Why the scheme requires a qualified and licensed assessor, how licences are scoped by territory and by building sector, and how that credential differs from the Accredited Professional.
BREEAM, a registered trade mark of BRE, uses a licensed-assessor model so that formal assessments cannot be self-declared by the project team, building owner or design consultant. The scheme requires the assessment to be carried out by a person who is both qualified and licensed for the relevant territory, building sector and assessment route. Training, professional advice and design support do not by themselves confer authority to submit an assessment or seek certification.
A whole-building rating combines many technical subjects, evidence types and professional judgements. Allowing a project to award its own rating would create an obvious conflict between the desire to achieve a target and the need to apply the method consistently. The licensed-assessor model separates the project's claims from the formal validation of those claims.
The project team remains responsible for design, construction, operation and the production of evidence. It can maintain an internal score forecast and identify likely credits, but that forecast has no certified status. Formal recognition depends on the licensed assessor reviewing the evidence, applying the relevant method and submitting the completed assessment through quality assurance.
This arrangement does not mean that the assessor designs the building or guarantees the rating. The assessor interprets and applies the scheme. The project team must still make the decisions, perform the analyses, complete the work and retain the documentation on which the assessment depends.
Completion of assessor training is an important step, but training is not the same as holding a licence. Current training information explains that successful completion of the course and examination qualifies a person to apply for a licence. It does not state that passing the course automatically creates a licensed assessor.
Licensing adds formal controls beyond knowledge gained through training. A licensed assessor is connected to an assessor organisation, listed within the scheme's professional system and subject to monitoring and quality requirements. Only a licensed assessor assigned to the asset can submit the registration and assessment through the current platform.
The distinction protects against ambiguous claims such as trained, experienced or familiar with the scheme. Those descriptions may indicate knowledge, but they do not establish current authority to carry out and submit a formal assessment. The relevant question is whether the individual and organisation hold the correct active licence for the particular assessment.
Assessor licences are scoped by territory. The principal distinction for the building standards addressed here is between UK and International licensing. A licence for one territory does not automatically authorise work in the other.
For a UAE project, the relevant route is International because the project is outside the United Kingdom and no UAE National Scheme Operator is listed by BRE. A person holding only the corresponding UK licence would not have the required territorial scope for that UAE assessment.
Territory is therefore not a matter of where the assessor happens to be physically located when reviewing documents. It concerns the assessment system, technical context and licence under which the project is registered. The assessor's published listing and licence details should correspond to the territory of the asset.
Licences are also separated by building sector. Authority to assess one sector does not automatically cover another. A licence applicable to a commercial building type, for example, cannot be assumed to cover every residential, educational, healthcare or other sector route.
This sector scope reflects differences in building use, technical expectations and assessment applicability. Although the overall framework is recognisable across the scheme, the details of what is assessed and how evidence is interpreted can vary with asset type.
A project should therefore check more than whether an assessor's name appears in a professional directory. The listing needs to show the relevant scheme, territory and building sector. A valid licence in an unrelated sector does not provide authority for the proposed assessment.
The licence must also match the scheme being used. New Construction, In-Use, and Refurbishment and Fit-Out address different lifecycle circumstances. Competence and authorisation for one route should not be treated as universal coverage of all others.
This matters where an organisation works across a portfolio. The professional suitable for a new development may not hold the licence required for an operational existing-asset assessment. Similarly, a fit-out assessment can require a different licensed scope from a whole new building.
The project boundary, lifecycle stage and intended standard should therefore be settled before appointment is confirmed. An assessor cannot resolve an incorrect licence by describing the work under a more convenient category.
An existing UK or International licence for a particular scheme covers all versions of that scheme within the licensed territory. A new licence is not required solely because a project moves from an earlier version to a newer version of the same scheme.
This continuity prevents every technical update from becoming a complete relicensing exercise. It also allows an assessor to continue working on assessments registered under earlier versions while taking on projects under the current version, provided the underlying scheme and territory remain within the licence.
The rule does not extend a licence into another scheme, territory or building sector. Version coverage should not be confused with universal authority. The licence still needs to match the assessment route and asset type.
Although a new licence is not required for a version change within the same scheme and territory, a version update training module is required. Current Version 7 information states that existing licensed New Construction assessors are enrolled in the relevant update module.
