The CDM health and safety file: contents and handover checklist

When is a health and safety file needed?

Under CDM 2015 in Great Britain, the file requirement relates to projects involving, or likely to involve, more than one contractor. The client must appoint a principal designer in writing for those projects. This is separate from the F10 notification thresholds: a project can need a file without being notifiable.

Check the delivery plan rather than counting only the companies on site today. If later work will involve another contractor, resolve the project roles and information requirements early. Northern Ireland has separate CDM legislation; see the UK requirements guide.

Who prepares and hands over the file?

The principal designer prepares and maintains the file. The principal contractor supplies relevant information. If the principal designer’s appointment ends before the project, the file passes to the principal contractor, who updates it and hands it to the client at completion. Otherwise the principal designer hands it to the client.

The client retains the file and makes relevant information available for later work. When disposing of an interest in the structure, the client must pass the file to the person acquiring that interest. Agree practical arrangements for shared buildings and future access.

What should the file contain?

HSE’s L153 Appendix 4 describes information relevant to subsequent construction work. Depending on the project, this can include:

• A brief description of the completed work and remaining hazards.
• Important structural principles and load limits.
• Hazardous materials and significant services.
• Information for safely removing or dismantling installed plant.
• Safety equipment and arrangements for maintenance.
• Relevant as-built drawings and other information needed for future work.

Keep the information concise and findable. Generic site paperwork, contracts and historical RAMS do not belong in the file simply because they were produced during construction.

How does it differ from PCI, a CPP and O&M information?

Information from an existing file can become part of the PCI for a later project. Keep the relationship clear so a contractor can distinguish a previous record, a new design and the final verified information.

A practical handover review

1. Agree the index: decide the structure, format and information owners before the last weeks of the job.
2. Check the content: compare the proposed file with the completed work, relevant design decisions and known changes.
3. Make gaps visible: list outstanding information, its owner and the next action. Do not present an assumption as a verified as-built fact.
4. Test access: open the files, follow the links and check that drawings are readable without someone’s personal login.
5. Explain the handover: identify the receiving person, revision and location of the controlled copy.
6. Plan future use: agree how the client will keep the file accessible and incorporate later relevant changes.

For example, use an index entry that names the asset, the drawing reference and the relevant limitation. “Mechanical documents” tells a future team much less than an entry describing which plant area and drawing set it covers.

Our CDM support can help organise an information register, review gaps and coordinate a clearer handover. Support with documentation does not itself transfer the statutory dutyholder roles.

Official sources

• HSE: principal designer role and appointment
• HSE L153: Appendix 4, the health and safety file
• CDM 2015: regulation 12

General guidance only. Check the current official sources and your project conditions. Unless stated otherwise, legislation discussed is for Great Britain; Northern Ireland has separate rules. Remote advice supports, but does not replace, competent site management or specialist assessment.