Joining Firms - Scheme for Scotland

A fee will be payable in order to join the Scheme. The fee is currently £100 plus VAT per annum. Payment is by online Credit/Debit card, or cheque (made payable to SER Limited). Please pay online if possible, as this helps minimise administration costs for the scheme. A full VAT receipt will be emailed once payment has been accepted.

A firm, public body or other organisation must employ on a permanent basis at least one Approved Certifier of Design (ACD). Therefore, applications from an organisation must identify an engineer who is already an approved certifier under the Scheme who is permanently employed by the firm.

Registration of a firm is for a 5 year period initially. Every 5 years, firms are expected to seek re-registration even though they may have been successfully audited in the meantime.. After audit and if the firm is 'approved', registration on the Scheme will be confirmed for the remainder of the 5 year period.

Approved Bodies for Certification of Design will need to pay an annual fee in order to maintain their membership of the Scheme and remain an Approved Body for Certification of Design. The fee for renewal is currently £100 plus VAT. A reminder email will be sent one month before the renewal date.

Firms with more than one office or branch will be required to make a separate application for each office/branch. The fee of £100 plus VAT will be payable for each separate application. Once accepted on to the Scheme, firms will be an Approved Body for Certification of Design (Building Structures). This allows Approved Certifiers of Design that are employed by the Body to be able to certify the structural design of buildings in Scotland and to issue certificates in support of applications to local authorities for Building Warrants and amendments to Warrants.