Information for candidates and employers

England/Scotland legislation

If you work in England and/or Scotland, the Street Works qualifications are individual units.

The operative units are:

• LA – Location and avoidance of underground apparatus
• O1 – Signing, lighting and guarding
• O2 – Excavation in the road/highway
• O3 – Reinstatement and compaction of backfill materials
• O4 – Reinstatement of sub-base and base in non-bituminous materials
• O5 – Reinstatement in cold-lay bituminous materials
• O6 – Reinstatement of hot-lay bituminous materials
• O7 – Reinstatement of concrete slabs
• O8 – Reinstatement of modular surfaces and concrete footways

The supervisor units are:

• LA – Location and avoidance of underground apparatus
• S1 – Monitoring Signing, lighting and guarding
• S2 – Monitoring excavation in the road/highway
• S3 – Monitoring reinstatement and compaction of backfill materials
• S4 – Monitoring reinstatement of sub-base and base in non-bituminous materials
• S5 – Monitoring reinstatement in bituminous materials
• S6 – Monitoring reinstatement of concrete slabs
• S7 – Monitoring reinstatement of modular surfaces and concrete footways

Wales/Northern Ireland legislation

If you work in Wales and/or Northern Ireland, the Street Works qualifications are grouped together to form Group Awards.  You need to complete assessments for all units within a Group Award to achieve it.

Operative Group Awards are made up of the following qualifications:

• Excavation in the road/highway (LA, O1 & O2)
• Excavation, backfilling and reinstatement – cold lay (LA, O1, O2, O3, O4 & O5)
• Reinstatement – hot and cold lay bituminous materials (LA, O1, O5 & O6)
• Reinstatement of concrete slabs (LA, O1 & O7)
• Reinstatement of modular surfaces and concrete footways (LA, O1 & O8)

Supervisor Group Awards are made up of the following qualifications:

• Monitor excavation in the road/highway (LA, S1 & S2)
• Monitor excavation, backfilling and reinstatement – construction layers (SA, S1, S2, S3, S4 & S5)
• Monitor reinstatement – hot and cold lay bituminous materials (LA, S1 & S5)
• Monitor reinstatement of concrete slabs (LA, S1 & S6)
• Monitor reinstatement of modular surfaces and concrete footways (LA, S1 & S7)

Please note that the supervisor card does not supersede the operative card.  If you will be working as both an operative and a supervisor, you will need to hold both sets of units or group awards on an SWQR card.

Before you can be added to the Register, you need to complete initial assessments, for the Street Works qualifications you need, at an approved training Centre. 

• To find a Centre near you, you can contact any of the Awarding Bodies below with your location.  Centres set their own fees, so we recommend shopping around before booking your assessments.

• The training and/or assessments can last 1-5 days, depending on the number and type of assessments you require.
• Upon successfully completing your assessments, the Centre will notify the Awarding Body (AB), who will issue certificates for the qualifications.
• Once you have received your certificates, the Centre will apply to us to have you added to the Register and issued with your SWQR card. 
• The Centre may ask you to provide a recent passport style photograph for your application.  Please read our Photo Requirements to ensure your photograph is suitable.
• We will carry out a series of quality and validation checks before issuing your SWQR card.  It is standard practice for the cards to be posted to the Centre address; however, we can post to an alternative address if the Centre requests it on your application form.  Please speak to your Centre to confirm this.
• Your initial registration and SWQR card lasts for 5 years from the date you were certificated by the Awarding Body.
• How you renew your registration and SWQR card depends on your country of work.  More information can be found in the section below.

If you require any further assistance, you can email us at swqr@qualifications.gov.scot or call us on 0345 270 2720.  Please note that we cannot provide you with details of your local Centres as we do not hold this information.  You will need to contact the Awarding Bodies listed above.

If you have been certificated by an organisation outside of the United Kingdom (UK) and wish to have your certificates recognised, please contact us at swqr@qualifications.gov.scot in the first instance.

Please note the following from the current Assessment Strategy around the use of English language:

'For safety reasons (that is, clear communication on site) qualifications can only be undertaken in the English language. There is no facility for other languages to be used as all codes of practice, assessment materials and supporting documents are only printed in English.' 

England/Scotland legislation

Operatives:

• You can hold LA or O1 as single units on a card, or you can hold both together.
• LA and O1 are Key Certificates for operatives, and you must hold these on an SWQR card before you can add any of the other operative units.
• You can complete assessments for LA and O1 at the same time as the other units and add them all to an SWQR card at the same time.

