FENSA Registered Installers: What It Means for Your Windows and Doors

FENSA is a government-authorised competent person scheme for replacement windows and doors in England. An installer registered with a scheme like FENSA or CERTASS can self-certify that replacement work meets Building Regulations, rather than the homeowner applying to the local authority's building control and paying for an inspection.

Replacement windows and external doors count as controlled work. They have to meet requirements covering thermal performance, safety glazing in critical locations, ventilation and, where relevant, escape openings from habitable rooms. Registration means the installer takes responsibility for meeting those requirements and notifying the work.

Once registered work is notified, a compliance certificate is issued for the property. It is the evidence that the replacement windows or doors met Building Regulations when they were fitted.

It matters most when you sell. Buyers' solicitors routinely ask for certificates covering windows and doors replaced in recent years. A missing certificate can hold up a sale, lead to questions from the buyer's side, or mean an indemnity policy has to be arranged. Keeping the certificate with your house documents avoids that.

Ask which competent person scheme the company is registered with, and check the registration on the scheme's own website rather than relying on a logo. Confirm that the people actually fitting your windows are covered by that registration.

Ask how and when the work will be notified, and make sure the certificate will be issued for your address. If a company suggests the job does not need certifying, or offers a lower price to skip it, treat that as a warning sign.

313 Glass installation work is carried out by FENSA and CERTASS registered fitters. The work is self-certified under Building Regulations and you receive the compliance certificate for your records once the installation is complete. No separate building control application is needed for the replacement work.

From the free survey onwards, our fitters specify with the regulations in mind: which windows need trickle vents, where toughened or laminated glass is required, and which upstairs window must open wide enough for escape.

Registration covers the work across our range: made-to-measure uPVC windows, composite and uPVC doors, and aluminium only for bi-fold and sliding doors. Finance is available through our FCA-authorised arrangement (FCA 1055332).

If you are selling and cannot find a certificate for windows fitted by a registered installer, the scheme that registered the work can usually supply a replacement copy. Knowing who fitted the windows and roughly when makes that much quicker, so keep your quotation with the certificate.