Quality standard
Repair standards — the audited schemes that say a workshop’s equipment, training and methods have been assessed against a written specification.
- BS10125 · British Standards Institution
- ISO 9001 Quality Management · ISO
- Kitemark (PAS 125) · British Standards Institution
- Thatcham Approved · Thatcham Research
Specialist skill
Specialist skills — held by individual technicians rather than the building, which is why we count certificates rather than take a shop’s word for the number.
- ADAS Calibration Certified
- Aluminium Structural Repair
- ATA Accredited Technicians · Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI)
- Bonded Structural Adhesive Repair
- EV / High-Voltage Certified · IMI (Level 3)
- SMART Repair Certified · SMART Repair Association
- Steel Structural (MIG/Spot) Certified
Trade body
Trade bodies — membership organisations with codes of practice, inspections and, usually, a route to dispute resolution.
- Fleet / Leasing Approved Repairer
- Motability Approved Repairer
- NBRA Member · National Body Repair Association
- RMI Member · Retail Motor Industry Federation
- SMART Repair Association Member
- VBRA Member · Vehicle Builders & Repairers Association
Compliance
Compliance and cover — licences, insurance and vetting schemes. Less exciting than a welding qualification, and the ones most worth checking exist.
- Carbon Neutral (ISO 14068-1) · ISO
- Carbon Neutral (PAS 2060) · British Standards Institution
- DVSA Registered (MOT Station) · DVSA
- ISO 14001 Environmental
- ISO 45001 Health & Safety · ISO
- Public Liability Insurance
- SERMI Approved (Vehicle Security Access) · RMI Standards & Certification (RMISC)
- The Motor Ombudsman Accredited
- Waste Carrier's Licence · Environment Agency
Why we check them
Any bodyshop can put “BS10125” on a website. Nobody checks, which means a shop that has paid for the audits, the equipment and the training looks identical online to one that has paid for none of it.
So on this directory an accreditation only appears once we have seen the certificate for it. No document, no badge — and we re-check them, because a certificate that was true three years ago isn’t a fact about the shop today.