A CP12 is not a free-form document. The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 set out exactly what every gas safety record must contain. Miss a field and the record fails, however well the check was done.
Template · Gas
What a CP12 must include.
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 set out exactly what a CP12 must contain. Here are the required fields, the landlord's obligations, and what happens when a record is missing.
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The law
Regulation 36 is a statutory duty
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 require landlords to arrange an annual gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer and to record the result. The engineer completes the record correctly; the landlord obtains, retains, and provides it. Failure can mean a fine, an improvement notice, or prosecution by the HSE.
Required fields
What every record must show
- 1
The check itself
Date of check, full property address, and the landlord or agent's name and address.
- 2
Each appliance
Make, model, type and location of every appliance or flue, plus defects found and action taken.
- 3
The sign-off
Confirmation each appliance is safe, the engineer's name, Gas Safe number and signature, and the next check date.
Obligations
What landlords must do next
New tenants must receive the record before they move in. Existing tenants must get the new record within 28 days, unprompted. Records must be kept for at least 2 years, with indefinite retention recommended. A missing or incomplete record is a statutory breach the HSE can prosecute, and insurers may refuse to pay out after an incident.
Quickler
Every required field, every time
Quickler workflows prompt the engineer for each mandatory field, so nothing is left blank by accident. The certificate PDF is produced automatically.
The short version
- The 1998 Regulations specify exact fields that must appear on every gas safety record, so a reliable cp12 report template uk landlords can trust simply mirrors those legal requirements.
- Missing fields make a CP12 non-compliant, regardless of whether the check was carried out competently.
- Landlords must give tenants a copy within 28 days and keep records for 2 years minimum.
- A CP12 must still be issued even if an appliance is found unsafe: the record documents the finding.
- HSE can prosecute landlords who lack valid records, even if no incident has ever occurred.
The law
What the law actually says
The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, Regulation 36, place a duty on landlords of residential properties. They must arrange an annual gas safety check by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and the result must be recorded on a gas safety record. This is not a best-practice recommendation. It is a statutory obligation enforced by the HSE, the Health and Safety Executive. Failure can mean a fine, an improvement notice, or prosecution. The engineer who carries out the check completes the record correctly. The landlord obtains it, retains it, and provides it to tenants. Both parties carry distinct legal duties under the gas safety installation use regulations 1998. Neither can rely on the other. One point surprises landlords: the obligation covers rented properties, not owner-occupied homes. A homeowner can choose a check. A landlord cannot.
Required fields
The required fields under Regulation 36
Regulation 36(3) sets the minimum content of a gas safety record. A certificate missing any of these is not legally compliant. The gas safety record required fields are: the date of check, meaning the day the inspection was physically carried out, not the day the certificate was printed. The full address of the property checked, not the landlord's address. The name and address of the landlord or their agent, where letting agent details suffice if the agent holds the management contract. A description of each appliance or flue inspected: make, model, type and location, each appliance listed separately. Any defects identified, with a nil finding stated explicitly, because a blank field is not the same as no defects. Any action taken, including an appliance turned off and labelled ID, meaning Immediately Dangerous. Confirmation each appliance is safe for continued use, mandatory even where the appliance has been condemned. The engineer's individual Gas Safe registration number, not the firm's. The engineer's full name as it appears on the Gas Safe Register. The engineer's signature. And the date of the next check due, 12 months from the current check.
Detail matters
A note on detail
The most frequently missing field in practice is the full description of each appliance, including model number. Engineers often write "boiler" rather than "Vaillant Ecotec Plus 831 combination boiler, kitchen." The vaguer the description, the weaker the record in any dispute. This is the heart of cp12 certificate what must be included questions: completeness, not just a pass mark. A record covering most appliances is not the standard. Regulation 36 requires every appliance and flue, named and accounted for. That precision is what separates a defensible certificate from a liability. Quickler workflows prompt the engineer for each mandatory field, so nothing is left blank by accident, and the certificate is produced automatically. See our CP12 software for how that works in practice.
Obligations
What landlords must do with the record
Obtaining the CP12 is not the end of the obligation. For new tenancies, the most recent gas safety record must reach the tenant before they move in. A landlord who does not provide it before occupation has already breached the regulations. For existing tenancies, the landlord must supply the new record within 28 days of the check, unprompted. The tenant does not have to ask. Each record must be retained for at least 2 years, and most property solicitors recommend indefinite retention. For 20 properties on annual checks, that is 20 records a year: a manageable digital archive, or an unwieldy box of paper. A sound landlord gas safety record uk system keeps every certificate findable. A landlord who cannot locate the record is in a weak position.
Enforcement
When a CP12 is missing or incomplete
A missing CP12 is not a paperwork inconvenience. It is a statutory breach the HSE can prosecute. HSE can serve an improvement notice requiring compliance within a set period. Non-compliance leads to prosecution, with unlimited fines and, for persistent offenders, imprisonment. An incomplete CP12, one that exists but lacks required fields, may not satisfy the obligation either. A certificate without a Gas Safe number, or one covering the boiler but not the gas fire in the living room, is not full compliance. The consequences run wider than the regulator. If a gas-related incident occurs on a property without a valid CP12, insurers may refuse to pay out. Mortgage lenders who find a compliance failure on a buy-to-let portfolio can call in the loan. The commercial fallout is often harsher than the regulatory one.
Unsafe appliances
How the record works when an appliance fails
When an engineer finds an unsafe appliance, the record matters more, not less. The gas industry unsafe situations procedure classifies appliances as Immediately Dangerous (ID), At Risk (AR), or Not to Current Standards (NCS). An ID appliance must be disconnected before the engineer leaves. An AR appliance carries a warning notice. The engineer records the classification, the defect, and the action taken. The CP12 must still be issued, showing the outcome for each appliance, including the condemned one. The landlord receives the record; the tenant has a right to a copy. The record of an ID finding is the paper trail that protects the engineer who condemned the appliance and places remediation squarely on the landlord. A landlord who lets a tenant reconnect a condemned appliance, or fails to arrange repair in reasonable time, has moved from a paperwork problem to a criminal one.
Questions, answered
What must a CP12 gas safety record include by law?
Under Regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, it must include the date of check, the property address, the landlord's name and address, a description and location of each appliance or flue, the defects identified, the action taken, confirmation each appliance is safe for use, and the engineer's name, Gas Safe registration number, signature and the date of the next check due.
What happens if a landlord does not have a CP12?
A landlord who fails to carry out or retain a record faces prosecution under the 1998 Regulations. HSE can issue improvement notices, prohibition notices, or prosecute. Landlords also risk insurance voidance if a gas-related incident occurs without a valid CP12.
How long must a landlord keep CP12 records?
At least 2 years from the date of check under the 1998 Regulations. Most solicitors and letting agents recommend indefinite retention, especially for properties with long tenancy histories.
Can a CP12 be issued if an appliance is unsafe?
Yes. The record must still be issued. It documents the finding, the classification (Immediately Dangerous, At Risk, or Not to Current Standards), and the action taken. An ID or AR classification triggers the engineer's duty under the gas industry unsafe situations procedure.
Gas safety