Permissioning and licensing

Permissioning

This means we give 'permission' for certain work activities involving significant hazard, risk or public concern, for example where there are risks of:

What is required for a permissioning regime?

A permissioning regime means particular work activities can only start or continue when we give:  

Safety cases

Safety cases are prepared by operators or owners of offshore oil and gas installations.

Safety reports

Safety reports are prepared by onshore, upper-tier Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015 (COMAH) establishments. This is to demonstrate that they can control major accident risks effectively. Our permission is required before such work activities can start.

Licensing

A 'licence' is an authorisation from us to undertake a work activity which would otherwise be unlawful. It is only granted for very specific work activities. 

How do licensing regimes operate?

We operate licensing regimes in certain industry sectors where we provide authorisation for specific work activities, for example:

Further information

Updated 2021-11-02