Do you need a licence to remove an asbestos garage roof?

Corrugated garage roofs of a certain age can be asbestos cement, a hard sheet made from cement and asbestos fibre. HSE's page on non-licensed work lists asbestos cement products, among them roof sheeting and rainwater goods, as jobs that need no licence. The condition is gentle handling: the pieces come away intact and are never snapped, drilled or smashed. A garage can have asbestos cement in more than one place, from the roof sheets to the gutters and downpipes, so one job may take in several items.

The same page confirms that cement which has aged outdoors but is otherwise sound still counts. Moss, staining and surface wear alone do not push a roof into the licensed category. Non-licensed does not mean unregulated, though. HSE's handling and waste guidance still applies in full. Our asbestos garage roof removal page describes how a job is run, from the first photographs to the last load leaving your drive.

If the sheeting is substantially damaged, or breaks up while it is being worked on, HSE's guidance moves the job into the next category, notifiable non-licensed work. Notice must be given before work starts, and health records for the people doing the job must be kept for 40 years. HSE's practical guidance on cement roofs adds that if the sheets begin to break up and give off significant dust, the job counts as notifiable.

That is why a roof which looks tired but intact is a different job from one with collapsed sheets. Under HSE's rules for the notifiable group, notice goes in before the work and records of the work are kept for 40 years, so the category changes the paperwork as well as the method. A storm, a fallen branch or a footstep can change the category overnight. Our answer on notifiable non-licensed work sets the steps out in full, including what notice involves and who gives it.

Some parts of a garage may contain a different material altogether. Asbestos insulating board, usually shortened to AIB, turns up in places such as external soffits. HSE notes that nobody can reliably separate AIB from look-alike boards without analysis, and that most AIB removal is licensed work, a different league from lifting cement sheets.

The practical point is that a garage roof job can involve more than one asbestos material, and each carries its own rules. Sampling and analysis should settle what is what before anyone starts pulling things apart. Our guides on asbestos garage gutters and on whether your garage roof is asbestos cover the other items you may find around the same roof.

People often mix up two different permissions. A licence for certain asbestos work comes under HSE's rules. A waste carrier registration is a separate requirement for anyone who transports waste for others. GOV.UK sets the upper-tier registration at £191.02 for a new application, with renewal every three years at £130.25.

Waste from a home needs a consignment note as well, completed by the contractor in the role of waste producer. HSE adds that the waste should be wrapped twice and labelled, sheet material should go in a skip that locks, and none of it should be mixed with ordinary rubbish. Our asbestos sheet disposal page explains where it ends up, and why the paperwork counts for as much as the lifting.

Ask which category the firm believes your roof falls into, and why. A good answer refers to the condition of the sheets, the HSE categories and the waste route. Ask who will carry the waste, and ask to see the registration details and the consignment note afterwards. A firm that cannot show a carrier registration should not be moving your sheets. Three questions are enough to start with:

• Which HSE category is my roof in, and why?
• Who is taking the sheets away, and where do they go?
• What will I receive in writing when the job is finished?

A confident, specific answer to all three is a good sign.

Do not accept a casual assurance that it is only cement and so nothing to worry about. The right answer is specific and written down, and the quote is the place where the category and the waste route should be stated. Do not let anyone hurry you into a quick start. A fragile roof gives way without warning, and rushed work spreads fibres. Our survey ends with pictures of the roof, a plain account of what they show, and a written total. For the money side, read our asbestos garage roof cost answer, and for the bigger picture visit our garage roof replacement page.