If you've read a tender document and hit "SSIP", "PAS 91" or "Constructionline" and had no idea whether it applies to you, you're not alone — buyers use these terms loosely even though they mean specific, different things. Here's what each one is, when a small trade firm actually needs one, and what it costs.
PAS 91 was a standardised construction pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) published by the British Standards Institution, designed so contractors answer one common set of questions instead of a different bespoke form for every buyer. BSI has since withdrawn PAS 91 as a maintained standard, but many buyers and accreditation schemes — including Constructionline — still use its question set as the basis of their own PQQ, so the term is still worth knowing even though it's no longer actively updated.
SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) is an umbrella body, not a single certificate. A group of independently-run health & safety pre-qualification schemes (CHAS, SMAS, Avetta, Builders Profile, Constructionline and others) all assess against the same HSE-endorsed Core Criteria and recognise each other under SSIP's mutual-recognition rules. Practically: if you're accredited with any one SSIP member scheme, most buyers who ask for "SSIP" should accept it without re-assessing you — you don't need to hold several.
Constructionline is the UK's largest pre-qualification and supplier database for construction, used by local authorities, central government and many main contractors. Its Bronze tier is a PAS 91-based questionnaire suitable for most small contractors and consultants; Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers add deeper financial, insurance and management-system checks for larger or higher-risk work. Being listed doesn't win you contracts by itself — it's a pre-qualification credential buyers can search and shortlist from, and some tenders name it (or an equivalent SSIP scheme) as a mandatory pass/fail requirement.
Only if a specific tender or buyer asks for it. Plenty of below-threshold, small-works contracts don't require any of these — read the tender document's selection criteria, don't assume. Where a buyer's framework or shortlisting process does specify SSIP/Constructionline, it's usually a genuine pass/fail gate: without it you may not be able to submit at all, regardless of price or quality. If you're bidding regularly for council or public-sector work, it's worth checking whether your target buyers require it before you're mid-tender and out of time.
Constructionline's Bronze membership is turnover-banded, starting from roughly £249/year for the smallest turnover band without existing SSIP accreditation (Gold starts around £499, Platinum around £2,299, at the same turnover band) — publicly listed prices as of 2026, always confirm current pricing directly. Other SSIP member schemes (CHAS, SMAS, Avetta, Builders Profile) typically price in the low hundreds of pounds a year for a small subcontractor, again scaled by scheme and company size. Several UK consultancies specialise in helping small firms prepare and pass PAS 91/SSIP/Constructionline applications for a one-off fee if you'd rather not do the paperwork yourself.
Assessment timescales vary by scheme and how complete your evidence (policies, insurance certificates, method statements, past-project references) is when you apply — incomplete applications are the most common cause of delay. If a live tender names SSIP/Constructionline as a requirement and you don't hold it yet, check the timescale against the tender deadline early rather than assuming it can be turned around at the last minute.
Next step: check today's live opportunities in your trade for any accreditation requirements stated in the notice — construction & trades, cleaning, security — or join the waitlist to get matched contracts by email.
Sources: Constructionline (constructionline.co.uk, incl. published Bronze/Gold/Platinum pricing pages), SSIP.org.uk, published UK PAS 91/SSIP accreditation-consultancy guidance, as of July 2026. General information, not legal or procurement advice — always confirm accreditation requirements and current pricing directly with the scheme and against the specific tender document.
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