If you provide drug and alcohol testing services to the UK rail industry, you have almost certainly heard of RISQS. If you are just entering the market — or thinking about it — RISQS accreditation is likely the first major question you need to answer.
This article explains what RISQS is, why it matters for D&A testing providers, and what it means for your documentation and compliance obligations in practice.
What is RISQS?
RISQS stands for the Rail Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme. It is the formal mechanism by which the UK rail industry verifies that suppliers in its supply chain meet appropriate standards of competence, safety, and compliance.
RISQS is administered by Achilles, a third-party supplier qualification company. It covers a wide range of supplier categories — from engineering contractors and maintenance services to occupational health and drug & alcohol testing.
The scheme is directly linked to working in the Network Rail supply chain. If you want to provide D&A testing services to Network Rail, its principal contractors, or the broader rail industry, RISQS accreditation is effectively a prerequisite.
Why does RISQS matter for D&A testing providers?
It is how clients find you
The RISQS register is publicly searchable. Rail contractors and employers use it to find accredited D&A testing providers. If you are not on the register, you are invisible to a significant portion of your potential market.
It is often a contractual requirement
Many rail contractors include RISQS accreditation as a contractual requirement when appointing testing providers. Without it, you cannot bid for or hold certain contracts — regardless of your technical capability.
It validates your processes
The RISQS audit process assesses your operational procedures, including how you conduct drug and alcohol testing, how you document results, and how you manage your collection officers' qualifications. An accredited provider has demonstrated that their processes meet the industry's minimum standards.
It signals credibility to clients
For smaller testing providers competing against larger organisations, RISQS accreditation is a credibility signal. It tells rail employers that you have been independently assessed and meet the required standards.
What does RISQS require from D&A testing providers?
The specifics of the RISQS assessment depend on the supplier category, but for drug and alcohol testing providers, the key areas typically assessed include:
Competence and qualifications
- Collection officers must hold recognised D&A collection qualifications
- The organisation must demonstrate that it manages competence records and training
Procedures and documentation
- The provider must have documented procedures for conducting testing
- These procedures must align with the relevant standards (Network Rail NR/L2/OHS/00039)
- Records of testing must be maintained and retrievable for audit
Equipment management
- Calibration records for breath testing devices
- POCT device type approval documentation
Data management and confidentiality
- Procedures for handling sensitive personal data (test results)
- GDPR compliance
The RISQS audit process is not a one-time event. Accreditation must be renewed, typically annually, and the audit may require evidence that your processes are being followed in practice — not just on paper.
The documentation problem
Here is where many smaller testing providers run into difficulty.
The RISQS audit may ask you to demonstrate that your documentation processes are robust. This is easy to say in a procedure document. It is harder to demonstrate when your records consist of:
- Scanned paper forms stored in a shared drive
- Results entered manually into spreadsheets
- Unsigned or partially completed forms in filing cabinets
An auditor who asks to see records for a specific candidate, or a specific testing event, expects to be able to retrieve complete, signed, timestamped documentation quickly. If you cannot produce it — or if what you produce has gaps — that is a finding.
Digital records change this entirely. A platform that stores every form with a full audit trail, digital signatures, and a timestamp for every action means that an audit request can be answered in seconds, not hours.
RISQS and digital forms: the connection
The move from paper to digital is not just about operational efficiency. It is increasingly relevant to RISQS compliance.
As the RISQS audit process evolves, the quality and accessibility of documentation is scrutinised more closely. Providers who can demonstrate that their documentation is:
- Complete (no missing fields or signatures)
- Accurate (auto-calculated results, not manual transcription)
- Secure (role-based access, UK data storage)
- Auditable (full action log, timestamped records)
...are in a stronger position than those relying on paper and manual processes.
FitCheck was designed with this in mind. Every assessment completed on the platform produces a record that meets these criteria — and is available immediately, from anywhere.
Practical steps for RISQS accreditation
If you are pursuing RISQS accreditation for the first time, here is a simplified overview of the process:
- Register on the RISQS portal at risqs.org
- Select your supplier categories — relevant ones include Drug & Alcohol Testing, Occupational Health, and Medical Assessments
- Complete the pre-qualification questionnaire — covering health & safety, quality management, environmental management, and financial standing
- Submit to audit — an Achilles auditor will review your processes and documentation
- Receive your accreditation — if successful, you will be listed on the RISQS register
- Maintain accreditation — annual renewal, with ongoing evidence of compliance
The pre-qualification questionnaire and audit will ask questions about your documentation and records management. This is where your choice of tools matters.
Summary
RISQS accreditation is the entry ticket to the Network Rail supply chain for D&A testing providers. It is also an annual commitment to maintaining the standards it validates.
The documentation requirements that underpin RISQS accreditation — complete, accurate, secure, auditable records — are exactly the requirements that paper forms fail to reliably meet.
Digital forms are not just a convenience. For a RISQS-accredited testing provider, they are an increasingly important part of maintaining the standards your accreditation is built on.
FitCheck is used by RISQS-accredited drug & alcohol testing and occupational health providers in the UK rail industry. Book a demo to see how it supports your accreditation obligations.