Becoming certified

All MCS Installers will be assessed against the MCS 001 Standard and the specific technical Standard for the technology you wish to become certified for. Installer standards are available here.

Your company will be assessed by a Certification Body to 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. The Certification Body you choose will guide you through the process. All of the Certification Bodies have different prices for becoming certified, and timescales can also differ for the assessment. We recommend that you contact a few to decide which is best for your business. A list of Certification Bodies that support MCS certification can be found here

Prior to completing your MCS assessment, you need to belong to a Trading Standards Institute (TSI) approved Consumer Code. So, the first step to becoming an MCS certified contractor is to apply to join either the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC) or the Home Insulation & Energy Systems Quality Assured Contractors Scheme (HIES).

Membership of either RECC or HIES shows that you are committed to complying with a Consumer Code’s high standards of consumer protection. It facilitates self-regulation and promotes consumer interests. Each Consumer Code sets out the principles of effective customer service and protection. It goes above and beyond consumer law obligations and sets a higher standard, showing consumers – that Code members can be trusted.

In order to undertake 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. This includes confirmation of the competence of those individuals involved in the supply, design, installation, set to work and commissioning of microgeneration systems for which the company is seeking certification.

MCS has a clearly outlined Competency Criteria that requires fulfilment to join the Scheme and maintain compliance. For information on the routes to certification you should refer to MCS 025, Competency Guidance and MCS Installer Standards.

Routes to Demonstrating Competency
In order to become MCS certified your company will be asked to demonstrate the skill, competency, and experience of an individual or individuals involved in the various roles required to deliver a customer’s system. These roles include the supply, design, installation, set to work and commissioning of the type of systems for which the company is seeking certification.

There are essentially two ways in which an installation company may prove the competency of its employees.

• The first way is via in date qualifications held and/or short courses attended. The list of accepted qualifications and courses is included in the MCS Competency Guide
• The second way is prove competency through demonstrating experience to your MCS Certification Body.

Part of the process of becoming MCS certified includes demonstrating the operation of a Quality Management System (QMS). The assessing Certification Body will ensure that your company has addressed the Standard requirements through documented procedures and systems.

To support Installers in putting together a QMS, MCS have made templates available that can be used in conjunction with the relevant Standard. These templates can be found in the Standards and Tools Library.

Guidance Document MGD 001 provides guidance on how to interpret MCS 001 and, if used alongside the templates, this should help put the necessary documents in place prior to an assessment by your chosen Certification Body for satisfying this Standard.

Note that some of the QMS documents, particularly quotations and contracts, need to comply with both MCS Standards and Consumer Code requirements; your Trading Standards Institute Approved Consumer Code will have guidance and draft documentation that can be used for this.

These templates are for guidance; and don’t strictly need to be used. Installers already using another QMS may be best advised to retain and maintain those systems. Using these templates is not a guarantee of certification, as the assessment will focus on whether the system is complete, effective and properly maintained.