Quick answer
Review a COSHH assessment regularly and promptly when its assumptions or controls may no longer be valid. Relevant triggers include changed products, methods, equipment, exposure, monitoring results and incidents. There is no single assessment expiry date that makes waiting safe when a significant change or failure occurs.
Understand the review duty and jurisdiction
GB COSHH regulation 6 requires regular review and prompt review for specified validity, significant-change and monitoring triggers. It does not set one annual expiry for every assessment.
HSENI guidance explains the NI framework and review after changes, problems, accidents or near misses. Apply the relevant instrument and use competent judgement for the work.
Identify meaningful review triggers
| Trigger | What could change |
|---|---|
| Product/formulation/supplier | Hazards, instructions or exposure controls. |
| Method or equipment | Release, contact, quantities and control effectiveness. |
| People or location | Exposure conditions, competence or additional needs. |
| Failure/incident/near miss | Evidence that assumptions or precautions are inadequate. |
| Monitoring or health information | Need for control improvement or reassessment with competent input. |
Keep access to relevant current supplier information and actual task evidence. A new safety data sheet is a prompt to assess what changed, not proof that the existing assessment is either invalid or still sufficient.
Review the real task and controls
Observe the method safely, consult the people doing it and compare it with the assessment. Check maintenance, actual use, protection, training and emergency arrangements. Include contractors and non-routine activities where relevant.
Illustrative example: a job previously done by wiping is now done by spraying. The product name is unchanged, but exposure may differ. Reassess before relying on the old precautions.
Record a useful decision and implement changes
Identify the version, reviewer/competence, reason, evidence, changed conclusions and action owners. If the review confirms no change is needed, retain the rationale rather than merely adding a new date.
Update instructions, equipment and staff learning where needed, then verify implementation. A reviewed document cannot protect people if the actual work still follows the superseded method.
Set a proportionate regular-review arrangement
Choose scheduled checks according to risk, change rate and control reliability, with earlier event-triggered review. Assign deputies and a way to notice overdue actions. Do not let the calendar review replace daily fault reporting.
Use the existing cleaning COSHH guide for a task-based example. Review related assessments when a common product, system or control problem affects several tasks.
Next steps
- Set proportionate regular review and event triggers.
- Compare the actual task and current evidence with assumptions.
- Record the competent decision and implement necessary changes.
- Verify controls and review related work where relevant.
Read the official practical guidance — Use the current source alongside the procedures for your own business.