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A permit to work is a written system that controls high-risk work. Before the job starts, a competent person checks that the hazards are controlled and the area is safe, and hands over formal permission to start, with clear limits.
What a permit is, and is not
A permit is not a licence to do dangerous work. It is a way of making sure the right precautions are in place, that everyone knows what has been isolated and why, and that the work is handed back safely. The Health and Safety Executive’s guidance, HSG250, warns that a permit fails when it becomes a form-filling ritual rather than a real conversation.
When do you need one?
- Hot work such as welding or cutting near flammable materials.
- Confined spaces such as tanks, chambers, pits and silos.
- Work on electrical or pressurised systems that must be isolated.
- Excavation near buried services.
- Work at height in exposed positions, such as fragile roofs.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Issuer | Checks the precautions, isolations and tests, sets the scope and time limit, and signs the permit. |
| Acceptor | Confirms the team understands the hazards and precautions, and keeps the work within scope. |
| Workers | Follow the permit, stop if conditions change, and report anything unexpected. |
The life of a permit
- Plan: describe the job and assess the risks.
- Isolate and test: lock off energy sources and test the atmosphere if needed.
- Issue: set the precautions, the scope and the time limit.
- Work: stay within scope; if anything changes, stop and re-issue.
- Hand back: confirm the work is complete, the area is safe and isolations can be removed.
- Cancel: close the permit so nobody restarts plant by mistake.
Why the handback matters
The handback is the step that gets rushed. The Piper Alpha disaster in 1988, which killed 167 people, was traced in Lord Cullen’s public inquiry partly to failures in the permit to work system, including poor communication of work in progress between shifts. Lessons from that inquiry still shape permit systems today.
Permits and confined spaces
The Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 say entry should be avoided where reasonably practicable. Where entry is necessary, a safe system of work is needed, and a permit is usually part of it. Our half day Confined Space Awareness course teaches people to recognise a confined space, understand what a permit is for, and why the right response to a colleague in trouble is to raise the alarm, not to go in after them.
Getting it right on your site
- Keep the permit form short enough that people read it.
- Train issuers and acceptors, not just the people doing the work.
- Check permits in use, not just the ones in the file.
Our Permit to Work eLearning takes about 30 minutes and covers the whole lifecycle from issue to handback. Choosing the precautions themselves follows the hierarchy of controls.
Frequently asked questions
What is a permit to work?
A written system that controls high-risk work by checking precautions are in place and giving formal, limited permission to start.
Who issues a permit to work?
A competent, authorised person, often a supervisor or engineer, who checks the isolations and precautions before signing.
Is a permit to work a legal requirement?
Permits are not required by name for every job, but HSE guidance expects them for high-risk work such as confined spaces and hot work, as part of a safe system of work.
What is the most important part of a permit?
The handback: confirming the job is finished and the area is safe before isolations are removed.
Read the source
The Health and Safety Executive’s guidance HSG250, Guidance on permit-to-work systems; the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997; and Lord Cullen’s report, The Public Inquiry into the Piper Alpha Disaster (1990). Facts checked on 5 October 2026.
Find a date that works
Every course, every centre, with live availability and prices.
On your site or ours, and group rates on request.
