Does Legionella Control Association registration matter when choosing an assessor?
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Key points
- LCA registration is a company-level quality mark: the firm signs up to a code of conduct and is audited against it.
- It is voluntary: no law requires it, and it is not an HSE endorsement or a licence to practise.
- It does not qualify the individual who turns up. Competence of the person doing your assessment is what matters, and that has to be checked directly.
- Use registration as a shortlist filter, then judge every provider on the same questions about method, report content, and follow-through.
- No assessment from any provider certifies your building. It records findings and recommendations; the duty to act on them stays with you.
A Legionella Control Association registered assessor works for a company that has signed up to the LCA's code of conduct and been audited against it; a non-registered assessor works for a company that has not. That is the whole of the formal difference. Registration is a genuine quality signal, but it is a signal about the company's systems, not a qualification held by the person who walks round your building, and certainly not a guarantee about your water system.
The Legionella Control Association exists because the legionella industry has no statutory licensing. Anyone can call themselves a legionella consultant, so buyers need some way of sorting the market. Understanding what registration does and does not tell you is how you use it properly: as a filter, not as a verdict.
What LCA registration actually involves
The LCA is a voluntary body run for companies that deliver legionella control services: risk assessment, water treatment, sampling, cleaning and disinfection, training. Member companies commit to a code of conduct covering how that work is specified, delivered, and recorded, and they are audited against it, with the register publicly searchable. A company on the register has therefore opened its paperwork and its working methods to external scrutiny, which is more than a firm on the open market has done by default.
That has real value when you are building a shortlist. It screens out the pure cowboys, and it gives you a body to complain to if things go wrong. It also tends to correlate with the habits you want: reports written to BS 8580-1, samples taken to BS 7592, and proper records.
What registration tells you, and what it does not
| It tells you | It does not tell you |
|---|---|
| The company has signed up to an audited code of conduct | That the individual assessor visiting you is competent on your type of system |
| Its management systems have been externally checked | That your particular report will be thorough or specific |
| There is a trade body and complaints route behind the firm | That a non-registered assessor is worse, or a registered one better |
| The firm has chosen to be visible and accountable | Anything about your building: registration says nothing about your water system's condition |
The gaps in the right-hand column are why registration cannot be the whole of your decision. The audit looks at the company; your assessment is done by a person. Companies are made of people with varying experience, and the assessor who is excellent on cooling towers may be thin on domestic hot-water systems, or the other way round.
Registration audits the company's systems. It does not audit the person standing in your plant room, and it says nothing at all about your water system. Use it to build a shortlist, not to make the decision.
The questions to ask every provider
Ask these of registered and non-registered firms alike, and weigh the answers rather than the letterhead:
- Who will actually do the assessment? A name, their experience, and their experience on buildings like yours.
- What standard will the assessment follow? You are listening for BS 8580-1 and familiarity with HSG274 Part 2.
- What does the written report contain? You want a full asset register of outlets and tanks, photographs, reasoned risk ratings, a written scheme of control, and prioritised recommendations, not a score and a tick-box appendix.
- What happens with the findings? Is there a debrief, and will they explain what each recommendation means in practice?
- What does the price include? The visit, the report, the scheme, and any revisit, stated separately, so you can compare like with like. The cost calculator gives you an indicative figure to sense-check quotes against.
A non-registered firm that answers all five crisply will very likely outperform a registered firm that answers them vaguely. Registration should break ties, not replace judgement.
Free legionella risk assessment template
A structured Word document following the five-step approach in ACOP L8. Covers risk identification, written scheme, monitoring, and records. If it isn't written down, you can't evidence it.
Follows ACoP L8 and HSG274 Part 2. Free. No spam.
The line nobody may cross
However you choose, hold one discipline: no assessor, registered or not, can certify your building. There is no legal legionella certificate in the UK, as our page on the legionella certificate explains, and a risk assessment is a record of what was found and recommended, not a badge of safety. The duty to act on the recommendations, run the written scheme, and keep the records in a log book remains with you as duty holder. And for simpler systems, remember the third option: a competent duty holder can do their own assessment using a structured tool such as the risk assessment builder, which our guide to DIY versus professional assessment weighs up honestly.
Free legionella risk assessment template
A structured Word document following the five-step approach in ACOP L8. Covers risk identification, written scheme, monitoring, and records. If it isn't written down, you can't evidence it.
Follows ACoP L8 and HSG274 Part 2. Free. No spam.
Frequently asked questions
What does Legionella Control Association registration mean?
The Legionella Control Association is a voluntary industry body. Companies on its register have signed up to a code of conduct covering how they deliver legionella control services and are audited against it. Registration is a meaningful quality signal at company level: it shows the firm has submitted its systems to external scrutiny. It is not a legal requirement, not an HSE endorsement, and not a qualification held by the individual assessor who visits your building.
Do legionella assessors have to be registered?
No. There is no statutory register of legionella assessors and no legal requirement for an assessor or their company to hold LCA registration or any other membership. The legal test is competence: whoever carries out the risk assessment must be competent to do it. LCA registration is one way of evidencing that a company takes competence seriously, but a non-registered assessor can be excellent and a registered company can still send someone who does a poor job.
How do I choose a legionella risk assessor?
Ask the same questions of every provider, registered or not: who specifically will do the assessment and what is their experience, will the assessment follow BS 8580-1, what does the written report contain, will it include an asset register of outlets and a written scheme of control, and what happens with the findings. Then judge the answers, not the logo. Registration is a useful filter for a shortlist; the quality of the individual assessor and the report is what you are actually buying.
Is an LCA-registered assessment a certificate of compliance?
No. No risk assessment, from any provider, certifies a building as compliant or safe. An assessment identifies and evaluates the risk at the time of the visit and recommends controls; the legal duty to carry out those controls, monitor them, and keep records stays with the duty holder. Be wary of any report sold as a legionella certificate, because no such legal certificate exists in the UK.
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