Help us to improve the website - give your feedback.

Permissioning and licensing

Permissioning

This means we give 'permission' for certain work activities involving significant hazard, risk or public concern, for example where there are risks of:

  • multiple fatalities from a single or linked series of events
  • widespread and significant adverse effects on human health

What is required for a permissioning regime?

A permissioning regime means particular work activities can only start or continue when we give:  

  • our consent
  • a licence
  • our acceptance of a safety case

Safety cases

Safety cases are prepared by operators or owners of offshore oil and gas installations.

Safety reports

Safety reports are prepared by onshore, upper-tier Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015 (COMAH) establishments. This is to demonstrate that they can control major accident risks effectively.

Licensing

A 'licence' is an authorisation from us to undertake a work activity which would otherwise be unlawful. It is only granted for very specific work activities. 

How do licensing regimes operate?

We operate licensing regimes in certain industry sectors where we provide authorisation for specific work activities, for example:

  • issuing licences for explosives manufacture and storage, and for stripping asbestos
  • granting approvals (usually specifying working methods or equipment), eg for chemical products such as pesticides
  • providing exemptions from legislation where we are satisfied that people's health and safety will not be affected

Further information

Our role as a regulator[16].

Link URLs in this page

  1. How HSE regulateshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/index.htm
  2. Overview - Our role as a regulatorhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/our-role-as-regulator.htm
  3. Strategy policy and lawhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/strategy-policy-legal.htm
  4. Advice and guidancehttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/advice-information-guidance.htm
  5. Influencing and engaginghttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/influencing-engaging.htm
  6. Permissioning and licensinghttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/permissioning-licensing.htm
  7. How we inspecthttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/how-we-inspect.htm
  8. When and how we investigate https://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/when-how-investigate.htm
  9. Overview - Enforcement actionhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcement.htm
  10. Enforcement Policy Statement (EPS)https://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcepolicy.htm
  11. Enforcement Management Model (EMM)https://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcement-management-model.htm
  12. Working with other regulatorshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/working-with-other-regulators.htm
  13. Expert guidance on risk managementhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/expert/index.htm
  14. Register of convictions and noticeshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/convictions.htm
  15. Resourceshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/resources.htm
  16. Our role as a regulatorhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/our-role-as-regulator.htm
  17. Enforcement Policy Statement (EPS)https://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcepolicy.htm
  18. Enforcement Management Model (EMM)https://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcement-management-model.htm
  19. Enforcement guide - England and Waleshttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcementguide/index.htm
  20. Enforcement guide - Scotlandhttps://www.hse.gov.uk/enforce/enforcementguidesc/index.htm

Is this page useful?

Updated 2025-02-03