Guides & Advice
Licensed vs Non-Licensed Asbestos Removal, Explained
UK law splits asbestos work into three categories: licensed, notifiable non-licensed (NNLW) and non-licensed. Only the highest-risk materials legally require an HSE licensed contractor. Most asbestos in homes and commercial buildings doesn't — and knowing the difference protects both your safety and your wallet.
Last updated July 2026 · Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012
The Legal Framework
Three categories, three sets of rules
The law doesn't grade asbestos work by how big the job is — it grades it by how easily the material releases fibres when disturbed. That single idea drives everything below.
Licensed work
Sprayed coatings, pipe and boiler lagging, and most asbestos insulating board (AIB). Legally requires an HSE licensed contractor, 14-day notification and medical surveillance.
Notifiable non-licensed work (NNLW)
Lower-risk work that still requires notification to the enforcing authority, record-keeping and health surveillance.
Non-licensed work
For example asbestos cement in good condition — still demanding trained operatives, controlled methods and correct disposal.
Behind the Word
What an asbestos licence actually is
The licence is granted by the Health and Safety Executive under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, and it exists for one reason: some materials — sprayed coatings, thermal lagging, most insulating board — shed dangerous quantities of fibre at the lightest touch. Working on them safely needs full enclosures under negative pressure, decontamination units, medical surveillance for every operative, a 14-day notification to HSE before work starts and independent four-stage air clearance before anyone gets the room back.
That machinery is genuinely necessary for those materials, and it’s why licensed jobs cost what they cost. What the licence is notis a general quality mark for every asbestos job in the country — the regulations themselves say most asbestos work doesn’t need it. Asbestos cement, in particular, holds its fibres in a hard matrix; the law treats a corrugated garage roof very differently from crumbling pipe lagging, and so should your budget.
The Honest Version
When the licence matters — and when it isn't the test
If your material is licensable — sprayed coatings, pipe or boiler lagging, most asbestos insulating board — an HSE licensed contractor isn't optional, it's the law, and no reputable firm will tell you otherwise. But for asbestos cement, Artex, floor tiles and the other lower-risk materials that make up the bulk of what's found in UK buildings, the licence isn't the test that matters. What matters is whether the operatives are trained, the work follows the control methods in the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, and the waste leaves site with the right paperwork.
The practical consequence: before you search for any kind of contractor, find out what your material actually is. A £30 lab sample settles the category, and the category decides who you should be phoning. Our identification guide shows how to narrow it down without disturbing anything.
Searching For One?
Looking for an HSE licensed asbestos contractor near you
Let's answer this one plainly, because it's the search that goes wrong most often. Asbestos Remove is not an HSE licensed contractor. We carry out non-licensed and notifiable non-licensed work, and we say so on every page of this site rather than letting you find out at the quoting stage. If your material genuinely is licensable, you need a licence holder and we'll help you find one — that costs you nothing and it's a call we make regularly.
HSE publishes the list of every current licence holder in Great Britain, so finding one doesn't require a search engine at all: look up 'HSE asbestos licence holders list', find firms covering your area, and check the name of the company actually quoting you appears on it. Not a trading name, not a parent company, not an application in progress — the licensed entity itself. Licences carry conditions and expiry dates, so ask for the licence number and check it's current. Any genuine licence holder will hand that over without a flicker, because they're asked every week.
The more common problem, though, is people searching for a licensed contractor when they don't need one. If what you have is a cement garage roof, an Artex ceiling, floor tiles, a cement flue or a water tank, no licence is required to remove any of it — the law asks for trained operatives, controlled methods and correct disposal instead. Searching for a licence holder for that work narrows you to a smaller, more expensive pool of firms geared up for high-risk jobs, and you can end up paying enclosure-and-air-monitoring prices for a morning's work on a shed. Find out which material you actually have first; a single sample costs around £25–£60 and decides it.
So the order that saves people money is: identify the material, then choose the contractor. If it comes back licensable, use the HSE list and hire properly — we’ll happily point you at firms who cover the west of Scotland. If it comes back as cement, coating or tile, you’re looking for trained operatives, controlled methods and a waste carrier registration instead, and the checklist below is how you judge that.
Due Diligence
How to vet any asbestos contractor
Whoever you hire — including us — should pass every check on this list without flinching.
Training you can see. Ask for current UKATA or equivalent certificates for the people who’ll actually be on your property — not a framed something in an office. Asbestos awareness training is the legal minimum for trades who might disturb it; the people removing it need more.
A waste carrier registration number. In Scotland that’s a SEPA registration, in England and Wales the Environment Agency. It’s public, checkable and takes two minutes to verify. A firm that hesitates over this question has answered it.
Paperwork promised before the job, not after. A written quote naming disposal, a plan of work for the day, and a consignment note plus disposal documentation when the waste leaves. If any of that is met with “don’t worry about it” — worry about it.
Straight answers about scope. Ask directly: is my material licensed, notifiable or non-licensed work, and are you allowed to do it? A good firm answers in one sentence and can show you why. Evasion on this question is the biggest red flag in the industry.
Our Position
Where we stand
Asbestos Remove specialises in non-licensed and notifiable non-licensed (NNLW) asbestos work — the categories covering the majority of asbestos found in Scottish homes and commercial buildings.
Where a survey identifies licensable materials (sprayed coatings, pipe or boiler lagging, most asbestos insulating board), we tell you straight and help you arrange an HSE licensed contractor.
Common Questions
Licensing FAQs
Do I need a licensed contractor to remove a garage roof?
No. Asbestos cement — the corrugated grey sheeting used on garages, sheds and outbuildings — is non-licensed work under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, provided it's in reasonable condition and removed without breaking it up. It still demands trained operatives, controlled methods and certified disposal, which is exactly the work we do.
How do I find an HSE licensed asbestos contractor near me?
Use HSE's own list rather than a search engine — look up 'HSE asbestos licence holders list', find the firms covering your area and check the licensed entity's name matches the company actually quoting you. Before you do any of that, though, find out whether you need one: if your material is asbestos cement, a textured coating, floor tiles or a flue, no licence is required to remove it and searching for a licence holder narrows you to a smaller and dearer pool. Asbestos Remove is not an HSE licensed contractor — we do non-licensed and NNLW work, and where a job is licensable we help you arrange a firm that is.
How do I check whether a company holds an asbestos licence?
HSE publishes a register of every current asbestos licence holder — search for it as 'HSE asbestos licence holders list'. If a firm claims a licence, its name is on that list; no exceptions, no 'pending applications'. For non-licensed and NNLW work no such licence exists, so the checks that matter are training certificates, waste carrier registration and insurance — and any honest firm, ourselves included, will show you all three without being chased.
What happens if the wrong firm does licensable work?
Having licensable materials removed by anyone other than an HSE licensed contractor is a criminal offence — for the firm doing the work, and potentially for a commercial client who commissioned it. If a contractor offers to strip pipe lagging or sprayed coating without a licence, walk away and report it. For domestic customers the bigger everyday risk is the reverse: paying licensed-work prices for materials that never needed a licence in the first place.
Are you HSE licensed?
We carry out non-licensed and notifiable non-licensed asbestos work — the categories that cover the majority of asbestos in Scottish homes and businesses, including cement roofs, Artex, floor tiles and more. Licensable materials legally require an HSE licensed contractor; if a survey identifies these, we say so straight away and help you arrange compliant removal.