Planning & documents
What is an F10 notification?
An F10 is the notification a client gives the Health and Safety Executive for a construction project that exceeds the notification thresholds in CDM 2015, submitted before the construction phase begins.
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<img src="https://buildoptix.co.uk/glossary/f10-notification/diagram.svg" alt="F10 notification — diagram from BuildOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://buildoptix.co.uk/glossary/f10-notification">What is an F10 notification?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://buildoptix.co.uk">BuildOptix</a>
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</figure>It is a client duty rather than a contractor one, which is among the most commonly misplaced responsibilities on a project. Contractors frequently submit it on the client's behalf, which is practical but does not move the duty.
Notification does not itself change the safety requirements. A notifiable project has to be run the same way a non-notifiable one does; what changes is that the regulator knows it is happening.
The notice has to be kept accurate. Projects extend and change, and a notification describing a programme that no longer exists is worth correcting rather than leaving.
What goes wrong in practice
- Assumed to be the principal contractor's job, so on a project where nobody assumed it, it is not made.
- Submitted after work started, which the dates record.
- Never updated when the project extended well beyond its notified duration.
- Treated as the compliance step, with the underlying duties considered discharged by it.