The actual source documents, free to download, each with its edition and date so you know it's current.
These are the documents everything else is based on. ACOP L8 is the Approved Code of Practice — it has special legal status, so if you're prosecuted and didn't follow it, you have to show you achieved the same standard another way. HSG274 is the technical guidance sitting underneath it, in three parts. Both are published free by the HSE.
Check the edition before you rely on anything. Copies of these documents are scattered across the internet on company websites, and a great many of them are years out of date — superseded editions still being handed out as current. Every file below shows its edition and publication date, and links to the HSE page so you can confirm for yourself.
Approved Code of Practice and guidance. Covers risk assessment, the role of the responsible person, the written scheme of control, reviewing control measures, and the duties of those supplying water systems.
DOWNLOAD PDF Check on HSE →HSG274 is the second edition, published March 2024. The HSE notes that in this edition Part 1 alone was reviewed and updated; Parts 2 and 3 carry forward unchanged.
This is the part that covers ordinary hot and/or cold water systems — the one that applies to most premises, and the one EASYlegionella is built to.
DOWNLOAD PDF Check on HSE →Cooling towers and evaporative condensers. If your site has one, it is outside what a self-serve assessment can cover and needs a specialist.
DOWNLOAD PDF Check on HSE →Spa pools, humidifiers, water features and other less common risk systems.
DOWNLOAD PDF Check on HSE →Which one applies to you? If your premises has an ordinary hot and/or cold water system, it's ACOP L8 plus HSG274 Part 2. Parts 1 and 3 cover higher-risk systems most premises don't have.
HSE sets the standard. EASYlegionella meets it for you — risk assessment, written scheme of control, quick and easy training modules and a month-by-month monitoring schedule for each unique site.
Join the launch listContains public sector information published by the Health and Safety Executive and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These documents are reproduced unaltered. EASYlegionella is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive. Editions shown were current at the date of publication of this page — always confirm against the HSE links above before relying on them.