Legionella compliance checklist: a one-page self-audit
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Key points
- This is a one-page self-audit of the four things compliance rests on: management, monitoring, records and review. Print it, work through it, file it.
- Every line asks for evidence, not reassurance: if the answer is yes, note where the proof lives.
- It records, it never certifies. A completed checklist is an indicative starting point for judging your own position, not a certificate of compliance.
- Keep completed audits with your log book for at least five years.
This checklist audits a legionella control regime against the framework in ACOP L8 and HSG274. Work through each line, answer yes or no, and note where the evidence sits. Any "no" is an action, and the completed sheet is filed as a record of the audit. It takes about twenty minutes on a simple system.
How to use it
Run the audit quarterly, and again whenever the building, its occupants or the system changes. Answer from documents, not memory: a "yes" you cannot point to in the records is a "no". Print this page or copy the tables into your log book, sign and date it, and file it. The temperature checker will tell you whether individual readings are in range; this checklist tells you whether the regime around them is complete.
Section 1: Management and people
| # | Check | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | A legionella risk assessment exists and is current | Dated, covers the whole system, reviewed within its stated cycle and after any change |
| 1.2 | A responsible person is appointed in writing | A signed appointment letter naming the person, scope and authority |
| 1.3 | A deputy is named | Deputy knows where the records live and has covered an absence before |
| 1.4 | A written scheme of control exists | Lists every control task, its frequency and who does it; matches what actually happens |
| 1.5 | Training is recorded | The responsible person and anyone doing checks have training on file, refreshed as needed |
Section 2: Monitoring tasks
| # | Check | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | Little-used outlets flushed weekly | Every outlet on the flushing list logged weekly, run through to temperature |
| 2.2 | Hot and cold temperatures checked monthly | Hot reaching 50°C (55°C healthcare) at sentinels, cold below 20°C, all logged |
| 2.3 | Stored hot water at 60°C | Calorifier flow and return checked and in range |
| 2.4 | Tanks and calorifiers inspected on schedule | Annual (or scheme-set) inspections done, findings actioned |
| 2.5 | Shower heads and hoses descaled on schedule | Each head logged, more often where scale builds quickly |
| 2.6 | Out-of-range results acted on | Every miss has a recorded response, not just a recorded reading |
Section 3: Records and evidence
| # | Check | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | One log book holds the routine records | Dated entries for every check, in one place, with no unexplained gaps |
| 3.2 | Contractor work is evidenced | Certificates and reports for sampling, disinfection and servicing are filed |
| 3.3 | Remedial actions are closed out | Each fault has a fix recorded with a date, not left open |
| 3.4 | Records go back at least five years | Old assessments, logs and audits retrievable, not binned at year-end |
| 3.5 | You could produce 12 months of records today | The first thing an inspector asks for is the last year's monitoring |
Section 4: Review
| # | Check | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | The assessment has a review date | The date is in the future, or the review is booked |
| 4.2 | Change triggers are understood | Building works, occupancy change, system alteration or a positive result all trigger review |
| 4.3 | The written scheme matches reality | No task listed that nobody does; no task done that nobody wrote down |
Score it honestly. A checklist with three "no" answers and a plan to fix them is worth more than a perfect sheet nobody verified against the records.
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.
What to do with a "no"
Each "no" becomes a dated action: what will be done, by whom, by when. Fix the quick ones immediately; most gaps are a missing appointment letter, an unnamed deputy, or a flushing list that was never written. For anything structural, a system fault, a persistent temperature failure, get competent help, and record both the finding and the response. File the completed audit alongside the log book. If you are preparing for scrutiny, work through what an inspector asks for next; this checklist and that visit test the same four things.
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 should a legionella compliance checklist include?
Four groups of checks. Management: a current risk assessment, a named responsible person and deputy, a written scheme of control, and training records. Monitoring: weekly flushing of little-used outlets, monthly temperature checks, and the periodic tank, calorifier and shower head tasks your scheme sets. Records: dated logs of every check and every remedial action, kept for at least five years. Review: the assessment revisited on change and at regular intervals.
How long must legionella records be kept?
Keep legionella records for at least five years. That covers monitoring logs, flushing records, inspection reports, sampling results, contractor certificates and previous risk assessments. The retention period exists because the value of the records is cumulative: an inspector, insurer or court looking at an incident wants to see the pattern of control over time, not just last month's entries.
How often should you audit legionella compliance?
A self-audit against a checklist like this one works well quarterly: often enough to catch a monitoring gap before it becomes a pattern, not so often it displaces the monitoring itself. Audit again whenever something changes: new occupants, building works, a change of responsible person, or after any out-of-range result or positive sample. The risk assessment itself has its own review cycle, and the audit should confirm that cycle is on schedule.
Is there an official HSE legionella checklist?
No. The HSE publishes the framework in ACOP L8 and the technical detail in HSG274, but it does not issue a pass-or-fail checklist, and there is no official form to submit. Any checklist, including this one, is a self-audit tool: it helps you compare your arrangements against the guidance and record what you found. Completing it does not certify a system as compliant; it records the state of your controls on the day you checked.
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