Work at height permits: when you need one and who signs it

What a permit to work at height actually is

On a wet Tuesday in January, you might be stood by the cabin with a coffee and a stack of paperwork. A work at height permit is not more wallpaper for the folder. It is a short, time-limited authorisation that sits on top of your risk assessment and method statement. It confirms the job has been checked at the workface for the actual conditions that day, not just what the RAMS said last week.

Use a permit for high-risk, non-routine tasks at height where a slip in control has serious consequences. Think fragile roofs, removing edge protection for a cladding lift, a MEWP working over a basement void, or a quick one-off access via a hatch with a dodgy step. It is not a legal requirement for every ladder or podium. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require you to plan, supervise and do the work safely, and many sites use permits as the way to prove those real-time checks happened.

Compared to RAMS, the permit is live. It confirms isolations are actually in place, weather is inside the limits, the exclusion zone is set, and the people on the task know the plan. It also sets a stop time. When the permit expires, the job stops until someone competent looks again and reauthorises.

For a deeper look at planning the job before you even think about a permit, see the Work at Height RAMS Guide for UK Contractors | RAMS AI.

When you should use a permit

Permits make the most sense when the risk profile is high or the job is out of the ordinary. If you are stepping off scaffold onto a fragile roof with old rooflights, that is a permit. If temporary edge protection needs to come off for glazing, that is a permit. If you are putting a boom lift in a courtyard over a slab you have not had verified for load, get a permit in place and get the slab checked. If the task is a one-off roof access for a survey, or night work near a drop, treat it as permit territory.

Work near live services can push a job into permit control. For example, installing a canopy close to overhead lines, working inside a plant room above live MCCs, or lifting near a roof-mounted PV array. The permit confirms isolations are in place or that safe approach distances are set and briefed. Where fragility or energised systems are involved, you want sign-off from someone competent who has physically looked.

Confined access at height is another signal. Think maintenance inside an atrium on a mobile tower with restricted egress, duct work above a live production line, or ladder access through a tight ceiling void. The permit can lock in an attendant, limit numbers on the platform, and record the rescue method if a harness is used. When the access is awkward and the get-out plan is not obvious, use a permit.

Weather-sensitive work benefits from a permit too. Installing long, sail-like cladding sheets on a breezy day, glazing in a light well with gusts, or strip-out on a frosty roof. The permit can set the wind limit for the MEWP, the temperature limit for roof work, and the hold point if it starts lashing down. The point is to bring the real conditions into the authorisation, not to tick a box in the warmth of the cabin.

If you need a refresher on how RAMS fit together, read What Does RAMS Stand For? RAMS Meaning Explained | RAMS AI.

What the permit adds on top of your RAMS

RAMS set the baseline. The permit adds proof that controls are live and suitable for the exact spot and time. It typically covers isolations, access, equipment condition, weather, interfaces, competence, supervision and handback. Done properly, the permit is a short conversation at the workface with a pen, a drawing and the people doing the job. You can smell the cut cement board, point at the rooflight that is taped off, and agree the drop zone.

Isolations are a big one. If you need to de-energise PV strings, lock a powered roof vent or stop a crane slewing over your boom, the permit records who isolated, how it is locked, and where the keys are. Access gets checked for real trip points, missing boards, part-loaded transoms, or a step that is not big enough for the boot. Equipment checks cover the MEWP LOLER date, that the harness lanyard matches the anchorage, and that the tower is built to current PASMA guidance.

Interfaces with others get nailed down. Is the scaffold being altered by the scaffolders while you are on it. Is a roofing gang tipping tear-off into your exclusion zone. Is a delivery reversing under your work area. The permit can set hold points, lock the area with barriers, and name the person to call before anyone touches the setup. You can add a simple sketch or photo to avoid doubt.

Rescue is where permits often earn their keep. If you are using fall arrest, the permit can confirm the rescue kit is at the ladder base, the anchorages and clearance have been checked, and who will do the pick-off if someone goes over the edge. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require planning for emergencies and rescue, and a permit is a good place to verify it is not just a line saying call 999.

When your permit refers to the sequence, make sure the method is solid by checking What Is a Method Statement? UK Construction Guide | RAMS AI.

Who issues, accepts and closes the permit

On most sites the issuer is the principal contractor’s site manager or an appointed person who understands the task and the local risks. They must be competent to judge if controls are in place. The acceptor is the working supervisor, the person actually leading the team on the platform or roof. Then each person who will be at the workface signs on to confirm they have been briefed and agree to follow the method.

If isolations are required, the person doing them signs the isolation section, often an electrician or building services lead. If scaffold is involved, you might require the scaffolding supervisor to confirm an alteration is complete and tagged. For MEWP work, the supervisor confirms IPAF or equivalent is in-date and that the machine suits the reach and load. CDM 2015 puts coordination duties on the principal contractor, so the issuer should check the permit will not clash with other high-risk activities nearby.

