Only competent people who have had appropriate and specific training, working under the supervision of a competent person. That is the legal test, and it is stricter than most people realise, but it does not name a card. No UK law says “you must hold a CISRS card to erect scaffolding”. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require scaffolding to be assembled, dismantled or significantly altered only under competent supervision, by trained people, to a plan. In practice, the accepted way to prove that competence is a CISRS card, and most main contractors will not let anyone without one touch a scaffold.
At a glance: Nexis CPD offers a £9 CPD-accredited online Working at Height Awareness course — 100% online, with an instantly emailed, employer-verifiable certificate. Any three courses cost £18. This article is general information, not legal advice.
Is there a law that says who can erect scaffolding?
Yes, but it describes competence, not a qualification. The rules sit in the Work at Height Regulations 2005, backed by the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Three provisions do most of the work.
Regulation 5: competence. Every employer must ensure that no one takes part in any activity relating to work at height or work equipment for use at height, including organising, planning and supervising it, unless they are competent or, if being trained, are supervised by a competent person.
Regulation 8 and Schedule 3. Every working platform must meet Part 1 of Schedule 3 (stable ground, strength, no gaps a person or object could fall through, safe loading) and, where scaffolding is provided, Part 2 as well.
Schedule 3, Part 2, paragraph 12. This is the closest the law comes to answering the question directly. Scaffolding may be assembled, dismantled or significantly altered only under the supervision of a competent person, and by persons who have received appropriate and specific training in the operations envisaged. That training must cover the specific risks and precautions, in particular:
- understanding the plan for assembly, dismantling or alteration of that scaffold;
- safety during assembly, dismantling or alteration;
- preventing people, materials or objects falling;
- what to do if the weather changes in a way that could affect the scaffold;
- permissible loadings, and any other risks the work involves.
So experience alone does not meet the test: a builder who has “put up plenty of scaffolds” still needs specific training and competent supervision. The surrounding paragraphs add more: strength and stability calculations unless a generally recognised standard configuration is used (paragraph 7), an assembly, use and dismantling plan drawn up by a competent person depending on the scaffold’s complexity (paragraph 8), a copy of that plan kept available until the scaffold is struck (paragraph 9), and warning signs plus physical barriers while it is incomplete or being altered (paragraph 11).
On construction projects, regulation 15 of CDM 2015 adds that a contractor must not employ or appoint anyone to work on site unless they have, or are in the process of obtaining, the necessary skills, knowledge, training and experience, and must provide appropriate supervision. Regulation 8 requires whoever appoints a contractor, including a scaffolding contractor, to take reasonable steps to check they are capable. Our guides to the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and CDM 2015 cover the wider framework.
Do you need a CISRS card to erect scaffolding?
Not by law; almost always in practice. The Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme (CISRS) is the scaffolding industry’s training and card scheme, owned by the National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC). CISRS describes itself as the preferred scaffolding qualification of major organisations including CSCS, NASC and Build UK. Its cards are issued by NOCN and can be checked with the NOCN card checker or the CSCS Smart Check app.
Because the law asks for “appropriate and specific training” and a “competent person”, an employer needs a way to show both. A CISRS card records the training completed, the vocational qualification held and the type of scaffold the holder is trained on. That is why principal contractors write CISRS into their site rules.
HSE’s scaffolding guidance points employers to CISRS for which structures labourers, trainees, scaffolders and advanced scaffolders are considered competent to erect. It also sets a minimum: every scaffold gang should contain a competent scaffolder trained for the type and complexity of the scaffold. Manufacturer product training and PASMA (for mobile towers) are recognised routes in narrower situations. What does not exist is a route where someone with no specific training lawfully erects a scaffold because no card is named in the regulations.
What are the CISRS card grades?
The table summarises the cards listed on the CISRS cards page at the time of writing, condensed from each card’s page. Always check the current scheme rules and the card itself.
