You need a new subcontractor for an upcoming phase. Three firms quote. You pick the cheapest. Two weeks into the work, you discover their employers' liability insurance expired last month, their operatives don't have CSCS cards for the trade they're doing, and their risk assessment is a generic template from a different project.

A prequalification questionnaire (PQQ) prevents this. It's the structured process of verifying a subcontractor's competence, insurance, and compliance before you appoint them — not after they've started work and you're already exposed.

This guide covers what a PQQ should include for UK construction, how industry standards have changed, and how to build one that actually protects your projects.

What a PQQ covers

A PQQ isn't a tender document. It doesn't evaluate price or programme. It answers one question: is this subcontractor capable of doing this work safely and legally?

The core areas:

Company information — legal entity, company number, registered address, key contacts, years trading
Financial standing — turnover, insurance cover levels, credit references
Insurance — employers' liability, public liability, professional indemnity (where applicable)
Health and safety — policy, accident records, enforcement notices, risk assessment capability
Competence and training — CSCS cards, trade certifications, training records
Environmental — waste management, environmental policy, relevant certifications
Quality — quality management system, defect history, relevant accreditations
References — recent similar projects, client contacts

For a pre-built PQQ covering all of these areas, download our free PQQ template — it's structured for UK construction subcontractor prequalification with around 35 questions across 6 sections.

PAS 91 is gone — what replaced it

If you've used PAS 91 as your PQQ template, you should know: PAS 91 is no longer maintained by BSI. It hasn't been updated to reflect recent legislative changes and should not be relied on as a current standard.

PAS 91 was a standardised PQQ introduced in 2010 by the British Standards Institution. It worked well for a decade, but it wasn't updated to reflect the Building Safety Act 2022 or the tightening competence requirements across the industry.

What replaced it:

For public sector and Tier 1 projects, the Common Assessment Standard (CAS) developed by Build UK is now the recognised pre-qualification framework. CAS v5 (current) includes:

An industry-agreed question set with assessment standards
A dedicated Building Safety section covering organisational capability under the Building Safety Act
Proportionate standards for micro-businesses
Two certification levels: desktop and site-based
Recognition by central government and public sector procurement bodies

For private sector work, there's no mandated standard. Most principal contractors create their own PQQs or adapt templates from industry bodies. This is where having a well-structured PQQ matters most — without a standard to follow, it's easy to miss critical areas.

The six sections your PQQ needs

1. Company and legal status

Registered company name and number (verify on Companies House)
Trading name if different
Registered address and operational address
Date of incorporation and years trading in construction
Key contact for compliance matters
Any parent company or group structure

Why this matters: You need to know who you're contracting with. A recently incorporated company trading under a well-known name may not have the track record implied.

2. Insurance

Employers' liability: policy number, insurer, cover amount, expiry date. Minimum £5M cover is a statutory requirement under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969.
Public liability: cover amount and expiry date. Specify your minimum requirement (typically £1M–£10M depending on project value).
Professional indemnity: if the subcontractor provides design services.
Copies of current certificates — not just confirmation of cover.

Why this matters: Insurance is the one area where a gap creates immediate legal exposure. An operative working on your site without valid EL insurance is a criminal offence for their employer and a CDM failure for you as principal contractor.

3. Health and safety

Written health and safety policy (required by law for any employer with 5+ employees)
RIDDOR reportable incidents in the last 3 years — numbers and brief descriptions
HSE enforcement notices, improvement notices, or prohibition notices in the last 5 years
Name of competent health and safety advisor (internal or external)
Accident frequency rate if available

Why this matters: Past safety performance is the best predictor of future safety performance. A firm with multiple enforcement notices needs scrutiny — not necessarily rejection, but a clear understanding of what happened and what changed.

4. Competence and workforce

CSCS card details for operatives who will work on your project (card type, number, expiry)
Trade-specific certifications: Gas Safe, NICEIC, IPAF, PASMA, CITB, or others relevant to the work scope
Apprenticeship and training programmes
How the firm ensures workforce competence for the specific work they'll do

Why this matters: CDM 2015 Regulation 8 requires you to satisfy yourself that anyone you appoint has the skills, knowledge, training, and experience to carry out the work safely. Your PQQ is how you evidence that check. See our CDM compliance guide for the full regulatory picture.

5. Environmental and quality

Environmental policy and waste management procedures
ISO 14001 or equivalent environmental certification (if applicable)
Quality management system (ISO 9001 or equivalent)
Defect rates or warranty claims history on recent projects
How the firm manages quality on subcontracted work

Why this matters: Environmental compliance is increasingly a tender requirement, especially for public sector and Tier 1 contracts. Quality history indicates whether the firm delivers work right first time or generates costly remediation.

6. References and track record

Three recent projects of similar type, value, and complexity
Client contact details for reference checks
Brief description of scope, value, and outcome
Any projects terminated early or subject to dispute — and the circumstances

Why this matters: References are the reality check. A firm that looks perfect on paper may have a trail of disputes. Ask references specific questions: "Did they deliver on time?", "Were there any compliance issues?", "Would you use them again?"

Common PQQ mistakes

Asking too much too early. A 20-page PQQ for a £5,000 plastering job will deter good subcontractors. Scale the PQQ to the risk: small jobs need core insurance and competence checks, not a full CAS-level assessment.

Collecting but not verifying. Receiving a PQQ response isn't the same as verifying it. Check insurance certificates are current. Verify company details on Companies House. Call at least one reference.

One PQQ for all trades. A groundworker and an electrician have different competence requirements. Your PQQ should include trade-specific questions — a generic template misses these.

Never updating. If a subcontractor completed your PQQ two years ago, their insurance, workforce, and safety record may have changed. Re-qualify annually or at the start of each new project.

From PQQ to ongoing compliance

The PQQ is the starting point, not the finish line. Once you've prequalified and appointed a subcontractor, you need to track the documents they submitted — insurance expiry dates, CSCS card renewals, certification validity. Pre-qualification without ongoing monitoring is a compliance gap waiting to happen.

For the full process from prequalification through to site monitoring, see our guide to managing subcontractors in construction. For on-site compliance checks, see the on-site compliance checklist.

Sources

This guide is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. For project-specific prequalification requirements, consult your legal or procurement advisor.

Last reviewed: 11 March 2026

How to Create a Contractor Prequalification Questionnaire (PQQ Template)