Health and Safety File

1. What Is the Health and Safety File?

Most construction documents are about managing the current project. The Health and Safety File is different. It is entirely about the future.

The H&S File is a formal record of health and safety information about a completed building or structure — compiled during and after construction — that the building's owner will need when anyone carries out future work on it. Maintenance, refurbishment, extension, cleaning, or eventual demolition: the H&S File tells the next team what they need to know before they start.

“During the pre-construction phase, the principal designer must prepare a health and safety file appropriate to the characteristics of the project which must contain information relating to the project which is likely to be needed during any subsequent project to ensure the health and safety of any person.”— CDM 2015 Regulation 12(5)

Think of the H&S File as the building's permanent health and safety memory. It captures what was built, what hazards are present in the completed structure, and what anyone working on the building in the future needs to know to do so safely. Unlike the Pre-Construction Information Pack (which describes what is known before works begin) and the Construction Phase Plan (which manages safety during construction), the H&S File is the closing document — the one that endures for the lifetime of the building.

2. Is It a Legal Requirement?

Yes — but with an important threshold: only on projects involving more than one contractor.

3. Who Is Responsible?

CDM 2015 creates a clear chain of responsibility for the H&S File. The Principal Designer leads its preparation, but several other parties have specific duties to contribute information and cooperate.

4. When Does It Need to Be Produced?

The H&S File is not a document produced at a single point in time. It is compiled progressively throughout the project lifecycle, from pre-construction through to handover and beyond.

After the project completes, the client's ongoing duties include:

• Keeping the file available for inspection by anyone who may need it for future work
• Passing the file to any new owner if the building is sold or transferred
• Making it available to the Principal Designer on any future construction project
• Ensuring the file is updated whenever future works generate new health and safety information
• Retaining the file for the entire lifetime of the building or structure

5. What Should — and Should Not — Be in the File?

The H&S File should be focused, relevant, and useful. CDM 2015 and its Approved Code of Practice (HSE L153) are clear: the file must contain information likely to be needed during any subsequent project to ensure the health and safety of any person. It should not be a dumping ground for every document produced during construction.

Looking at the ‘include’ list in more detail:

6. Why Does It Matter?

The safety case

The H&S File exists to protect people who will work on the building in the future — years or decades after the original construction team has left. Maintenance workers, refurbishment contractors, and demolition teams need to know what hazards are present before they start. Without the file, they are working blind. Concealed asbestos, pre-stressed cables that must not be cut, non-standard structural arrangements, buried services with unusual routes — these are the hazards that cause serious injuries and fatalities when future workers are not warned.

The legal consequences

Failure to prepare an adequate H&S File is a breach of CDM 2015. The HSE can take enforcement action against the Principal Designer (or Principal Contractor, if responsibility has passed to them). The client faces separate legal exposure if they fail to keep the file, make it available for future works, or hand it over to a new owner. In the event of an incident during future works, the absence of an adequate H&S File can be used as evidence of a systemic failure in the original project's health and safety management. Fines are unlimited, and individuals face up to 2 years' imprisonment.

The commercial case

A well-prepared H&S File saves money on every future project. It reduces the cost and time of pre-construction surveys, prevents delays caused by unexpected discoveries, and gives future contractors the information they need to price work accurately. Buildings with comprehensive H&S Files are easier and cheaper to maintain, refurbish, and eventually demolish. The file also protects the building owner from claims by future contractors who encounter hazards they were not told about.

7. The Building Safety Act 2022 — How It Relates

For most projects, CDM 2015 and the H&S File requirements remain unchanged. The Building Safety Act does not replace CDM 2015 — it adds a layer of regulation on top for higher-risk buildings. However, the two regimes intersect in important ways:

• The golden thread: Higher-risk buildings must maintain a ‘golden thread’ of building information — accurate, up-to-date, and digitally stored. The H&S File feeds directly into this golden thread. Information compiled during the CDM process becomes part of the permanent building safety record.
• Gateway 3 (completion): Before a higher-risk building can be occupied, the Building Safety Regulator must be satisfied that building safety information — including the H&S File — has been compiled and handed over. A missing or inadequate H&S File can prevent occupation.
• Accountable Person: Once occupied, the Accountable Person for a higher-risk building must maintain building safety information throughout the building's life. The H&S File is a core source of this information.

The H&S File feeds into the golden thread, but the golden thread is broader — it includes ongoing management information, resident engagement records, and safety case reports that go beyond the scope of the H&S File.

8. Common Mistakes

9. How It Relates to Other Documents

The H&S File sits at the end of the CDM documentation chain. Understanding its relationship with other documents prevents confusion and ensures information flows correctly throughout the project.

10. A Real-World Example

A local authority commissioned the construction of a new two-storey primary school in the West Midlands. The project involved a steel frame structure, timber-clad elevations, a standing seam metal roof with concealed gutters, underfloor heating throughout, a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery, and a commercial kitchen. The Principal Designer began compiling the H&S File at the start of the design stage, setting up a file structure aligned with the sections described in this guide.

During construction, the PD collected information progressively: structural design loadings and safe working loads for the roof (critical for future maintenance access); the location and routes of all underfloor heating pipework (to prevent future drilling or cutting through floors); details of the concealed gutter system and the safe access arrangements for cleaning and maintenance; the mechanical ventilation system layout, filter replacement procedures, and isolation points; and the commercial kitchen extraction system maintenance requirements. The specialist roofing contractor provided details of the fall restraint anchor points installed on the roof, including their locations, safe working loads, and required inspection intervals. The M&E contractor provided full operation and maintenance manuals for all building services.

At practical completion, the PD handed a comprehensive, indexed H&S File to the local authority. Three years later, when the authority commissioned a refurbishment of the school kitchen, the H&S File told the new contractor exactly where the underfloor heating pipes ran beneath the kitchen floor, the safe working load of the roof above the kitchen extract duct, and the isolation procedures for the mechanical ventilation system. The refurbishment was planned and priced accurately, with no unexpected discoveries.

The H&S File did exactly what it was designed to do: it gave the future team the information they needed to work safely and efficiently on a building they had not built.

11. Frequently Asked Questions