The training addresses the changes in the newer technical framework. These can include revised issue structures, evidence expectations, calculation methods and minimum standards. Existing experience with an earlier version is useful, but it is not a substitute for understanding the update.
The distinction is therefore clear: the licence continues, while the assessor's knowledge is updated through the required module. A project relying on a newer version should establish that the assessor has completed the applicable update training as well as holding the correct licence.
The Accredited Professional credential, commonly abbreviated as AP, is distinct from the Assessor role. The AP sits with the design or delivery team and supports the integration of the scheme's objectives into project decisions. The role can help coordinate sustainability work, identify responsibilities and maintain communication between the project team and the assessor.
The AP does not replace the licensed assessor. Holding the AP credential does not by itself authorise a person to carry out the formal assessment or apply for certification. An AP can perform those functions only where the same person separately holds the relevant assessor licence.
This separation reflects two different purposes. The AP helps the project respond to the framework during design, construction or operation. The assessor independently applies the formal method, judges the evidence and submits the assessment. One role supports delivery; the other performs verification within the licensed process.
A person may sometimes hold both credentials, but the roles remain conceptually separate. Where the same individual provides design-stage support and acts as assessor, potential conflicts of interest need to be identified and managed through the scheme's quality procedures.
The assessment submission must make the roles clear. The assessor's judgement cannot be replaced by participation in the design team, and close involvement in project decisions does not remove the need for objective evidence.
Projects should therefore define the scope of each appointment. Sustainability coordination, technical design, evidence collation and formal assessment may involve related activities, but their responsibilities should not be blurred in contracts, meeting records or public descriptions.
The assessor submits the assessment, but the quality audit is carried out by BRE Global Ltd. The certification decision belongs to that body rather than to the assessor. An assessor's calculated rating remains subject to successful quality assurance.
BRE Global Ltd is accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service against BS EN ISO/IEC 17065:2012 for the relevant certification activities. Its scheme-related activities are aligned to ISO 9001. This provides a formal third-party framework for auditing assessment work and issuing certification.
The separation creates three layers of responsibility. The project team delivers the asset and evidence. The licensed assessor evaluates and submits the assessment. The certification body audits the submission and decides whether certification can be issued.
The certification body publishes a searchable listing of licensed assessors and APs. The listing identifies professional status and relevant scheme information, allowing a project to distinguish a current licence from a training certificate or unsupported claim.
Professional status should be checked for the exact assessment being proposed. A name in the directory is not enough where the listed territory, sector or scheme differs from the project requirement. Licence validity should also remain current for the duration of the assessment.
The check protects both the project and the integrity of later claims. An assessment prepared by someone without the correct licence cannot be converted into a valid certification merely because the technical work appears competent.
The licensed-assessor model prevents a rating from being reduced to a self-completed checklist. It requires current qualification, the correct licence scope, evidence-based professional judgement and external quality assurance.
For UAE projects, the practical implications are specific. The assessor must hold the relevant International licence, the correct building-sector and scheme scope, and the required version update training where a newer version is used. An AP credential alone is not sufficient.
The final certificate is issued only after the assessor's submission has passed the certification body's process. The model therefore preserves the distinction between designing for a rating, assessing the evidence and making the certification decision.
Assessment under the scheme is not something a project team can self-declare. BRE's published process has five steps: find a licensed assessor, register the project, undertake the assessment, undergo a quality assurance check, and receive certification. The assessment is validated by an assessor who is qualified and licensed by BRE, and the quality audit is then carried out by BRE Global Ltd, which is accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service against BS EN ISO/IEC 17065:2012 and aligns its activities to ISO 9001. Licences are scoped by territory and by sector, so an assessor licensed for one territory or building sector is not thereby licensed for another. This site is independent of BRE and of every licensed assessor, holds no licence of any kind, and neither assesses nor certifies anything.
No. The assessment is validated by an assessor who is qualified and licensed by BRE, and the certification decision is made by BRE Global Ltd.
No. An existing territory licence covers all versions of that scheme in that territory, although a separate version update training module applies.
No. Accredited Professional is a distinct credential from Assessor, and it sits with the design team rather than with verification.
This is an independent information resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to BRE. BREEAM and BRE are the trademarks of their respective owners and are used here only to identify the scheme described.