DSEAR 2002
What does a DSEAR assessment cost?
A DSEAR assessment is consultancy priced by the size of the problem: how many dangerous substances you hold, how big and how complex the site is, how many zones fall out of it, and whether any hazardous area classification drawings already exist. What the law fixes is the duty. The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 require a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, classification of places where explosive atmospheres may occur, and controls to eliminate or reduce the risk. Tell us about your site and relevant DSEAR assessors will quote you directly.
6 zones
hazardous area zones defined in DSEAR Schedule 2: 0, 1 and 2 for gas, vapour or mist, 20, 21 and 22 for combustible dust
5 employees
the threshold above which the significant findings of the DSEAR risk assessment must be recorded, regulation 5(4)
Reg 7
requires hazardous places to be classified into zones and marked with signs at their points of entry
What happens next
- Tell us what you store or process, how big the site is, whether zoning drawings exist. Two minutes, no account.
- We pass your details to relevant DSEAR assessors covering your postcode, and to no one else.
- They contact you directly with their fee for your site. Compare, choose, or walk away.
DSEAR Assessment Cost is a free introduction service operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd; we pass your details to relevant DSEAR assessors who quote you directly. We may receive a fee from providers; you pay nothing and are under no obligation. We are an independent site, not a consultancy, and not affiliated with or endorsed by the Health and Safety Executive. Nothing here is health and safety or legal advice: the regulatory summaries are quoted from legislation.gov.uk and HSE guidance so you can check them yourself.
What drives a DSEAR assessment fee, 2026
Last updated
A DSEAR assessment is scoped work, not a product, and the same site can attract very different fees depending on how much of the groundwork already exists. This table sets out the factors an assessor is actually pricing, why each one matters, and the line to ask for in writing before you accept a quote.
This is a cost-driver table rather than a price table. DSEAR assessment is consultancy scoped after a site walk or a detailed conversation, and the range between a single-process review and a full multi-building hazardous area classification exercise is wide enough that any published figure would mislead more readers than it helped. The regulatory duties, the zone definitions and the five-employee recording threshold are quoted from the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 on legislation.gov.uk and from HSE guidance, read on 14 August 2026. Use the form above to get real quotes for your own site.
| Cost driver | Why it moves the fee | What to ask for in the quote |
|---|---|---|
| Number and type of dangerous substances | Each substance brings its own safety data sheet, properties and release scenarios. A single solvent store is a different job from a site holding flammable liquids, LPG and a combustible dust | A list of exactly which substances and which areas are in scope |
| Combustible dust as well as gas or vapour | Dust brings the 20, 21 and 22 zone series, layer and cloud considerations and often a separate explosion protection view, so it typically adds work rather than replacing it | Whether dust zoning is included or priced as an option |
| Size and complexity of the site | The assessment has to cover every place where an explosive atmosphere may occur, including connected spaces, so buildings, plant items and process steps drive the time on site | The number of days on site assumed, and what happens if it takes longer |
| Whether hazardous area classification drawings exist | Producing zoning drawings from scratch is usually the largest single element. Reviewing and updating current drawings is far cheaper than creating them | A separate price for hazardous area classification drawings, and the file format you receive |
| Number of zones that fall out of the study | Zones drive the rest of the work: equipment selection against DSEAR Schedule 3, entry point signage under Schedule 4 and the verification of explosion safety recorded under regulation 5 | Whether an equipment register or ignition source review is included |
| Depth of the deliverable | A report that states findings is cheaper than one that carries an action plan, an equipment schedule and a basis of safety for each zone. Both are sold as a DSEAR assessment | A sample report or a contents page for the deliverable |
| Review and follow-up | Regulation 5(3) requires the assessment to be reviewed regularly and after significant change, so the real cost is the first assessment plus a review cycle | The cost and trigger points of a review, quoted at the same time |
- DSEAR 2002 regulation 5 requires a suitable and sufficient risk assessment wherever a dangerous substance is or is liable to be present at the workplace, reviewed regularly to keep it up to date.
- Where an employer has five or more employees, DSEAR regulation 5(4) requires the significant findings of the assessment to be recorded, including any zone classification and the verification of explosion safety.
- DSEAR Schedule 2 defines six hazardous area zones: 0, 1 and 2 for gas, vapour or mist, and 20, 21 and 22 for clouds of combustible dust in air.
- The largest single variable in a DSEAR quote is usually whether hazardous area classification drawings already exist, because producing them from scratch is the biggest element of the work.
Cite this page
“What drives a DSEAR assessment fee, 2026”, DSEAR Assessment Cost, https://dsearassessmentcost.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-14). This is a cost-driver table rather than a price table. DSEAR assessment is consultancy scoped after a site walk or a detailed conversation, and the range between a single-process review and a full multi-building hazardous area classification exercise is wide enough that any published figure would mislead more readers than it helped. The regulatory duties, the zone definitions and the five-employee recording threshold are quoted from the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 on legislation.gov.uk and from HSE guidance, read on 14 August 2026. Use the form above to get real quotes for your own site.
Read next
Every figure sourced and dated.
DSEAR assessment cost: what the fee is actually built from
Why DSEAR assessors will not price the work over the phone, the seven factors that move a DSEAR quote, and how to make two consultancy proposals comparable.
What is DSEAR? The regulations, in plain terms
DSEAR means the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002. What they cover, who they apply to and what an employer actually has to do.
DSEAR hazardous area classification: zones, drawings and signs
How DSEAR zones work: the six zone definitions in Schedule 2, what regulation 7 requires for equipment and signage, and why zoning drawings drive the fee.
DSEAR risk assessment requirements: what has to be in it
What regulation 5 of DSEAR 2002 requires a risk assessment to consider, when it must be reviewed, and what the significant findings must record.
Common questions
How much does a DSEAR assessment cost?
There is no published market rate, because scope drives the fee. The main variables are how many dangerous substances are present and of what type, the size and complexity of the site, whether hazardous area classification drawings already exist, how many zones result and how deep the deliverable is. Ask for zoning drawings to be priced separately so quotes can be compared.
What is DSEAR?
The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002. HSE describes the substances covered as any used or present at work that could, if not properly controlled, cause harm as a result of fire, explosion or corrosion of metal, and lists solvents, paints, flammable gases such as LPG, dusts and pressurised gases as examples.
Is a DSEAR assessment a legal requirement?
Where a dangerous substance is or is liable to be present at the workplace, yes. Regulation 5 of DSEAR 2002 requires the employer to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks, and to review it regularly so it stays up to date.
Does a DSEAR assessment include hazardous area classification?
Not automatically. Regulation 7 requires places where explosive atmospheres may occur to be classified into zones under Schedule 2, but some consultancy proposals include that work and others price it separately. It is usually the largest single element of the fee, so confirm it in writing before comparing quotes.
How long does a DSEAR assessment take?
It depends on scope. A single process review can be a short site visit and a report; a multi-building site with no existing zoning drawings is a much longer exercise because every release source has to be identified and the extent of each hazardous area worked out. Ask how many days on site the quote assumes.
Is this quote service really free?
Yes, free to you, with no obligation to accept any quote. We pass your details only to relevant DSEAR assessors, who quote you directly; we may receive a fee from those providers, which is how the service is funded.