How to Get a COP 119 or BS 10119 Certificate: Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

If you are asking how to get COP 119 certificate approval, start by confirming whether your customer now requires BS 10119:2026, then apply to an independent certification body and demonstrate your labour-provider controls through an audit. The practical route is to agree the scope, review your worker files and payroll evidence, fix gaps, complete the assessment and close any findings; ESC Support helps you prepare, while the certification body decides.

This guide takes a UK security or events labour provider from a client’s request to an application-ready evidence pack. For the wider background, start with our COP 119 hub and COP 119 requirements guide.

COP 119, NCP 119 or BS 10119: which certificate do you need?

BS 10119:2026 is the current British Standard for labour provision to the security and events sectors, published by BSI on 30 June 2026. NCP 119 is the NSI code it replaces; COP 119 is the name used in other certification schemes and industry enquiries. A customer’s older wording does not tell you which route they will accept today.

These dates come from NSI technical bulletin 0072 and Amtivo’s transition guidance. They are body-specific. Amtivo also states that its BS 10119 programme is unaccredited. Check the terms of whichever scheme you choose, rather than applying one body’s deadline to everyone.

Who needs labour-provider certification?

The standard is relevant to businesses supplying additional security or events personnel and contractors procuring that labour. Certification may be a customer or procurement condition; establish the requirement for your own contracts rather than assuming every UK security business needs the same certificate.

First separate supplying workers from subcontracting a security service. SIA guidance distinguishes temporary labour directed and supervised by an approved contractor from an organisation delivering the security service itself. That distinction affects ACS requirements. Read the current SIA workbook update alongside your contracts, and see our SIA ACS approval guide if your business also delivers security services.

How to get COP 119 certificate approval: what are the eight steps?

Step 1: confirm your customer’s requirement and your scope

Get the exact procurement wording. Ask whether the requirement covers security officers, event stewards, both, or a particular contract. List the legal entity applying, operating locations, staffing model and any further labour suppliers. Describe who employs, pays, directs and supervises each worker.

For example, a hypothetical 25-worker provider might supply officers under a client’s supervision while using another agency for occasional cover. Both arrangements belong in the scope discussion. Do not describe the business as a simple direct-employer model if its actual supply chain is more complicated.

Step 2: choose a certification body and obtain a written proposal

NSI and Amtivo publish BS 10119 application or transition arrangements. If comparing them with SSAIB, ForeFront or another provider, ask each body to confirm its current scheme availability, scope and customer acceptance directly. A familiar trading name alone does not prove that a particular certificate meets your tender.

Request a proposal covering application charges, assessment time, surveillance, travel, any transition work and charges for additional visits. Ask what operating history and evidence they need, how they assess outsourced functions and how they verify corrective actions. Use the same business information for every quote so you can compare like with like.

Step 3: run a gap analysis against the current documents

Obtain the authorised standard and the body’s application requirements. Work through them with an evidence register: requirement, current control, supporting record, gap, owner and completion date. Our BS 10119 guide provides context, but it cannot replace the full standard.

Test what happens in practice. A procedure saying licences are checked is weak evidence if nobody can retrieve a dated check. Mark that as a process gap, assign responsibility and introduce a record that managers can maintain. Buying templates alone will not demonstrate implementation.

Step 4: repair worker files and connect them to payroll

Build an accessible file for each worker, with recruitment records, screening evidence where applicable, right-to-work checks, relevant licence verification, employment documentation and training records. Record missing evidence honestly; never backdate a check or manufacture a reference to make a file appear complete.

The Home Office requires a right-to-work check before employment. Use the appropriate current route and plan follow-up checks for time-limited permission. A physical biometric residence permit is not an acceptable substitute for the required check. Follow GOV.UK’s right-to-work instructions.

For outsourced screening, obtain the underlying evidence and review how it was verified. The SIA explains that ACS contractors remain responsible for BS 7858 conformity when screening is outsourced. A provider’s completion certificate alone is not the full screening file.

As a practical readiness check, select a worked shift and trace it through the deployment record, authorised hours, payslip and payment evidence. Investigate mismatched names, missing hours or unexplained deductions with the responsible manager. This checks whether your records tell a consistent story; confirm the formal sampling requirements with your certification body.

Step 5: establish policies and second-tier supplier controls

Make responsibilities explicit for recruitment, screening, deployment, payroll, complaints, welfare and records. Keep procedures proportionate to the business. Staff should know which manager can authorise deployment and what happens when a required check is missing.

If another provider supplies cover, record who that provider is, the due diligence completed and how evidence will be available. Agree responsibilities for induction, equipment, supervision and worker communication. Do not assume an invoice or certificate resolves every supply-chain question. Review whether further subcontracting is permitted under the contract.

