AF2 Form (HSA): What It Is and When to File It

An AF2 is needed when construction work on a site is planned to last longer than 30 working days, or the volume of work is scheduled to exceed 500 person-days. Passing either test is enough. The Regulations treat a homeowner having work done on their own home as a client, so a long house build or renovation is covered by the same tests.

• Working daysEvery day on which construction work is carried out counts, including weekends and holidays, even if the work that day is short.
• Person-daysOne person, including supervisors and specialists, doing construction work for one normal working shift.
• ExampleTwenty people on site for 26 working days is 520 person-days: over the 500 person-day threshold even though the job takes fewer than 30 working days.

Sources: 2, 4, 5, 6

The Project Supervisor for the Construction Stage (PSCS) sends the AF2, and the form can be signed by or on behalf of the PSCS. The client appoints the PSCS in writing before construction work begins. The PSCS is often the main contractor (the HSA's guidance uses this as its example for a small project), and a client that is competent to do the job can appoint itself.

• PSCSSends the AF2 before work begins and keeps its details displayed on site.
• ClientAppoints the PSCS and the Project Supervisor for the Design Process (PSDP), and sends its own notice about those appointments, the AF1.
• How long the PSCS role lastsFrom before construction begins until all construction work on the project is complete.

Sources: 4, 5, 6, 7

The particulars are set out in Schedule 3 of the Regulations, and the AF2 follows the same order.

Sources: 4, 5

The HSA takes AF2 notifications through its online Construction Notification (AF1 & AF2) system, and its forms page lists AF2 as an online report. You register with an email address and password; if you already use the HSA's online accident reporting (IR1) system, the same login works. The HSA says online filing is faster than posting a paper form, keeps a history of your notifications and lets you print a copy to display on site. The Regulations also allow the notice to be sent by registered post.

• 1. Gather the detailsClient, PSDP and PSCS contacts, the site address, start date, duration, peak workforce and the contractors chosen.
• 2. File before work startsSign in to the HSA system and submit the AF2 before construction work begins.
• 3. Print and displayPrint the notice and put it up on site where people working there can read it.

• HSA Construction Notification (AF1 & AF2) system
• HSA forms page

Sources: 1, 3, 5

The PSCS must keep the notified details clearly displayed on the construction site and update them when they change. The HSA's guidance says the notice should be where people working on the site can easily read it, such as the entrance gate or the site huts, and that an A4 copy of the completed form is normally enough.

• ChangesIf details change after filing, such as a new contractor or a later start date, the AF2 can also be used to tell the HSA.
• Safety and health planBefore construction work begins, the PSCS must also have a construction stage safety and health plan for the project.

Sources: 4, 5, 6, 7

Most AF2 problems come from misreading the thresholds or the timing.

• Counting weekdays onlyWeekends and holidays count as working days if construction work happens on them.
• Treating the thresholds as a pairA project needs an AF2 if it passes either test: more than 30 working days, or more than 500 person-days.
• Filing after the startThe notice must be sent before construction work begins, not once the site is running.
• Mixing up AF1 and AF2AF1 is the client's notice about the appointments, sent promptly once the project supervisors are appointed (Regulation 10); AF2 is the PSCS's notice before work starts. A project over the threshold needs both.
• Filing and forgettingThe details must stay on display on site and be kept up to date, and the HSA should be told when they change.
• Assuming a house doesn't countA homeowner having work done is a client under the Regulations, so a long house build (including one by direct labour) or renovation is judged by the same tests.
• Confusing it with the commencement noticeA commencement notice goes to the building control authority under the Building Control Regulations. It does not notify the HSA, and an AF2 does not replace it.

Sources: 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9

Other HSA forms that often sit beside an AF2 on a construction project.

• AF1Particulars the client notifies to the HSA promptly after appointing the project supervisors (Regulation 10).
• AF3Thorough examination of excavations, shafts, earthworks, underground works or tunnels, and of cofferdams or caissons.
• GA2 and GA3Records of the weekly examination of lifting equipment, and of inspections of work equipment for work at a height, such as scaffolds.

• AF1 form explained
• AF1 approved form (PDF, HSA)
• GA2 and GA3 forms explained

Sources: 1, 8

PlanningBrief follows projects from planning permission to the start of work on site. The larger housing schemes and commercial builds on these pages are the kind of project an AF2 is for, so they show which sites are about to need a PSCS, a safety and health plan and on-site inspections.

• Projects starting on site
• Site starts this week
• Housing starts
• Biggest projects