| CISRS card | What the holder may do | Key training route |
|---|---|---|
| Scaffolding Labourer | Labouring and driving in support of scaffolding, only from a safe position such as the ground or a completed platform. Not permitted to erect, alter or dismantle scaffolding. | COTS course plus CITB Health, Safety and Environment (HS&E) test. Valid 5 years. |
| Trainee Scaffolder | Scaffolding activities only under the direct supervision of a qualified scaffolder, regardless of experience. | CISRS Part 1, then Part 2, across two 18-month trainee cards. |
| Scaffolder (Tube & Fitting) | Qualified scaffolder; can lead a gang in basic scaffold operations as defined in TG20 and CISRS course content. | Part 1, Part 2, NVQ Level 2 / SCQF Level 5, skills test, HS&E test. Valid 5 years. |
| Scaffolder (System) | As above, but only with the system product endorsed on the card. Not competent for tube and fitting. | Part 1 and Part 2 on the system product, NVQ Level 2 / SCQF Level 5, skills test. |
| Advanced Scaffolder | Can lead a gang in all scaffold operations, including complex designed structures. | 12 months as a tube and fitting scaffolder, Advanced course, NVQ Level 3 / SCQF Level 6, 2-day skills test. |
| BASE (Basic Access System Erector) | Non-scaffolders erecting very basic structures with one system product, no higher than 6 m and not with a general public interface. | 5-day BASE course plus HS&E test. |
| Scaffolding Manager / Supervisor | First-line supervision and management for scaffolding contractors. | 5-day CISRS supervisor course plus supervisory HS&E test. |
| Basic / Advanced Scaffold Inspection | Statutory inspection of basic, or more complex, scaffolds. Inspection cards, not erection cards. | 3-day basic course; 2-day advanced course with experience prerequisites. |
So “he’s got a CISRS card” is only half an answer: a labourer card does not allow erection, and a system card does not cover tube and fitting. Check which card, and which endorsement.
Who is responsible for making sure a scaffold is erected safely?
Several people at once, which is why it so often falls between them.
- The scaffolding contractor, as the scaffolders’ employer, carries the regulation 5 and Schedule 3 duties: competent people, specific training, supervision, a plan and safe erection methods.
- Anyone who controls the work. Regulation 3 applies the employer duties to anyone controlling work at height by others, to the extent of their control. HSE notes this can include facilities managers and building owners who contract others.
- The principal contractor plans and coordinates the construction phase, sets site rules and must prevent unauthorised access to the site.
- The client. A commercial client must check its contractors are capable. For domestic clients, HSE explains that CDM client duties normally pass to the contractor or principal contractor.
- The user or hirer must brief the scaffolder accurately and not use the scaffold before it has been inspected.
Self-employed builders are not outside this. Construction is a prescribed undertaking, so a self-employed person doing construction work has the employer duties for their own work and anyone they control.
Does every scaffold need a design, and what is TG20?
Not every scaffold needs bespoke calculations. Paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 requires strength and stability calculations unless a note of the calculations is already available, or the scaffold is assembled in conformity with a generally recognised standard configuration.
For tube and fitting scaffolds, that standard configuration is NASC’s technical guidance TG20. HSE’s scaffolding page refers to the current edition, TG20:21, whose “compliant scaffolds” can be boarded at any number of lifts but with only two platforms used as working platforms at any one time. For system scaffolds, the equivalent is the manufacturer’s guidance. Outside those limits, the scaffold needs a design by a competent person. HSE’s list of structures that normally need one includes:
- access scaffolds with more than two working lifts;
- cantilevered, truss-out, slung and suspended scaffolds;
- complex loading bays, protection fans and pavement gantries;
- temporary roofs, façade retention and shoring scaffolds;
- system scaffolds used outside the manufacturer’s guidance.
The trigger many people miss is a change of use. HSE warns that scaffolds should be assumed to be general purpose (2 kN/m²) unless the provider says otherwise, and must not be sheeted or netted without telling whoever designed and erected them. Loading out platforms, adding sheeting or fitting a hoist can all take a standard scaffold outside its configuration.
Is tube and fitting scaffolding different from system scaffolding for competence?
Yes, and the cards reflect it. Tube and fitting scaffolds are built from steel tubes joined by couplers, which is flexible but depends heavily on the scaffolder’s skill. System scaffolds use prefabricated components that lock together at fixed points and must be erected and tied to the manufacturer’s instructions.
A CISRS Scaffolder (System) card is endorsed for a specific product, and CISRS says the holder is not competent to erect, alter or dismantle tube and fitting structures. CISRS also groups system products into categories, such as cup, rosette or ring, and wedge. Moving to another product in the same category needs the employer to brief the differences; moving to a different category means further CISRS product training.
The CISRS BASE card lets some non-scaffolders put up very basic system scaffolds with one product, within tight limits: no higher than 6 m, no general public interface, and initial work under the direct supervision of an experienced BASE operative.
How do scaffolders stop themselves falling while erecting a scaffold?
