Does my project need an F10?

Enter three figures and see straight away whether your project must be notified under CDM 2015, and who has to do it.

How to submit an F10

What to have ready before you start, and how to send HSE's online notification form, step by step. Download this guide as a free PDF.

Who sends it, where and when

Regulations 6(2), 6(4), 6(5) and 7(1), and HSE guidance L153.

  1. The client sends it. The client can ask someone else to send it on their behalf.

  2. For a domestic client (work not done in the course of a business), the contractor sends it, or the principal contractor if there is more than one. The principal designer does it instead if there is a written agreement that they will.

  3. It goes to HSE, or to the Office of Rail and Road for railway work, or to the Office for Nuclear Regulation on a nuclear or defence site. HSE's online F10 form covers all three.

  4. Send it as soon as is practicable before the construction phase begins.

Have these ready before you start

The particulars in Schedule 1 of CDM 2015.

  1. The address of the site, or a precise description of where it is.

  2. The local authority the site is in.

  3. A brief description of the project and the construction work it involves.

  4. The client's name, address, telephone number and, if available, email address.

  5. The same details for the principal designer.

  6. The same details for the principal contractor.

  7. The date the construction phase is planned to start.

  8. The time the client has allowed for the construction work (Regulation 4(1)).

  9. The planned duration of the construction phase.

  10. The estimated maximum number of people at work on the site.

  11. The planned number of contractors on the site.

  12. The name and address of any contractor already appointed.

  13. The name and address of any designer already appointed.

  14. A declaration by or on behalf of the client that the client is aware of their duties under CDM 2015.

  15. The notice also carries the date it is sent.

Send it, step by step

From HSE's F10 page. HSE no longer accepts paper forms or notifications by email or post.

  1. Open HSE's online F10 form: form.hse.gov.uk/f10

  2. Enter the details listed under "Have these ready before you start".

  3. Only one contractor? Enter that contractor as both the principal designer and the principal contractor, and use the free text box to explain that it is a single contractor project.

  4. Make the declaration. The form can only be saved once the required fields are complete and the declaration is made.

  5. On the confirmation screen, use the PDF button to download a copy, and keep it with the project records.

  6. Display a copy in the site office, where every worker can read it (Regulation 6(3)).

  7. Keep the serial number HSE sends you. You need it, with the email address on the form, to edit the notification later.

After it has gone

  1. Details changed? Update the notification online, make clear it relates to your earlier one, and update the copy in the site office.

  2. No acknowledgement email? Check your junk folder first.

  3. Lost the PDF? HSE's site lets you retrieve the F10 PDF again.

  4. Need help with the form? HSE's Customer Services Team: 0300 003 1747, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm.

  5. Notifying does not change anybody's other duties. They apply to every project, notified or not.

What the law says

Regulation 6 of CDM 2015 makes a project notifiable if the construction work is scheduled to:

  • last longer than 30 working days and have more than 20 workers working at the same time at any point; or
  • exceed 500 person days.

A working day is any day on which construction work takes place, weekends and bank holidays included.

Common questions

Does a domestic project need notifying?

Yes, if it meets either test. For a domestic client, the contractor sends it, or the principal contractor if there is more than one, or the principal designer if there is a written agreement that they will.

Does notifying change our other CDM duties?

No. The duties apply to every project. Notification tells the regulator the project exists.

Can we send the F10 by email or post?

No. HSE now accepts notifications only through its online F10 form.

What if the programme changes after we have notified?

Send an update through the F10, making clear that it relates to your earlier notification.

Related

This checker is general information, not legal advice. It applies the thresholds in Regulation 6 of CDM 2015 to the figures you enter.