Supervisors:

• You can hold LA or S1 as single units on a card, or you can hold both together.
• LA and S1 are Key Certificates for supervisors, and you must hold these on an SWQR card before you can add any of the other supervisor units. 
• You can complete assessments for LA and S1 at the same time as the other units and add them all to an SWQR card at the same time.

Wales/Northern Ireland legislation

• You can hold any of the Group Awards on a card, as long as you complete assessments for all the units within that Award.
• You cannot hold individual units on your card under this legislation.

• If you work in England and/or Scotland, and you sat assessments for individual units, you will be registered under the England/Scotland legislation.
• If you work in Wales and/or Northern Ireland, and you sat assessments for qualifications to make up a Group Award, you will be registered under the Wales/Northern Ireland legislation.
• If you sat re-assessments, you will automatically be registered under the England/Scotland legislation, even if you were previously registered under the Wales/Northern Ireland legislation.

You can tell which legislation you are registered under by looking at your SWQR card.

England/Scotland legislation

• Your card will list Key Certificates on the front with individual expiry dates
• Any other units will be listed on the back, again with individual expiry dates
• This type of card DOES NOT have an overall expiry date.

Wales/Northern Ireland legislation

• Your card will have an overall expiry date on the front of the card
• Group awards are listed on the back and show the date that they were certificated.

England/Scotland legislation

• If you are currently registered under the England/Scotland legislation, you need to complete re-assessments, for the units you hold and wish to renew, at an approved Centre. For information on Centres in your local area please contact any of the Awarding Bodies listed above. 
• Re-assessments can be taken any time during your SWQR card’s validity and up to five years after the card has expired.  We recommend completing the re-assessments around 6 months prior to your SWQR card’s expiry date to you always hold a valid card.
• The application form must be submitted to us before the end of the 5-year cut off period.  If the application is received after this date, it can no longer be processed, regardless of when the re-assessments were certificated.  If this happens, you will need to sit the initial assessments again.

Once the expiry date/s on the card have passed, the card is no longer valid and must be renewed.  If any of the Key Certifications have expired, the other units on the card are also invalid.  

Wales/Northern Ireland legislation

• If you are currently registered under the Wales/Northern Ireland legislation, you can submit an application form via our website, and pay the relevant fee, to re-register your qualifications. 
• You do not need to sit any assessments, unless you want to add new qualifications to your SWQR card.
• You can re-register any time during your SWQR card’s validity and up to 3 months after the card has expired.
• The application form must be submitted to us before the end of the 3-month cut off period.  If you are paying for the re-registration yourself, and not through an approved Centre, we also require the payment before the end of the 3-month cut off period. 
• If the application and/or payment is received after this date, it can no longer be processed.  If this happens, you will either need to
  • sit the initial assessments again to obtain a new Wales/Northern Ireland registration and SWQR Card, or
  • sit re-assessments for the units you held within the Group Awards and move over to an England/Scotland registration and SWQR Card.  You will need to sit re-assessments every 5 years to renew your card if you choose this option.

Once the expiry date on the card has passed, the card is no longer valid and must be renewed.

England/Scotland legislation

Before you can add new qualifications to your SWQR card, you must hold valid, in date Key Certificates.

• To add new qualifications to your existing SWQR card, you need to complete the relevant initial assessments at an approved training Centre.  To find a Centre near you, you can contact any of the Awarding Bodies below with your location.  Centres set their own fees, so we recommend shopping around before booking your assessments.

• The training and/or assessments can last 1-5 days, depending on the number and type of assessments you require.
• Upon successfully completing your assessments, the Centre will notify the Awarding Body (AB), who will issue certificates for the new qualifications.
• Once you have received your certificates, the Centre will apply to us to have the new units added to your record on the Register and we will issue your new SWQR card. 
• The Centre may ask you to provide a recent passport style photograph for your application.  Please read our Photo Requirements to ensure your photograph is suitable.
• We will carry out a series of quality and validation checks before issuing your SWQR card.  It is standard practice for the cards to be posted to the Centre address; however, we can post to an alternative address if the Centre requests it on your application form.  Please speak to your Centre to confirm this.
• The original units on your card will keep their original expiry date.  The new units last for 5 years from the date you were certificated by the Awarding Body.

