British Assessment Bureau Now Offers MCS:2025 Certification

British Assessment Bureau can now offer certification against the Redeveloped MCS Installer Scheme, also known as MCS:2025.

The redeveloped scheme changes how MCS certification works for installers, with a stronger focus on installation quality, competence, consumer protection and requirements that better reflect how a business operates.

Whether you are already MCS-certified or considering certification for the first time, this article explains the key changes, what they mean for installers and what to expect from MCS:2025.

MCS:2025 is the updated installer scheme. It has been redeveloped to put greater emphasis on the quality of completed installations, strengthen consumer protection and make certification requirements more proportionate to the size and complexity of an installer’s business.

The redevelopment has been shaped by the changing needs of the renewable energy sector, feedback from industry and responses to MCS’s public consultation. A key aim is to strengthen consumer confidence while making the certification process more streamlined for installers.

Some of the most important changes for installers to be aware of include:

• A more proportionate approach: Requirements are designed to reflect the size and complexity of your MCS activities, rather than treating every installer in the same way. For businesses already delivering high-quality, compliant installations, the redeveloped scheme is intended to reduce unnecessary administrative burden.
• More focus on delivered quality: Assessment looks at whether your processes and controls help you consistently deliver compliant, quality installations, with greater recognition of strong oversight, compliance and customer satisfaction.
• Clear responsibility for competence: Businesses still need to demonstrate that the people carrying out and managing MCS work have the right competence, including where subcontractors are used.
• Consumer protection is built more directly into the scheme: MCS:2025 includes requirements covering how customers are treated and protected throughout the installation journey.

In simple terms, the redeveloped scheme focuses certification more closely on how your business operates and the quality it delivers.

The move to MCS:2025 is being phased, with installers required to transition to the redeveloped scheme by the March 2027 deadline.

If you already hold MCS certification, continue to follow the requirements that currently apply to your certification until you transition to MCS:2025.

If you are ready to make the move sooner, you can request to transition now. Alternatively, British Assessment Bureau will be in touch when it is time for your business to transition.

At that stage, we will explain what the transition means for your business and what assessment activity or evidence will be required.

If you are considering MCS certification for the first time, MCS:2025 is the scheme you now need to understand.

Preparation should focus on being able to demonstrate that your business has competent people, appropriate processes and controls, and a consistent approach to delivering compliant installations and supporting customers.

British Assessment Bureau can explain the certification process and help you understand what will be assessed before you decide on your next step.

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For many renewable installers, MCS certification is commercially important because it is recognised within key parts of the UK low-carbon market.

For example, installers carrying out eligible work under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) must hold the relevant MCS certification.

Under the redeveloped MCS scheme, MCS has introduced its own consumer protection framework, the MCS Customer Commitment, removing the historic requirement for all MCS installers to maintain separate membership of a consumer code such as RECC or HIES as a condition of MCS certification.

For BUS installations, the MCS Customer Commitment has been approved for scheme purposes, meaning installers certified under the redeveloped MCS scheme do not require separate RECC or HIES membership solely to satisfy the BUS consumer protection requirement.

Installers still operating under the previous MCS scheme should continue to meet the requirements that currently apply to them.

British Assessment Bureau has been an MCS-appointed certification body since 2023.

With certification against the Redeveloped MCS Installer Scheme now available through BAB, installers can speak to our team about the certification route that applies to their business.

Our role is to assess organisations independently against the relevant MCS requirements and provide clear information about the certification process and what to expect from the assessment.

Whether you are preparing for the transition or considering MCS certification, speak to British Assessment Bureau to understand what MCS:2025 means for your business and what your next step should be.

Explore MCS Certification