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Becoming certified

MCS is an industry-led quality assurance scheme, which demonstrates the quality and reliability of approved products and installation companies.

Being MCS certified demonstrates to your customers that you install/manufacture to the industry-expected level of quality every time. MCS gives you a mark of quality which provides assurance.

BECOMING AN MCS CERTIFIED INSTALLER

There are essentially four elements to becoming an MCS certified Installer. These are:

To become an MCS certified installer, you will need to be assessed against the MCS 001-1 Standard and the specific technical Standard for the technology you wish to become certified for. Installer standards are available here. It is important to familiarise yourself with the appropriate Standards and be able to demonstrate how your company complies with their requirements.

In order to gain MCS certification, your company will be asked to demonstrate how you engage the services of skilled, competent, and experienced individuals to fulfil each activity required to meet and maintain the requirements of the Scheme.

MCS has outlined the full competency criteria that is needed to join the Scheme and maintain compliance. You will find this in the MCS 025 Standard.

MCS 025 explains how you will need to identify at least one individual in your company who can act as your Nominated Technical Person (NTP) for each technology you are looking to install. The best way to demonstrate the competency of your chosen NTP is to evidence that they have successfully completed an MCS approved training course, appropriate to the technology being installed.

You can find MCS approved training courses here.

Demonstrate the operation of a Quality Management System (QMS).

A common misconception is that a QMS must be a long and complicated document. Another is that you need to pay for a software service. This is not the case. Your QMS should be fit for purpose and proportionate to the size of your business, providing evidence of how you manage the quality of all of your installations.

Join a Consumer Code. This Consumer Code must be approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI). There are two Consumer Codes available to join in relation to MCS:

  • Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC), or;
  • Home Insulation & Energy Systems Quality Assured Contractors Scheme (HIES)

The choice of which Consumer Code you subscribe to is yours. It is recommended to contact both to establish the best fit for your organisation and compare costs and onboarding timelines.

Membership of a Consumer Code shows that you are committed to complying with a high standard of consumer service and protection.

Apply to a Certification Body. A Certification Body will ensure that you install the renewable technology in line with the MCS Standards. They will assess your company in terms of company practices and perform an inspection of an installation site that you nominate.

Your choice of Certification Body will depend on your individual requirements but will likely be influenced by the services the Certification Body has to offer, whether they can provide MCS certification for the technologies you wish to install, and if you have an existing relationship with them. The Certification Body you choose will guide you through the certification process.

All of the Certification Bodies have different prices for becoming certified, and timescales can also differ for the assessment. A list of Certification Bodies that offer MCS certification can be found here.

THE PROCESS OF BECOMING CERTIFIED

Membership of MCS demonstrates adherence to recognised industry standards: highlighting qualitycompetency and compliance.

We have provided a breakdown of information surrounding what MCS does, why you should become MCS certified and how to do so.

Find out more using the button below for a full walk through of the process of going through certification, the costs you can expect and the help available to your business.

Certification Bodies

Third party certification is an assessment carried out by an independent, third party organisation to ensure compliance with a technical specification. These organisations are known as Certification Bodies.

The Certification Bodies have been accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to assess products and installers to the MCS Standards. The Certification Bodies operate within the ISO/IEC17065 accreditation framework.

Where a Certification Body listed is not based in the UK, they have been accredited by the UKAS equivalent for that country which is a part of the Multiparty Lateral Agreement (MLA).

If you wish to get your products certified or if you would like to become a certified installer you will need to contact one of the approved bodies below to make your application to become MCS certified.

You should contact them directly for information about fees and application timescales.

Once certified, your MCS Certification Body will be your main point of contact for any technical queries and you will need to keep them up-to-date with your company details.

INSTALLER CERTIFICATION BODIES

APHC CERTIFICATION LTD

0121 711 5030
Email
Website
Technologies:
Solar Heating | Biomass | Heat Pumps Design & Installation (Dual Certification) | MCS023

 

CERTSURE LLP t/a NICEIC

01582 539 140
Email
Website
Technologies:
Solar Heating | Heat Pumps Design & Installation (Dual Certification) | Solar PV | MCS023 | Battery Storage

 

NAPIT CERTIFICATION LTD

0845 543 0330
Email
Website
Technologies:
Micro CHP | Wind Turbines | Solar Heating | Biomass | Heat Pumps Design & Installation (Dual Certification) | Heat Pumps Design | Heat Pumps Installation | Solar PV | MCS023 | Battery Storage

 

SIMPLY CERTIFICATION

0191 323 3960
Email
Website
Technologies:
Heat Pumps Design & Installation (Dual Certification) | Heat Pumps Design | Heat Pumps Installation | Solar PV | Solar Heating

 

HETAS

01684 278 170
Email 
Website
Technologies:
Solar Heating | Biomass

 

OFTEC

01473 626 298
Email 
Website
Technologies :
Solar Heating | Biomass | Heat Pumps Design & Installation (Dual Certification) | Heat Pumps Design | Heat Pumps Installation

 

The IAA (Installation Assurance Authority)

03333 239045
Email 
Website
Technologies :
Solar Heating | Solar PV | Heat Pumps Design & Installation (Dual Certification) | Heat Pumps Design | Heat Pumps Installation | Battery Storage

 

Amtivo Group (trading as British Assessment Bureau)

0191 222 0306
Email 
Website
Technologies :
Solar Heating | Solar PV | Heat Pumps Design & Installation (Dual Certification) | Heat Pumps Design | Heat Pumps Installation | Battery Storage

CERTIFYING PRODUCTS

Product Manufacturers can gain MCS certification for products if they fall within the scope of the Scheme. You should check that your product(s) meets the relevant Product Standard. Product Standards are available here.

To gain certification, your product(s) are assessed by a Certification Body to ensure that your product(s) meet the technical product standard and that your production environment and processes meet MCS requirements. You will also need to provide product testing results for assessment.

TÜV SÜD BABT

01489 558 100
Email
Website
Technologies: Solar PV | Pitched Roof Installation Kit

 

BRITISH BOARD OF AGRÉMENT

01923 665 300
Email
Website
Technologies: Micro CHP | Solar Thermal | Biomass | Heat Pumps | Solar PV | Pitched Roof Installation Kit | Wind Turbines

 

HETAS

01684 278 170
Email
Website
Technologies: Biomass

 

SZU (STROJIRENSKY ZKUSEBNI USTAV)

+42 05 41120051
Email
Website
Technologies: Biomass | Heat Pumps

 

TÜV Rheinland (China) Ltd

 +86 10 8524 2184
Email
Website
Technologies: Solar PV

BRE GLOBAL LTD

0333 321 8811
Email
Website
Technologies: Heat Pumps | Solar PV | Pitched Roof Installation Kit

 

BSI

03450 765 606
Email
Website
Technologies: Micro CHP | Biomass | Heat Pumps | Solar PV | Pitched Roof Installation Kit

 

EUROVENT CERTITA CERTIFICATION

+33 17 5447171
Email
Website
Technologies: Heat Pumps

 

KIWA LTD

01242 677 877
Email
Website
Technologies: Micro CHP | Solar Thermal | Biomass | Heat Pumps | Solar PV | Pitched Roof Installation Kit