Form · MHSWR regulation 3
RAMS template
Risk assessment and method statement for one activity: the sequence of work, a five by five risk matrix, PPE, permits, rescue, and a briefing record signed against the revision.
Free download · Editable PDF
Free COSHH assessment template
A COSHH assessment records the risk to health from one hazardous substance in your work, and how exposure is prevented or adequately controlled. This one is an editable PDF and a Word document, ten pages, free to use and reuse.
- Format
- Editable PDF
- Pages
- 10
- Built on
- COSHH 2002, regulations 6 and 7
- Cost
- Free, always
What is in the COSHH assessment template
10 pagesThe substance and its hazards
The product, supplier and data sheet date and version, the nine hazard pictograms by name, the signal word, hazard statements, workplace exposure limits from EH40, and whether stricter control applies.
The task and who is exposed
What is done, how much, how often and for how long, each route of exposure, who could be exposed, people at increased risk, and how serious the harm could be.
Controls in the legal order
Elimination or substitution first, then engineering controls such as extraction, then organisational controls and hygiene, with the extra measures for carcinogens and mutagens.
PPE, RPE and face fit testing
Each item by type, material and standard, a face fit test record for tight-fitting masks, and who checks each control and how often.
Storage, spills, disposal and first aid
Where it is kept, the spill kit, waste, fire, first aid by route and the emergency arrangements, drawn from the data sheet.
Monitoring, conclusion and review
Exposure monitoring and health surveillance decisions, whether control is adequate, actions with owners and dates, sign-off, review triggers, a review record and a briefing record.
What the COSHH Regulations require
Checked against the sourceAn assessment before the work
An employer must not carry out work liable to expose employees to a substance hazardous to health until a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk has been made. The steps it identifies must also be in place.
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, regulation 6(1)What it must consider
Among other things: the hazardous properties and the supplier information, including the safety data sheet. The level, type and duration of exposure, and the amount used. Maintenance and other high exposure activities, any workplace exposure limit, the controls, and the results of monitoring and health surveillance.
Regulation 6(2)Recorded with five or more employees
An employer with five or more employees must record the significant findings as soon as practicable, and the steps taken to meet regulation 7.
Regulation 6(4)Prevent first, then control
Exposure must be prevented or, where that is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled. Substitution is preferred. Controls then follow an order of priority, with personal protective equipment only where other means cannot achieve adequate control, and in addition to them.
Regulation 7(1) to (3)What adequate control means
The principles of good practice in Schedule 2A are applied, and any workplace exposure limit is not exceeded. Exposure to a carcinogen, mutagen or asthmagen is reduced to as low a level as is reasonably practicable.
Regulation 7(7)Reviewed
The assessment must be reviewed regularly. It must be reviewed at once if there is reason to suspect it is no longer valid, the work has changed significantly, or monitoring shows it is necessary. The law sets no fixed interval.
Regulation 6(3)Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The 2002 Regulations apply in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003, whose regulation 6 sets the same assessment duty.
SI 2002/2677, and SR 2003/34, regulations 1 and 6How to use it
One substance, one task
Fill it in for the product and the way your team uses it, not for the product in general. The data sheet gives the hazards; only you know the task, the quantities and the people.
Work through the controls in order
Ask first whether the substance can be removed or swapped for something safer, and record why not. PPE comes last, and only alongside the other controls.
Brief it and keep it live
Everyone who uses the substance signs against the revision. Review it when the data sheet is revised, the task changes, a control fails or someone reports symptoms. List every assessment in the COSHH register template.
What is a COSHH assessment?
The risk assessment the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 require before work that could expose employees to a hazardous substance. It identifies the hazards, who could be exposed and how, and the steps needed to prevent exposure or control it adequately.
Is this COSHH assessment template free?
Yes. It is free to download, use and reuse, including on paid work and for clients, with no sign-up and no email address.
Is there a Word version of the COSHH assessment template?
Yes. Download it as a Word document to add your own letterhead and rows. The editable PDF can be typed into in any PDF reader, or printed and filled in by hand.
What should a COSHH assessment include?
The substance and its hazards from the label and safety data sheet, and any workplace exposure limit. The task, how much is used and for how long, the routes of exposure and who could be harmed. The controls in the order regulation 7 sets, PPE, emergency arrangements, any monitoring or health surveillance, actions with owners and dates, and a review date.
Does every substance need its own COSHH assessment?
Every substance hazardous to health in the work must be covered, including dust, fume and vapour the work produces. HSE's code of practice allows several low risk substances to be grouped on a single record. Where the risk is higher, a fuller record for that substance and task is expected.
How often should a COSHH assessment be reviewed?
The law says regularly, with no fixed interval. It must be reviewed at once if there is reason to suspect it is no longer valid, the work changes significantly, or monitoring shows it is needed. HSE's code of practice adds triggers such as new information on health effects, a change to the substance or plant, and a new employee with no experience of the process.
Who can carry out a COSHH assessment?
The employer is responsible, and must ensure whoever carries it out is competent. HSE's code of practice says that person should know how the work uses or creates the substance. They should have the knowledge, skills, training and experience to judge the risk and the controls, and the authority to collect the information needed.
What is the difference between a COSHH assessment and a risk assessment?
A COSHH assessment is a risk assessment limited to substances hazardous to health, made under regulation 6 of COSHH. The general risk assessment under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations covers every hazard. HSE says the COSHH assessment may be made as part of the general one, provided both are suitable and sufficient.
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How one activity on one site will be carried out. Two pages of sequence with the controls at each stage, then plant, PPE, permits, rescue and a briefing record.
Register · COSHH 2002
COSHH register
Every hazardous substance held, with its data sheet date, main hazard, WEL, storage, COSHH assessment and review date, plus update and review logs.
Next step
The COSHH register,
The COSHH register,
tied to the job.
On the platform each hazardous substance holds its safety data sheet and supplier, linked to the jobs, materials and purchase orders that use it, with review dates tracked and every version kept.