Gas Safe vs CORGI: What Is the Difference and Why It Changed in 2009
The history of CORGI gas registration, why it was replaced by Gas Safe Register in 2009, and what the change means for checking engineer credentials today.
What Was CORGI?
CORGI — the Council for Registered Gas Installers — was the gas registration body responsible for maintaining the register of competent gas engineers in the United Kingdom from 1991 to 2009. CORGI was appointed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1994 as the body responsible for registering businesses and individuals who were competent to work on gas fittings. From 1991, it was a legal requirement for all businesses carrying out gas work to be CORGI registered. Engineers and businesses who met the competency requirements were issued a CORGI registration card, which consumers were advised to ask for before any gas work was carried out.
The CORGI logo — a red flame with the words "CORGI registered" — became a well-known consumer safety mark during the 1990s and 2000s. Advertising campaigns reinforced the message to check for the CORGI card before allowing gas work on your property. For nearly two decades, CORGI registration was the standard verification method for gas engineers in the UK.
Why Did CORGI Become Gas Safe Register?
In 2006, the HSE conducted a review of the gas safety registration scheme and invited bids for the contract to operate it. The contract was awarded to Capita Gas Registration and Ancillary Services, trading as Gas Safe Register, which took over from CORGI as the statutory gas registration body on 1 April 2009. The change was contractual — the HSE decided to retender the contract rather than simply renew it with CORGI. There was no fundamental technical or safety-based reason for the change in the registration body itself; the underlying legal requirements (set by the Gas Safety Regulations) remained the same.
Gas Safe Register introduced several improvements over the CORGI system. The Gas Safe ID card contains more detailed information about the specific gas work categories each engineer is registered for, making it easier for consumers to verify that the engineer is qualified for the specific job in hand. The GasSafeRegister.co.uk website provides a free online verification tool — enter the registration number and the site returns the engineer name, employer, expiry date, and work categories. This online verification was not available in the same way under CORGI.
Is a CORGI Certificate Still Valid?
CORGI ceased to be the statutory gas registration body on 1 April 2009. A Gas Safety Certificate (CP12) issued by a CORGI-registered engineer before that date remains historically valid as documentation of the gas safety check that was carried out at the time. However, a CORGI registration card does not constitute current Gas Safe registration. Any gas engineer working on gas appliances today must hold current Gas Safe registration — CORGI membership that lapsed in 2009 or later is irrelevant to whether an engineer is currently authorised to carry out gas work. If an engineer shows you a CORGI card as evidence of their current qualification, do not accept it — ask for their Gas Safe ID card and verify at GasSafeRegister.co.uk.
Why Some Older Homeowners Still Ask for "CORGI"
The CORGI brand was deeply embedded in consumer consciousness after 18 years of HSE-backed public safety campaigns. Many homeowners, particularly those who have not needed gas work recently, still use "CORGI" as shorthand for gas safe registration. This is not a problem in itself — if you ask a gas engineer if they are "CORGI registered" and they understand you mean Gas Safe registered, they will show you their Gas Safe card. The risk is in misunderstanding what a correct response looks like: the answer to "are you CORGI registered?" should be "No, CORGI no longer exists — here is my Gas Safe registration card," not "yes" with a long-expired CORGI card.
What to Check Today When Hiring a Gas Engineer
The current verification procedure for any gas engineer in the UK is: ask for the Gas Safe ID card; check the registration number, employer name, and expiry date on the card; verify the registration independently at GasSafeRegister.co.uk; and confirm that the work categories on the card match the job you need done. The Gas Safe card carries the engineer photograph, a hologram, the registration number, the employer, the expiry date, and the categories of gas work the engineer is registered for. The categories are listed on the reverse of the card and include: domestic gas (natural gas), domestic gas (LPG), commercial gas, cooker connections, and other specialist categories. Make this check before any gas work begins — it takes two minutes and is the most important step in ensuring that gas work on your property is carried out legally and safely.
Keep reading