Step 6: conduct an internal or mock audit

Run a rehearsal using real records. Ask someone who can challenge the process to select worker files and deployments rather than allowing each department to show only its best examples. Interview the people who perform the checks: can they explain the procedure and retrieve the record?

Log each issue, its cause, corrective action, owner and evidence of completion. Recheck a sample after fixing it. A revised policy is insufficient if the same missing record appears in the next file. Our internal audit services can help assess readiness before independent certification.

Step 7: complete the certification audit and close findings

Follow the body’s assessment plan. Confirm which records it needs in advance, whether assessment is remote or on site, and which managers must attend. Prepare an index so the assessor can find evidence without receiving unrestricted copies of unnecessary personal information.

Be ready to explain the link between documented procedures, worker records and actual deployment. For each finding, agree the required response and deadline with the body. Show both the correction and the action addressing its cause. Certification follows the body’s decision process; booking or finishing an audit does not itself guarantee a certificate.

Step 8: maintain conformity and plan surveillance

After certification, check the certificate’s legal entity, scope and dates before sending it to customers. Keep recruitment, payroll and supplier controls operating between audits. Allocate responsibility for renewal and surveillance arrangements, and notify the body of changes as required by its scheme.

Existing COP/NCP 119 holders should plan transition against their own body’s programme. Publication of BS 10119 does not automatically convert an old certificate. See our COP 119 to BS 10119 transition support overview for preparation options.

What documents should you prepare?

Use this as an application-readiness checklist, then check it against the standard and your body’s instructions. It is not a claim that every business must use identical templates.

• Business scope: legal entity, locations, organisation chart, management responsibilities and description of labour supplied.
• Customer agreements: service expectations, worker roles, supervision arrangements and agreed supply-chain restrictions.
• Worker files: identity and recruitment records, screening evidence where applicable, right-to-work checks and relevant licence checks.
• Employment and pay records: terms, deployment hours, payroll records and evidence that payments reconcile.
• Training and welfare: induction, competence records, site information and arrangements for reporting concerns.
• Supplier controls: supplier register, agreements, due diligence and access to supporting evidence.
• Management controls: complaints, corrective actions, record handling and internal review evidence.
• Application pack: the body’s completed forms, agreed scope, proposal and any requested declarations.

Keep one controlled evidence index rather than creating a second set of files solely for the audit. Record where the live evidence sits and who can retrieve it securely.

How long does COP 119 or BS 10119 certification take?

There is no single guaranteed duration. Readiness depends on existing records, recruitment gaps, supplier cooperation and the body’s availability. Build your plan around evidence and confirmed appointments, rather than promising a certificate date before the body has reviewed your application.

Ask which activities can run in parallel. You may be able to gather supplier records while fixing direct-worker files. Avoid booking a hard customer deadline around optimistic assumptions about references or certification decisions.

What commonly delays an application?

1. Applying for the wrong route: the client asks for a specific scope or accreditation status that the proposed certificate does not cover.
2. Unverifiable worker files: checks are described in policy but their records cannot be retrieved.
3. Payroll inconsistencies: deployment hours and payment records need reconciliation.
4. Unknown suppliers: managers cannot explain who supplied a worker or how that provider was checked.
5. Documents without implementation: polished procedures have no corresponding operational evidence.
6. Incomplete corrective actions: an immediate error is fixed without checking whether the underlying process still fails.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get a COP 119 certificate?

Ask the body for its current application route first: new applicants may need BS 10119. Then obtain an assessment timetable based on your readiness, scope and any findings. There is no universal completion period.

Is COP 119 still valid in 2026?

Existing certificates can remain valid under the issuing body’s transition conditions. Check the certificate, required audits and the body’s deadline. New applications and existing-holder transitions can follow different arrangements.

What is the difference between COP 119 and NCP 119?

NCP 119 is NSI’s code designation. COP 119 is used by other schemes and in industry searches. Confirm the actual issuing scheme and standard rather than treating the names as proof of equivalent customer acceptance.

Do I need SIA ACS as well as COP 119 or BS 10119?

It depends on the business model. The SIA distinguishes a labour supplier under an approved contractor’s supervision from a subcontractor delivering a security service. Labour-provider certification does not replace ACS approval where ACS is required.

Can a new company get certification?

Discuss eligibility and evidence expectations with the body before applying. Ask what trading history and operational records it needs. A new company should not assume a manual alone is sufficient evidence.

How much does a COP 119 or BS 10119 certificate cost?

Obtain a scoped quotation for application, assessment, ongoing audits and any additional visits. Preparation is a separate cost or internal-time commitment. This guide does not quote an unverified standard fee. ESC can scope preparation support during a free initial consultation.

Sources: BSI: BS 10119:2026; NSI bulletin 0072; Amtivo transition programme; SIA 2026 workbook update; SIA outsourced screening guidance; Home Office right-to-work checks. Last checked: October 2026.

Preparing specifically for the new standard? See our BS 10119 consultancy support.