Wales/Northern Ireland legislation

• To add new Group Awards to your SWQR card, you need to ensure that you either currently hold or are completing initial assessments for all units within the required Group Award.
• All Group Awards include units LA and O1 for operatives or LA and S1 for supervisors, so if your card is still in date, you will not need to sit these assessments again. You only need to sit assessments for the additional units that make up the new Group Award.
• To find a Centre near you, you can contact any of the Awarding Bodies in the table above with your location.  Centres set their own fees, so we recommend shopping around before booking your assessments.
• The training and/or assessments can last 1-5 days, depending on the number and type of assessments you require.
• Upon successfully completing your assessments, the Centre will notify the Awarding Body (AB), who will issue certificates for the new qualifications.
• Once you have received your certificates, the Centre will apply to us to have the new Group Awards added to your record on the Register and we will issue your new SWQR card. 
• The Centre may ask you to provide a recent passport style photograph for your application.  Please read our Photo Requirements to ensure your photograph is suitable.
• We will carry out a series of quality and validation checks before issuing your SWQR card.  It is standard practice for the cards to be posted to the Centre address; however, we can post to an alternative address if the Centre requests it on your application form.  Please speak to your Centre to confirm this.
• When you add new Group Awards to your card, the Group Awards that you currently hold will automatically be re-registered and the card will be given a new expiry date.
  • If you are adding new Group Awards within 6 months of your card's expiry date, the new expiry date will be your current card's expiry date plus 5 years.
  • If you are adding new Group Awards more than 6 months before your card's expiry date, the new expiry date will be the date that the new units were certificated plus 5 years.

If your SWQR card is lost or damaged, you can order a replacement from us by following these steps:

1. Have your credit or debit card ready, with a pen and paper, and call us on 0345 270 2720.  Please note that we do not accept cheques or American Express cards.
2. We will ask for your SWQR card number or your name and date of birth to locate your record on the Register.
3. We will advise if you have a valid card, the cost of the replacement and confirm the address you would like the new card posted to.
4. We use an automated payment system which allows you to securely enter your card details using your phone keypad.  We will give you a unique reference number to allow you to enter the payment system and we recommend that you write it down.
5. Once we have transferred you to the payment system, follow the instructions to make your payment.
6. If the payment is successful, your card will be printed and posted out the next working day by Royal Mail Recorded Delivery.

Replacement cards can only be produced if there are valid units or group awards available. 

The new card will only show the units that were valid on the date it was processed.  Any expired units will not show on the card, but they will remain on your record history and can still be re-assessed up to 5 years after the expiry date.

• If you completed assessments within the last 6 weeks, but you have not receive your SWQR card, please contact your training Centre for an update.  They will be able to confirm if they received the card and where/when it was posted out.  If they have not received it, they can contact us directly.
• If you paid for a replacement card or a re-registration, these are usually printed and posted out the next working day by Royal Mail Recorded Delivery. If you have not received it after a few days, please email us at swqr@qualifications.gov.scot or call us on 0345 270 2720.

• If you have sat assessments, it is standard practice for the cards to be posted to the Centre address; however, we can post to an alternative address if the Centre requests it on your application form. Please speak to your Centre to confirm this.
• If you are applying for a replacement card by phone, we will ask you for the address your card is to be sent to.
• If you have applied and paid for a re-registration, we will post the card to the address you gave on the application form.

• If you recently attending a training Centre, please contact them directly as they may need to amend your details with the Awarding Body and/or ourselves before we can issue a new SWQR card.

• If you applied to us for a replacement card or a re-registration, and your new card is incorrect, please email us at swqr@qualifications.gov.scot with your SWQR card number, your full name and date of birth, and the issue with the card.  We will investigate and contact you with the best way to resolve the issue.  If the card has the wrong units and/or expiry dates on it, we may ask you to return it to us before we issue a new one.

No, we need a passport-style photo to issue an SWQR card. The Centre may take your photograph while you are attending, or they may ask you to submit one to them. 

Please read our photo requirements to ensure you submit a suitable photograph. 

If it does not meet these requirements, your application will be rejected and will need resubmitted with a new photograph.  This will delay the production of your card.

If you have recently completed assessments, but you did not receive your Awarding Body certificates, we recommend you contact your training Centre for an update.

If you received the original certificates, but they are now lost or damaged, you can order replacements directly from the Awarding Body.  You can contact them on the details below.  If you are unsure which Awarding Body issued your certificates, please contact your training Centre for advice.

Please note, we cannot help with the certificates as these are issued by the Awarding Body.  If you require a replacement SWQR card, please refer to the Can I order a replacement SWQR card? section above.

To find a Centre near you, you can contact any of the Awarding Bodies below with your location.  Centres set their own fees, so we recommend shopping around before booking your assessments.

Please do not contact us for local Centre details as we do not hold this information.

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