Verify

Check a PHW certificate before you rely on it

Every certificate PHW issues carries a QR code that opens a live, checkable record. A site can confirm who was assessed, on what, and when, without contacting PHW.

Open the verify site See a sample record

Which certificate are you checking?

PHW issues two kinds. Each has its own sample record below.

Pubs and licensed premises

Bar and shop staff

Underage sales, drugs awareness and DPS support certificates, for staff at a pub, bar, club, off-licence or shop with a premises licence.

See a bar staff record →
Machines and safety

Machine operators

Forklift, telescopic handler, excavator, abrasive wheels and the other machine and site safety certificates.

See a machine operator record →

How to check a certificate

Two ways to reach the same live record.

Scan

Scan the QR code

Every certificate carries a QR code. Scanning it opens that person's verify page directly.

Look up

Use the reference

Each certificate shows a reference. Open the verify site and enter it to reach the same page without scanning anything.

Open the verify site →

What the page shows

The same detail for every operator, so a site can check anyone the same way.

Name
Qualifications held
Certificate references
Award and renewal dates
The assessor's decision
What stays private

Date of birth and home address are kept off the verify page. A site checks qualifications and nothing more personal.

Pubs and licensed premises

Staff trained under a licensed premises pack get a certificate with a QR code. It opens a live record of who was trained, on what, and when.

A licensing officer or trading standards can check it without asking you to find a filing cabinet. The certificate names the course, the person, the premises and the date, and it is issued only when the questions, the written test and the sign-off are all complete.

Sample bar staff record · SAMPLE

An illustration of what a record for a member of bar staff carries, using the underage sales course. The person and the premises are made up. It is a picture of the layout, not a live record.

Who was trainedA made-up member of bar staff (SAMPLE)
PremisesA made-up pub (SAMPLE)
On whatUnderage sales: the staff training pack and the briefing sheets
WhenThe date of the training and the date the certificate was issued
Questions and written testKnowledge questions put and recorded, then a written test answered by hand and marked against a separate answer key
Sign-offConfirmed against the signed authorisation to sell alcohol
The licensed premises packs Pubs and licensed premises

Machine operators: try the sample

This one is for machine and site safety certificates. A live, working example of a machine operator's record, marked SAMPLE throughout, so anyone can see what a real verify page looks like before checking a real certificate.

Sample operator · SAMPLE

A made-up operator with a full set of certificates, theory and practical records, site evidence statements and QR codes. Each operator also has a phone card with its own QR code.

Open the sample operator pack

If something does not match

If a certificate does not match what its verify page shows, report it.

Report a mismatch to [email protected]