Closing the permit is as important as opening it. When the job is done or the time limit hits, the acceptor hands back the area and the issuer checks it is safe. Tools, fixings and debris are removed from the edge. Covers are back on. Edge protection is reinstated or the area is locked off until it is. Locks and tags are removed in a controlled way. If the job will continue the next day, you either close and reissue, or you formally suspend and revalidate after a fresh check.

Handover mid-shift happens. If the supervisor goes off sick or the team swaps out, you either close the permit and issue a new one or you complete a sign-off and sign-on. Do not let a new face walk into a live permit without a briefing at the workface. The paper is not the protection, the conversation is.

Time limits, weather windows and suspensions

A permit without a clear end time is just a licence to drift. Keep permits short. A shift is typical. Some clients will only allow same-day validity that expires at the end of the working day, even if the job stops for lunch. If the weather turns or the scope changes, suspend it. A scratched note or a tick box that says suspended does not fix anything. You stop, make the area safe, and recheck before restarting.

Weather is often the difference between safe and daft. Set wind limits based on the kit and the task. Long sheets and glazing pick up more wind than you think. MEWPs have clear wind ratings. Wet scaffold boards get slippery. Frost on single ply is like walking on glass. Bake the weather window into the permit and make it someone’s job to check the forecast and conditions, not just glance at the sky.

Revalidation should involve eyes on the job. If you are rolling a permit to the next day, the issuer or another competent person should physically walk the route again. On a live site things move overnight. Someone could have cut a hole for M&E, lifted a board to run a cable, or stacked pallets in your exclusion zone. A reissue that happens in the cabin is not a reissue, it is a photocopy.

How permits fail and how to fix them

We all know the failure mode. Someone prints a permit, fills it out in the cabin, signs it with a nice pen, and no one looks at the job. Then you get to the roof and the access hatch has a busted spring, the skylight is cracked and only half taped, and the MEWP is the wrong reach. That is not a permit system, it is a paperwork system. It will not save you when the wind gusts and a three metre sheet acts like a sail.

Fix it with go-see. The issuer walks to the workface with the supervisor, points at the hazards, checks the isolations and physically tries the access. If something is not right, they write a hold point. No work until it is made right. Use simple visuals. A sketched exclusion on a drawing. A photo of the anchor points. A tag on the isolation. Get sign-on from each worker at the access point, not at a desk.

Keep permits short and specific. One permit per discrete task or area is better than a catch-all for the whole roof all week. Require handback checks, including housekeeping and reinstatement. Make close-out mean something. Ideally the issuer revisits and signs that the area is safe. If the team left a gap in the handrail, the permit is not closed. If the edge is safe and the hatch is locked, it is.

Auditing helps but do not turn it into a form-filling contest. We see better results when site leadership sets the tone. If the agent is willing to pull a permit and stop a job on a breezy afternoon because the risk has tipped, crews take the system seriously. If leadership waves everything through, the paper becomes wallpaper.

Questions we get asked

Do I need a permit to use a ladder for a quick job?

Not usually. A ladder task that is low risk and routine can be managed under your RAMS and site controls. If the ladder access is non-routine, near a drop, over a fragile surface or affected by live services, treat it as permit work. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 still require planning and supervision for all height work.

Is a work at height permit a legal requirement in the UK?

There is no law that says you must use a permit for every height task. The duty is to plan, supervise and carry out height work safely under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, and to coordinate under CDM 2015. Many clients require permits as part of their management system for higher-risk, non-routine work.

Who is allowed to issue and sign a height permit?

The issuer is normally a competent site manager or appointed person who understands the task and local risks. The working supervisor accepts the permit and leads the briefing. Each person on the task signs on. If isolations or scaffold alterations are involved, the competent persons who carried them out sign those sections.

How long is a permit valid for?

Most sites time-limit permits to one shift or day. Some allow a suspension and revalidation if the job pauses. If weather changes, the scope changes or the supervisor changes, the permit should be suspended and reissued after a fresh check at the workface.

Do MEWP jobs always need a permit to work at height?

Not always. Routine MEWP work in a controlled area with standard hazards may be managed under RAMS and normal supervision. Use a permit when the MEWP task is non-routine or higher risk, such as working over voids, near live services, with long or wind-sensitive loads, or where access and egress are restricted.

What goes wrong most often with permits?

Permits issued without anyone visiting the workface, poor control of isolations, vague weather limits, and no meaningful close-out. Fix that with a site walk, clear triggers to suspend, named isolations with locks and tags, and a real handback check. HSE’s fatal injury statistics show falls from height remain the biggest cause of fatal injuries in construction, so the basics matter.

The short version

Permits to work at height are a simple layer on top of RAMS for high-risk, non-routine tasks. They bring live checks of isolations, access, weather, interfaces and rescue into a short, time-bound authorisation.

The issuer is a competent manager or appointed person, the working supervisor accepts and briefs the team, and the issuer closes the permit after a handback check. Keep permits short, specific and always verified at the workface, not just signed in the cabin.

There is no blanket law saying permits are mandatory, but they help deliver the planning and supervision duties in the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and coordination under CDM 2015. If in doubt, stop, go and see, and then decide.