Are you ready for ACS assessment?
Seventeen checks covering the statutory gates and the indicator areas an SIA Approved Contractor Scheme assessor scores you against, with a readiness score, a per-area breakdown and a printable gap list.
ACS is scored against indicators rather than simply passed, so treat the score as a picture of where your evidence is thin. Nothing is submitted or stored.
Who needs it
Security businesses applying for, or already holding, SIA approved contractor status in manned guarding, door supervision, key holding, CCTV or close protection. Buyers increasingly treat ACS as the entry ticket to public-sector and large private frameworks.
If you are approaching your first application, or your score has drifted between annual assessments, this is where to start.
What’s included
17 checks across 7 sections
Answer In place, Partly or Not yet for each. You get a score, a per-section breakdown and a printable gap list. Nothing is submitted or stored.
Frequently asked questions
Is ACS a pass or a fail?
Not quite. Your assessment body scores you against the scheme's indicators and the SIA sets the threshold for approval, so two approved contractors can sit far apart on score. Most buyers now ask for the score, not just the badge, which is why the thin areas in this assessment matter commercially, not only for approval.
How does ACS relate to BS 7858 and COP 119?
BS 7858 is the screening standard ACS expects you to work to. COP 119 (also published as NCP 119) covers the labour supply chain, the staff you buy in rather than employ. ACS looks at your own service delivery; the other two sit underneath it, and our BS 10119 tool covers that side.
We are already approved. Is this useful?
Yes, and it is the more common use. Scores drift as contracts change and staff turn over. Running this between annual assessments shows where evidence has gone stale before an assessor finds it.
Can you guarantee approval?
No, and nobody honestly can: the assessment body decides. What we do is prepare the evidence, run a mock assessment against the workbook and tell you plainly where you stand before you pay for the visit.
How we work with you
Typical timescale: 6 to 12 weeks to first assessment
Scoping
Does the standard apply, to which parts of the business, and is there a cheaper route?
Gap assessment
Your current arrangements against the requirements, clause by clause.
Implementation
Documentation, process changes and staff guidance.
Handover
A system you can run, evidence and defend at audit.
Why choose SISQS consultants
Credibility you can check, not claims you have to take on trust.
4.9/5 from 380+ genuine reviews
Real customer reviews across vetting, ACS, inductions and support. Read them on the Reviews page; we never manufacture authority.
250+ contractors accredited
Accreditation outcomes across ACS, SSIP schemes and ISO standards, achieved with our support.
Positive feedback from industry assessors
Assessor feedback on client evidence packs we prepared. We say “feedback”, not “endorsement”: no assessor or regulator endorses consultants.
We work from the official sources
Our advice tracks the standards bodies, the SIA, SSIP and certification-body publications, and we link you to them so you can verify everything yourself.
Consultancy plus platform
We are the only route where the consultant who prepared your evidence also gives you the system that maintains it year-round.
Straight answers on scope
If a standard does not apply to you, or a cheaper route exists, we say so. We distinguish Certified, Accredited, Aligned and Supported precisely.
Get a quote for ACS audit support
Free initial consultation. Talk to a real compliance consultant today: bring your printed summary and we will work from it.
★ 4.9/5 from 380+ genuine reviews · 500+ clients