Asbestos surveys and testing

You cannot tell whether a material contains asbestos just by looking at it, only a sample and a lab result can. This page explains what an asbestos survey actually is, the two kinds, whether you need one, and what to check before you choose who does it. We are not a laboratory and do not carry out formal surveys ourselves.

This page will not book you a survey. If you just want to know what one particular material is, rather than a full survey of a building, send us a photo, or let us come and look, and we will tell you plainly what we think it is.

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Before anything else

You cannot tell by looking

It can be difficult to identify asbestos, because it is very often mixed with other materials rather than sitting on its own.
Two identical-looking ceilings, floors or pipes on the same street can be different materials underneath.
The only way to actually confirm it is to take a sample and have it analysed. Appearance, age of the building and a confident guess are not a substitute for that.
Asbestos was in wide use until it was banned in 1999, so any building built or refurbished before 2000, commercial or domestic, may contain it somewhere.

Already had material tested and know what you have? Go straight to removal or collection instead of a survey.

A management survey and a refurbishment or demolition survey are not the same job

Management survey

Aimed at everyday use of a building rather than building work. It produces a written record of what is there, its condition and where it is, so it can be managed rather than disturbed by accident during ordinary maintenance.

Refurbishment or demolition survey

A different, more intrusive job, needed before structural work starts. It has to find material hidden inside the building fabric, not just what is visible, which means lifting coverings and opening up voids that a management survey leaves alone. The area usually has to be empty while it happens.

Which one you need

If you are planning to knock through a wall, strip a room back or take a building down, a management survey will not have looked hard enough. If you just want to know what is in a home you already live in and are not about to disturb anything, it usually will.

Not sure which applies

Tell us what the work actually is and we will tell you which survey it sounds like it needs, rather than you having to work out the difference yourself.

A formal survey is not always the tool the question needs

These are the situations each option actually fits, not a sales pitch for the biggest one.

If you let out a property or run a business from it, the legal duty to manage asbestos means a written survey and register normally have to exist before anything else, so a formal survey is not optional.
If you are about to knock through a wall, strip a room back or take a building down, you need a refurbishment or demolition survey specifically. There is a legal requirement for all reasonably practicable asbestos to be found and removed before that kind of work starts.
If you own and live in the property yourself, are not planning any structural work, and just want to know whether one particular material is asbestos, a full survey is usually more than the question needs. Send us a photo of that material, or let us come and look, and we will tell you what we think it is.
If nothing is being disturbed and you are simply curious about the whole building rather than one material, a management survey is still the only way to get a definitive written answer, but nothing inside your own private home forces that on a fixed timescale.

What to check before you book a survey with anyone

01

Check they are accredited

HSE strongly recommends using an accredited asbestos surveying organisation, and UKAS is the only recognised accreditation body in Great Britain for this. Ask, and check it if you are not sure. Source: HSE, arranging an asbestos survey, checked 13 Sep 2026.
02

Ask who analyses the samples

The surveyor and the lab that tests the samples are not always the same organisation. Whoever does the analysis has to be a trained, accredited analyst, and asking is a fair question before you book anyone.
03

Ask which survey they are proposing, and why

A management survey and a refurbishment or demolition survey are different jobs. Whoever you choose should be able to say which one your situation needs and explain the reason, not just quote a price for "a survey".
04

Get the report in writing

A proper survey produces a written register or report showing what was found, where, and its condition. That is the document a management plan or a removal job gets built on, so make sure it is included.

What happens after the report lands

Note

If it comes back clear, or sound and undisturbed, that may be the end of it for now

If a survey or a sample finds nothing, or finds material in good condition that nobody is about to disturb, there is often nothing further to do straight away. If it finds something that needs to come out or be sealed, tell us what the report says and we will look at it the same way as anything else on this site.

We will tell you plainly what it is and what needs doing. If it turns out to need somebody with a licence for that specific part, we will tell you that too, and what to look for when you are choosing them.

What people ask about surveys

Is it worth doing an asbestos survey?

If you are buying, selling, renovating or planning any building work on a property built or refurbished before 2000, yes: it replaces a guess with a written answer. If nothing is being disturbed and you are simply curious, it is still the only way to actually know, but the urgency is lower.

How does a surveyor check for asbestos?

By looking at the areas that matter for the type of survey, and taking samples of anything suspect. The sample then goes to a laboratory for analysis, since looking alone cannot confirm asbestos either way, whoever is doing the looking.

Is it a legal requirement to have an asbestos survey?

For a landlord or a commercial premises, effectively yes: the legal duty to manage asbestos requires a register and a management plan, which in practice means a survey has to happen first. Inside your own private home, there is no equivalent blanket legal requirement, though a survey before major structural work is still the only way to know what you are about to disturb.

How often do you need an asbestos survey done?

There is no fixed rule for a private home. For a dutyholder managing a commercial building, the management plan built from the survey has to be reviewed at least every 12 months, or sooner if the material's condition changes. Outside that framework, the honest trigger is a change: damage, planned work, or simply not having one at all yet.

Can you do your own asbestos survey?

Not to a standard you could rely on. Surveys should be carried out by a competent surveyor who can demonstrate the skills and experience for it, and the sample analysis has to be done by accredited analysts. Looking yourself will not confirm anything either way, which is the whole problem this page opens with.

What houses are most likely to have asbestos?

Any house built or refurbished before 2000, since that is when asbestos use was banned. Age alone does not tell you where in a particular house it is or whether it is a problem, which is what a survey is actually for.

A survey, or a look at one material, tells you what is there. These pages cover what happens next.

Tell us what you are trying to find out

If it is one material you are unsure about, send a photo or let us come and look, and we will tell you plainly what we think it is and what needs doing. If it sounds like you need a full survey of a building, this page has told you what that involves and what to check before you choose who does it.