By putting collective protection in first and relying on harnesses only for the exposure that remains. HSE says scaffolding can be erected, altered and dismantled safely by following NASC’s SG4:22, Preventing falls in scaffolding operations, or the manufacturer’s equivalent for system scaffolds. NASC describes the core of SG4 as the “Scaffolders’ Safe Zone” method of working, and HSE states the priority: establish collective fall protection, minimising time exposed to a fall and reliance on harnesses and lanyards.
In practice that typically means advance guardrail systems, working from fully boarded platforms with guardrails already in place wherever possible, and a harness clipped on whenever a scaffolder is still exposed to a fall. It is the hierarchy of control for work at height applied to the people building the protection. While the scaffold is incomplete, paragraph 11 of Schedule 3 requires warning signs and physical barriers to keep everyone else out.
Can a builder or homeowner put up their own scaffolding?
A builder can only if they meet the same test as a scaffolding firm. A homeowner doing their own DIY is in a different legal position, but the physics are the same.
Builders and other trades. If you are an employer or self-employed doing construction work, the Work at Height Regulations apply. Erecting a scaffold yourself means having the specific training, competent supervision and plan Schedule 3 requires, which is why the normal answer for a traditional scaffold is to hire a scaffolding contractor. Mobile access towers are the common exception. HSE’s tower scaffold guidance says towers must be erected and dismantled by trained, competent people using a safe method such as advance guardrails or “through the trap”, following the manufacturer’s instruction manual. PASMA runs the industry training scheme for towers, and its card shows which types of tower the holder is trained to build.
Homeowners. The Work at Height Regulations apply to work, so a homeowner putting up a tower to paint their own house is not covered in the same way. That does not make it safe. HSE’s tower advice applies just as well to DIY: firm level ground, stabilisers fitted when the manual requires them, and never moving a tower with anyone on it. Leave traditional scaffolding to a scaffolding contractor.
When a homeowner hires a builder, they are a domestic client under CDM 2015 and the client duties normally pass to the builder. Your builder should arrange a competent scaffolding contractor, but it is still sensible to ask who is putting the scaffold up and whether they are CISRS carded.
Do you need a licence to put scaffolding on the pavement?
Yes, in England and Wales, if it stands on or over the highway. Section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 says no person may erect or retain scaffolding that obstructs the highway, in connection with building work or the repair, maintenance or cleaning of a building, without a written licence from the highway authority. The holder must light the structure between half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise and follow the authority’s directions on traffic signs. Breaching the section is an offence.
This is the “scaffold licence” or “scaffold permit”, and it causes real confusion. It is permission to put a structure on the pavement or road; it says nothing about who is competent to build it. A licensed firm still needs trained, supervised scaffolders, and a CISRS-carded scaffolder still needs a licence before standing a scaffold on the footway. Scotland has separate roads legislation, so check with the local roads authority there.
HSE adds that scaffolds should never be erected or dismantled over people or busy pavements; work inside a segregated area at quieter times, and consider a footpath or road closure if the public could be at risk.
Who is allowed to alter a scaffold or remove parts of it?
Only competent scaffolders, under the same Schedule 3 rules as erection. Paragraph 12 covers anyone who significantly alters a scaffold, and paragraphs 3 and 4 require any alteration to leave it stable.
The common breach on site is another trade “just moving” a guardrail, board or tie to get at their work. HSE’s guidance says ties should only be removed in stages as the scaffold is struck, and if a tie is removed to let work proceed, an equivalent tie must be provided nearby. That is a job for the scaffolder, not the window fitter, and the same goes for guardrails, toe boards, brick guards and ladders. Regulation 14 requires anyone working under another’s control to report defects likely to endanger people, so if something has been removed, stop using that part and report it.
What is a scaffold handover certificate?
It is the scaffolding contractor’s written confirmation that the scaffold is complete and ready for use, usually stating its intended use, load class and limits. No regulation prescribes the form; it is industry practice, set out in NASC’s SG35:21, Handover of scaffold structures and first scaffold inspection.
The legal duty underneath is regulation 12(2): where safety depends on how equipment is assembled, it must not be used until it has been inspected in position. HSE expects the scaffold contractor to provide details such as the load class, how many boarded lifts can be used at once and tie arrangements. Keep them on site with the design or plan. Ongoing inspection follows a statutory routine, covered in our Work at Height Regulations guide.
Can a trainee scaffolder or labourer erect scaffolding?
