The Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme has given notice to leave the Construction Skills Certification Scheme Alliance, with CISRS planning to operate outside the CSCS licensing system from 1 June 2027.
CISRS says existing qualifications, training routes and current cards will remain valid, but new and renewed CISRS cards issued after the change will no longer carry the CSCS logo. With more than 70,000 CISRS cardholders in the UK and current construction-site access standards built around CSCS-logoed cards, the unresolved issue is no longer the competence standard itself. It is how future CISRS cards will be recognised at construction site gates.
Scaffolders dismantling scaffold on a live project in the City of London. CISRS plans to leave the CSCS licensing system from 1 June 2027, raising questions over how future CISRS cards will be recognised on major construction sites. Photo: London Construction Magazine.
LCM Key Point: CISRS is not withdrawing its scaffolding qualifications or reducing its training standard. The dispute concerns the governance and recognition of the card. Existing CISRS cards remain valid for their current term, while the construction industry's treatment of new logo-free CISRS cards from June 2027 has not yet been finally agreed.
Why CISRS Is Leaving CSCS
The dispute centres on the Construction Leadership Council's rules for industry card schemes. The CLC Industry Card Schemes requirements, updated in March 2024, say that the construction industry should specify card schemes carrying the CSCS logo with no equivalents accepted for recognised construction occupations. Clause 4 also states that cards will not be issued for non-construction-related occupations or people visiting sites.
CISRS interprets that wording as creating a problem because scaffolders routinely work across sectors outside conventional building construction, including industrial, utilities, petrochemical, aviation, marine and offshore environments. In its 8 September announcement, CISRS said remaining inside the current licensing arrangement could require separate cards for construction and other sectors, creating additional cost and administration for employers and operatives.
CISRS chief executive Clive Dickin said the same scaffolders use the same qualifications and competence standards whether they are working on a construction project, in an aircraft hangar or offshore. From 1 January 2027, CISRS intends to change its name from the Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme to the Competence in Scaffolding Record Scheme, retaining the CISRS acronym. The organisation then plans to leave the CSCS licensing arrangement from June.
CSCS Disputes the Reason for the Exit
CSCS does not accept CISRS's interpretation. In a statement responding to the termination notice, CSCS Group chief executive Sean Kearns confirmed that CISRS had proposed terminating its licence to use the CSCS Mark on 31 May 2027, but said CSCS did not believe the CLC rules created the conflict described by CISRS. CSCS argues that scaffolding remains a construction occupation even where the same skills are also used in other industries. It also points out that equivalent wording concerning non-construction occupations appeared in earlier versions of the CLC requirements in 2017 and 2020, as well as the March 2024 version.
The disagreement therefore goes beyond branding. CISRS believes the cross-sector use of one competence card creates a licensing risk under the present wording. CSCS says other Alliance schemes already accommodate occupations operating across several industries and does not believe CISRS faces the immediate contractual problem it describes. CSCS has also said it was awaiting progress from CISRS on what it described as outstanding obligations under the existing licence. Those obligations have not been publicly detailed, so it would be wrong to assume what they concern.
What Happens to Existing CISRS Cards?
For scaffolders currently holding a CISRS card, there is no immediate change. CISRS says existing cards will remain valid for their full duration and that qualifications already achieved will not be withdrawn.
| Issue | Confirmed Position | What Remains Unresolved |
|---|---|---|
| Existing CISRS cards | Remain valid for their existing term | No immediate change for current cardholders |
| New and renewed cards after June 2027 | CISRS intends to continue issuing cards without the CSCS logo | How all construction clients and principal contractors will recognise them |
| Qualifications and training | CISRS says existing standards and competence routes will continue | Future carding arrangements within the wider construction access system |
| CISRS name | Changes to Competence in Scaffolding Record Scheme from 1 January 2027 | Whether the proposed CSCS departure ultimately proceeds |
CISRS has also said it intends to pursue Ofqual registration within three years and continue developing its own digital card and verification systems.
The Bigger Question Is Site Access, Not Training
This is where the distinction becomes important for principal contractors, scaffolding subcontractors and workers. The current Build UK Training Standard implements the CLC position that recognised construction occupations should use cards carrying the CSCS logo. Its site-access flow chart states that a card carrying the CSCS logo is required where a person is undertaking a construction occupation, with CSCS Smart Check used for verification.
CISRS is currently listed as the scaffolding partner scheme within that system. If CISRS completes its departure and new cards no longer display the logo, the card may still represent the same training and qualification standard while no longer fitting the existing wording of a principal contractor's site-access policy. That is the unresolved point. It has not been publicly confirmed that major contractors will reject future independent CISRS cards, and it has not been publicly confirmed that Build UK or the CLC will change their requirements to accommodate them. A final transition arrangement is still being developed.
LCM previously examined the increasing use of digital verification in its guide to CSCS cards and site access in 2026. The CISRS dispute now exposes a separate question: digital verification only works smoothly when employers, contractors and card schemes agree which credentials the system is supposed to recognise.
A Card Does Not Replace the Contractor's Competence Duty
There is another important distinction in the Build UK standard. Construction employers cannot treat possession of a card as complete proof that somebody is competent for every task they may be asked to undertake. Build UK's guidance refers directly to the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and says contractors must ensure workers have the necessary skills, knowledge, training and experience for the work they perform. It also cites HSE guidance warning against sole reliance on an industry certification card.
For scaffolding, this distinction is particularly important. A card can evidence an occupational route and qualification level, but contractors still need to establish that operatives are suitable for the scaffold, system, complexity and work environment involved. The same principle runs through LCM's guidance on work at height and competent site delivery, where planning, supervision and appropriate competence remain duties regardless of which card is presented at the gate.
More Than 70,000 Cardholders Sit Behind the Dispute
The scale makes the transition more than an administrative disagreement between two organisations. CISRS states that there are more than 70,000 CISRS cardholders in the UK and more than 100,000 worldwide. Scaffolding is also an occupation where recruitment pressure is already substantial. LCM's analysis of the UK construction trades facing the worst skills shortages in 2026 identified scaffolding as one of the trades where certification, experience and future infrastructure demand combine to create a particularly difficult workforce problem.
That makes a clean transition important. The highest exposure would not necessarily fall on today's experienced scaffolder holding a valid five-year card. It would increasingly concern workers whose cards expire after the change, new entrants entering the trade and employers recruiting people whose credentials were issued after the CSCS licence ended.
The CISRS Exit Is Not Yet Irreversible
The June 2027 departure is currently a plan backed by formal termination notice, not an irreversible completed separation. At a 23 September CISRS and NASC briefing, the organisations said consultation had only just started and that discussions could still produce a different outcome. CISRS said the notice was intended to protect the industry from a shorter forced termination period if the Clause 4 issue later became a contractual problem, and confirmed that it hoped positive discussions could allow the termination notice to be withdrawn.
The Scaffolding Association has separately issued an open letter calling for wider industry involvement in deciding what happens next. For employers, the practical position today is therefore simpler than some of the headlines suggest: existing CISRS cards continue to operate, no scaffolder needs to replace a valid card because of the announcement, and the training standard has not been withdrawn. The unresolved issue concerns cards issued after the proposed separation and how they will interface with construction-site access policies built around the CSCS logo.
The next publicly confirmed CISRS update is scheduled for 8 October 2026 at 10:00. Until the transition plan is agreed, contractors should avoid assuming either that independent CISRS cards will automatically be refused or that current CSCS-logo requirements will automatically be rewritten before June 2027.
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Expert Verification & Authorship: Mihai Chelmus Founder & Editor, London Construction Magazine | Construction Testing & Investigation Specialist |