Commercial catering gas safety certificates, explained
If your business uses gas, whether that is a boiler heating an office, warm-air heaters in a workshop or a bank of cooking appliances in a restaurant kitchen, you need to be confident it is safe. A commercial gas safety inspection gives you that confidence, and the certificate that goes with it gives you a written record to show your insurer, landlord or environmental health officer.
Severn Facilities was co-founded by Peter, a Gas Safe registered engineer, so commercial gas safety is a core part of what we do. We carry out commercial gas safety checks and CP42 certificates for businesses in Telford and across Shropshire and the West Midlands.
What is a CP42 certificate?
A CP42 is the gas safety record used for commercial catering. It records that the catering appliances, the gas supply to them, the ventilation and extraction, and safety controls such as the gas interlock have been inspected and found safe to use, or lists anything that needs attention. Restaurants, cafés, pubs, hotels, takeaways, school kitchens and staff canteens are typical examples of premises that need one.
Do businesses need a commercial gas safety certificate?
Employers and anyone in control of a workplace must make sure gas appliances, flues and pipework are maintained in a safe condition. An annual inspection with a written gas safety record is the usual way to show that you have done so, and insurers, landlords and environmental health officers commonly ask to see one. Where a commercial building also contains residential accommodation, such as flats above a shop, the landlord has a legal duty to arrange an annual gas safety check on the appliances they provide and to give tenants a copy of the record.
What the inspection covers
Every site is different, but a commercial gas safety check typically includes a visual inspection of each appliance and its flue or extraction, checks on ventilation, operating pressures and safety devices, and a tightness test of the gas installation. In commercial kitchens with mechanical extraction, we also check the gas interlock to confirm it cuts the gas supply if the extraction fails. If we find something unsafe, we are required to follow the gas industry’s unsafe situations procedure, which may mean turning an appliance off until it has been repaired. We will explain exactly what we have found and what it will take to put right.
Booked around your business
We know a kitchen can’t stop in the middle of service and an office can’t lose its heating on a cold morning. Inspections are carried out during normal working hours as standard, and early in the morning, in the evening, overnight or at weekends when the job needs it. You receive a risk assessment and method statement (RAMS) before we start, and your certificate and a clear summary afterwards.
Gas safety checks often sit alongside other work. See our full commercial gas engineer services for servicing, repairs and installations, or add annual certificates to a planned maintenance contract so they are booked in advance and never lapse.