A trainee can, under supervision; a labourer cannot. Regulation 5 allows someone being trained to take part if supervised by a competent person, and HSE says trainee scaffolders must always work under the supervision of a trained and competent scaffolder. CISRS goes further: Trainee Scaffolder card holders should not undertake any scaffolding activities unless under the direct supervision of a qualified scaffolder, however experienced they are.
CISRS labourers work only from a safe position and are not permitted to erect, alter or dismantle scaffolding. For complex structures, HSE expects the supervisor to be an Advanced Scaffolder or someone trained in that specific system.
What should you check before anyone erects a scaffold?
A prompt when hiring in scaffolding; it does not replace the scaffolding contractor’s own risk assessment and method statement.
- Brief the scaffolder. Height, length, working lifts, loads, access, sheeting or netting, hoists, ground conditions and tie restrictions.
- Confirm the design basis. TG20 compliant or within the manufacturer’s guidance? If not, who is designing it?
- Check the plan. An assembly, use and dismantling plan proportionate to the scaffold, kept on site until it comes down.
- Check the cards. Verify the gang’s CISRS cards, grades and system endorsements, and who will lead and supervise.
- Agree the method. Erection to SG4:22 or the manufacturer’s equivalent, with collective protection installed as it goes up.
- Protect the public. Highway licence if on the pavement or road; exclusion zone, signs and barriers during erection.
- Plan security. Fencing and ladder removal out of hours to stop children and trespassers climbing it.
- Agree handover and inspection. Written handover, inspection before first use, and who inspects after that.
- Brief the users. Nobody alters guardrails, boards or ties except the scaffolder; defects are reported, not fixed.
What working at height training is available online?
Nexis CPD’s Working at Height Awareness course covers the Work at Height Regulations, the hierarchy of control and the planning and supervision duties behind this article. Health and Safety in Construction covers why construction carries such high risk, the key legal duties including CDM 2015, and the controls that keep people safe on site. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) covers selecting, using and maintaining PPE and why it comes last in the hierarchy. For who needs which level of training, see who needs working at height training.
£9 per course. CPD accredited, 100% online, verifiable e-certificate. Pay for 2, get 3 — any 3 courses for £18. These are CPD-accredited awareness courses. They do not qualify anyone to erect, alter, dismantle or inspect scaffolding, and they are not a CISRS, PASMA or CSCS card.
Frequently asked questions
Is it illegal to put up scaffolding without a CISRS card?
No law names CISRS. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require scaffolding to be assembled, dismantled or significantly altered only under the supervision of a competent person, by people with appropriate and specific training. A CISRS card is the industry’s standard way to show that, and most sites require it.
Can I erect my own scaffolding at home?
DIY on your own home is not work, so the Work at Height Regulations do not apply in the same way, but the risks are identical. Build a mobile tower strictly to the manufacturer’s instructions, ideally after PASMA training, and leave traditional scaffolding to a scaffolding contractor.
Do I need a licence for scaffolding on the pavement?
Yes, in England and Wales. Section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 requires a written licence from the highway authority for scaffolding on or over the highway. It is permission to obstruct the pavement or road, not proof that anyone is competent to erect the scaffold.
Can a scaffolding labourer erect scaffolding?
No. CISRS states that scaffolding labourers are not permitted to erect, alter or dismantle scaffolding. Trainee scaffolders can take part, but only under the direct supervision of a qualified scaffolder.
When does a scaffold need a bespoke design?
When it falls outside a generally recognised standard configuration, such as NASC’s TG20 for tube and fitting or the manufacturer’s guidance for system scaffolds. HSE’s examples include access scaffolds with more than two working lifts, cantilevers, temporary roofs and pavement gantries.
Can other trades move scaffold boards or ties?
No. Alterations must be made by competent scaffolders, and HSE says that if a tie is removed an equivalent tie must be provided nearby to keep the scaffold stable. Other trades should report the problem and ask the scaffolding contractor to make the change.
This article is general information about scaffolding in Great Britain, not legal advice. It reflects the legislation, HSE guidance and the CISRS, NASC and PASMA scheme information as we found them on 12 October 2026; scheme rules and guidance editions change, and Northern Ireland has its own regulations. For a specific project, read the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and HSE’s scaffolding guidance, follow the scaffold design and manufacturer’s instructions, and take advice from a competent scaffolding contractor or health and safety adviser. Nexis CPD courses are CPD-accredited awareness training, not regulated qualifications, CISRS, PASMA or CSCS cards, or site qualifications.