This is an update to our original investigation published on 3 June 2026. You can read that piece here.
When we broke the story of APHC Certification Ltd’s UKAS suspension four weeks ago, the industry’s initial response was largely dismissive. It was administrative, we were told. Business as usual. Nothing to see here, and I received some fiery messages from high ranking people in the renewable heating space.
A month on, the picture is still unresolved and the implications for installers and homeowners are becoming harder to brush aside.
We have now received formal responses from both UKAS and MCS, as well as a further communication from an industry insider who has been dealing directly with the consequences of the suspension on the ground. APHC has not responded to our questions. Their silence has lasted four weeks.
What UKAS told us
UKAS’s response to our questions was, in places, perhaps more revealing than they may have intended. On the question of whether compliance certificates issued before the suspension remain valid: yes, they do. Existing certificates issued prior to 28 May 2026 remain valid until their expiry date. That is a meaningful reassurance for many homeowners.
On the critical question of certificates issued during the suspension: UKAS was unambiguous. No UKAS-accredited certificates may be issued during the period of suspension. If your heat pump or solar thermal system was installed after 28 May 2026 by an APHC-registered company and you have received documentation from them, the accredited status of that documentation is in question. You should seek written clarification from your installer immediately.
On why APHC can continue operating at all despite being suspended, UKAS offered an explanation that will frustrate many. UKAS, it clarified, is not a regulator. It does not have statutory powers. Upon suspension of UKAS accreditation, a certification body may not issue UKAS-accredited certificates, but it can continue to operate and perform its business functions. In plain English: APHC can still carry out assessments and charge fees. It simply cannot attach the UKAS-accredited status to the output. Whether work carried out and certificates issued in that grey space will be recognised by Ofgem for BUS grant purposes is a question neither UKAS nor MCS has answered directly.
What UKAS did confirm is that APHC is legally obliged to accurately and promptly notify its direct customers and any relevant regulatory and government stakeholders of the suspension. APHC’s initial communication to contractors took days to arrive and described the situation as administrative in nature. Its communication to homeowners has been non-existent. That is not a minor failing and by UKAS’s own statement, it is a breach of APHC’s notification obligations.
What MCS told us (and didn’t)
MCS confirmed the core of what we reported: APHC’s accreditation has been suspended, installers who were already certified before the suspension can continue to carry out MCS-certified installations and APHC retains the power to suspend individual installers where complaints arise.
Then came the sentence that will concern every installer registered under APHC whose renewal is due: APHC cannot currently process any new applications for MCS certification and cannot assess or re-certify already certified installers whose surveillance or recertification is now due.
Read that again. If your annual assessment or renewal falls during the suspension period (which APHC says could last up to three months, meaning into late August at the earliest) you cannot be re-certified. APHC wrote to impacted installers on 1 June, MCS confirmed. But what that letter contains by way of solutions is, based on the evidence we have received, very little.
What our source on the ground is telling us
The most damning account comes from the installer who first alerted us to this story. Four weeks on, they write:
APHC has confirmed to them that if their MCS membership comes up for renewal during the suspension, they cannot be re-certified through APHC. They have been advised APHC is exploring a solution involving transfer to another certification body, but APHC cannot or will not confirm what arrangements are being put in place. In the absence of clarity, our source has concluded they will need to go through a fresh application with an alternative certification body, at their own cost in time and money.
The second issue they raise is even more significant for the longer term. APHC has still not secured UKAS approval to offer the new MCS 2025 redeveloped scheme. Every MCS-certified installer in the country faces a hard deadline of 31 March 2027 to be fully recertified under the new scheme rules. Certification bodies are required to gain UKAS accreditation specifically for the redeveloped scheme before they can transition their installers onto it. MCS itself has stated that the timeline for this transition is dependent on UKAS. APHC, which is currently suspended by UKAS under its existing accreditation, has not yet secured accreditation for the new scheme. The suspension makes that prospect significantly more uncertain.
If APHC remains suspended for any meaningful period, the installers on its books face a double jeopardy: they cannot be re-certified under the current scheme, and they cannot be transitioned to the new one. The March 2027 deadline does not move.
A pattern that should concern everyone
There is one further development that provides important context, and it has received almost no attention in the renewables and heating press.
The British Board of Agrément (construction’s leading independent certification body) had its own UKAS accreditation suspended on 26 February 2026, three months before APHC. The cause was also a change in corporate structure in 2025. UKAS’s suspension of BBA’s accreditation may last until 25 November 2026 at the latest. The National Federation of Roofing Contractors has noted that the BBA suspension has exposed the industry’s over-reliance on a single accreditation body and the strain generated during UKAS’s opaque investigatory processes.
Two major certification bodies. Both suspended within three months of each other. Both following corporate restructures in 2025. Both describing their situations as administrative or temporary. Both affecting thousands of businesses and consumers with no clear resolution timeline and minimal official communication.
The MCS certification bodies page now publicly notes that APHC is unable to make certification decisions at this time. That is as close to an official acknowledgement of the problem as the sector has received. It is not enough.
What this means for homeowners
If your installation was completed before 28 May 2026: Your compliance certificate and MCS certificate remain valid. Your BUS grant eligibility is not affected. No action required beyond keeping your documentation safe.
If your installation was completed after 28 May 2026 by an APHC-registered company: The accredited status of any certificate issued to you during the suspension period is unclear. You should contact your installer in writing and ask them to confirm the accredited status of your documentation. If you have a BUS grant application pending, contact Ofgem directly and flag the situation.
If your installer’s annual renewal falls during the suspension period: They may currently be operating on a certification that cannot be renewed through APHC. You should ask any APHC-registered installer you are considering for a new installation to confirm their current certification status and renewal date before signing a contract.
If you are waiting on a new installation: Check whether your prospective installer is registered through APHC or through one of the other MCS certification bodies (NICEIC, NAPIT, etc.) none of which are affected by this suspension.
The UKAS sanctions register remains publicly accessible at ukas.com. APHC Certification Ltd, reference 7576, remains listed under imposed suspensions.
We continue to seek comment from APHC. Their silence, now entering its fifth week, tells its own story.
