Tanks and Pressure Receptacles

This page was last updated on 29th June 2021

Application for Appointment

Arrangements for the appointment of bodies for tank inspection may be found HERE (PDF)

Applicants must be accredited to EN ISO17020:2012, “General Criteria for the Operation of Various Types of Bodies Performing Inspection”, by the United Kingdom Accreditation service (UKAS) before an appointment is made. However, in some circumstances, a temporary appointment may be made whilst accreditation is sought but this will be strictly time-limited

General guidance for potential applicants is given below.

  • Application for accreditation to ISO 17020 should be made to UKAS directly. Details can be obtained from the UKAS website.
  • At the same time, application should be made to VCA DGO to minimise any delay in processing.

Application for Appointment as an Inspection Body

  • Information regarding appointments will be exchanged between VCA DGO and UKAS as necessary to facilitate the appointment.
  • When a temporary appointment is made to facilitate the accreditation process it will be for a maximum period of 12 months and no extension or further temporary appointment of the applicant may be made. It is therefore essential that accreditation be achieved within that period if there is to be no discontinuity in the applicant’s ability to undertake inspections. It should be noted that when offered, temporary appointment for transportable pressure equipment will be restricted to old pressure receptacles (i.e. non-TPED for GB use only) as TPED pressure equipment may only be inspected by bodies notified to the European Commission and only bodies who have gained accreditation may be so notified

Applicants should be aware that it may take several weeks for the appointment to be made once accreditation has been granted and must take this into account when scheduling regulated work.