COSHH Assessment Procedure template
A COSHH assessment procedure is the written process {{org.name}} follows to identify substances hazardous to health, work out who could be exposed and how, and put controls in place before anyone works with the substance. COSHH stands for the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health — the UK regime covering chemicals, cleaning products, dusts, fumes, vapours, and biological agents used or created at work.
Most small businesses hold far more COSHH-relevant substances than they realise: the cellar-line cleaner behind the bar, the descaler in the kitchen, the solvent in the workshop, the flour dust in the bakery. An assessment is not paperwork about the bottle — it is the decision about how the job gets done safely, and it is what an inspector asks to see after a chemical incident.
This template gives you a complete, ready-to-edit procedure: building a substance inventory, using safety data sheets properly, a step-by-step assessment method, the hierarchy of controls, and the records that prove exposure is managed.
Full text, ready to adapt.
Highlighted fields are placeholders — replace them with your organisation's specifics. A starting point, not legal advice.
COSHH Assessment Procedure
SOP · Health & Safety
1. Purpose and scope
This procedure sets out how {{org.name}} assesses and controls substances hazardous to health at [site name]. It covers substances we buy (cleaning chemicals, [others]), substances our work creates (dusts, fumes, [others]), and biological agents where relevant.
It applies to all employees and to contractors who bring substances onto our site, at all times.
2. When to use this procedure
- Before any new substance is bought or brought on site for the first time.
- Before an existing substance is used for a new task, in a new location, or by a new group of staff.
- When a safety data sheet is updated or a supplier reformulates a product.
- At the scheduled review date of an existing assessment, or after any exposure incident, spill, or near-miss.
3. Roles and responsibilities
- COSHH lead ([name/role]): owns the substance inventory, completes or approves assessments, and keeps safety data sheets current.
- Managers: make sure no substance is used in their area without a current assessment, and that staff follow the controls it sets.
- All staff: use substances only as the assessment describes, wear the protective equipment it specifies, and report damaged labels, missing data sheets, spills, and any symptoms such as skin or breathing irritation.
- Purchasing ([name/role]): does not order new substances without confirming an assessment exists or is planned.
4. Before you start
- Build and maintain the substance inventory: every product and process-generated substance on site, listed in [system/location] with its location and use.
- Obtain the current safety data sheet for every bought product from the supplier and file it in [location]. A data sheet is the input to an assessment, not a substitute for one.
- Check the hazard warning symbols and hazard statements on the label — they tell you what type of harm the substance can cause.
- Identify who could be exposed, including cleaners, maintenance staff, contractors, and anyone nearby — not just the person doing the task.
5. Step-by-step COSHH assessment
- 1Identify the substance and the task: what is used or created, where, how often, in what quantity, and by whom.
- 2Establish the harm it can cause from the safety data sheet and label: inhalation, skin contact, ingestion, eye damage, or longer-term health effects.
- 3Identify the routes of exposure for this task as actually performed — watch the job being done rather than assuming.
- 4Ask first whether the substance or process can be eliminated, or a less hazardous alternative substituted: [record what was considered].
- 5Where the substance stays, select controls in order of preference: enclose or automate the process, provide ventilation or extraction, reduce quantities and exposure time, then specify protective equipment as the final layer.
- 6Write the safe working method into the assessment: dilution rates from the manufacturer's instructions, mixing prohibitions (never mix [e.g. bleach-based and acidic products]), storage, and disposal.
- 7Record the assessment in [system/location], brief every user on it, and have them acknowledge the briefing.
- 8Set the review date: [frequency, e.g. annually], or sooner if the product, task, or supplier changes.
6. Storage, labelling, and disposal
- Store substances as the data sheet requires, in [location], segregated where incompatible, and secured from public or unauthorised access.
- Keep substances in their original labelled containers. Decanting into unlabelled bottles — especially drinks bottles — is prohibited without exception.
- Dispose of substances and contaminated materials as the assessment describes: [method/contractor]. Never pour concentrates down drains unless the assessment explicitly permits it.
7. If something goes wrong
- 1For any exposure — splash, inhalation, ingestion — follow the first aid measures in the safety data sheet immediately and involve a first aider.
- 2For spills, follow the spill response in the assessment: ventilate, keep others away, and use the spill kit at [location] with the protective equipment specified.
- 3Report the incident the same day under our accident and incident reporting procedure, keeping the product and data sheet available for medical staff if needed.
- 4The COSHH lead reviews the relevant assessment before the task is done again.
8. Records and review
The substance inventory, assessments, data sheets, briefing acknowledgments, and any maintenance records for extraction or ventilation equipment are kept in [system/location] and retained for [period]. Certain health and exposure records carry long statutory retention periods — check current HSE guidance before destroying anything.
This procedure is reviewed [frequency, e.g. annually] and after any exposure incident. Owner: [name/role]. Next review due: [date].
How to adapt this template.
Walk the site and physically list every substance before editing anything — check under sinks, in cellars, and in the maintenance cupboard, not just the COSHH cabinet.
Request current safety data sheets from suppliers now; chasing them takes longer than writing the assessments.
Assess the highest-risk and most-used substances first rather than working alphabetically.
Watch each task being done before you assess it — the written method and the real method often differ.
Fill every [bracketed placeholder], then brief users on each finished assessment and record the briefing.
Set review dates and add "COSHH assessment exists?" as a purchasing check for any new product.
Turn this template into trained, proven behaviour
A policy in a drawer proves nothing. In TrainedTeam this template becomes assigned training with knowledge checks, e-signature acknowledgments, version history, and an audit-ready record of who completed what, when.
COSHH Assessment Procedure template FAQs
Are COSHH assessments a legal requirement in the UK?
Yes. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 require employers to assess and prevent or adequately control exposure to hazardous substances before work starts. If you employ five or more people, the significant findings must be written down.
Is a safety data sheet the same as a COSHH assessment?
No. The data sheet is the supplier's information about the substance in general; the assessment is your decision about how that substance is used safely in your specific task, by your people, in your workplace. Filing data sheets without assessing the tasks does not meet the duty.
Does COSHH apply to ordinary cleaning products?
Often, yes. Many everyday cleaning products carry hazard warnings — corrosive descalers, chlorine-based sanitisers, oven cleaners — and mixing some of them can generate dangerous fumes. The label and data sheet tell you whether a product is in scope; the quantity and frequency of use tell you how much control it needs.
How often should COSHH assessments be reviewed?
The regulations require review when there is reason to think an assessment is no longer valid — a changed product, task, or an exposure incident. In practice most organisations also set a routine review, commonly annually, so that quiet drift in products and working methods gets caught.
Do substances created by our work, like dust or fumes, count under COSHH?
Yes. COSHH covers substances generated by work activities — wood dust from sanding, flour dust in bakeries, welding fume, cleaning vapours — as well as products you buy. These are easy to miss because there is no bottle and no label, which is exactly why the inventory step matters.
Related templates
Risk Assessment Procedure
Free risk assessment procedure template for UK businesses: five-step method, hierarchy of controls, records and review. Ready to edit and adopt.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Policy
Free PPE policy template for UK workplaces: selection, free provision, wearing rules, storage and maintenance, replacement, training, and records.
Health & Safety Policy
Free health and safety policy template for UK employers: statement of intent, responsibilities and practical arrangements. Ready to edit and adopt.
Accident & Incident Reporting
Free accident and incident reporting procedure template for UK workplaces: immediate response, accident book, RIDDOR reporting and investigation steps.