is set by law, and the law is different in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Our gas engineering path is in public beta: some lessons are still being checked. More sections are coming.
Law, codes and guidance
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 cover Great Britain: England, Wales and Scotland. HSE publishes an Approved Code of Practice and guidance alongside them. Northern Ireland has its own 2004 Regulations, enforced by HSENI.
Competence and registration are two duties
Competence binds anyone who works on a gas fitting. Registration binds gas businesses: employers and the self-employed. The Gas Safe Register replaced CORGI in Great Britain in 2009 and in Northern Ireland in 2010.
Landlords
In Great Britain, landlords must have the gas appliances and flues they provide safety-checked at least every 12 months and give tenants the record. A Gas Safe registered engineer does the check. Northern Ireland's regulations set a matching yearly check.
Reporting
Some gas incidents and dangerous fittings must be reported under RIDDOR, with Great Britain and Northern Ireland each running their own regulations. A call to the emergency service is not a RIDDOR report.
The lessons this guide comes from
- Gas regulations in plain words
- Registration and competence
- Landlords and records
- Reporting dangerous gas fittings
Keep learning
Sources
Sources checked 29 October 2026. The law and official pages can change.
- Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 3Competence and the approved class in Great Britain.
- Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004, regulation 3Northern Ireland's own competence and approved-class duties.
- Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 36Landlords' yearly check and record in Great Britain.