The SIA has ended its endorsement of BIIAB: what it means for you

Published 5 November 2026

In July 2026 the SIA announced it would end its endorsement of BIIAB, one of the awarding bodies that issues SIA licence-linked qualifications. The SIA said this was because of serious and persistent breaches of BIIAB’s agreement with it. The decision came into effect on 10 August 2026.

If you trained with a provider approved by BIIAB, here’s what it means.

If you already have your BIIAB qualification

The SIA will still accept it, as long as one of these applies:

• you’re applying for a licence for the first time, and it’s less than 3 years since you got the qualification
• you’re applying for a licence you’ve held before, and it’s less than 3 years since your old licence was active

If you’ve done the training but haven’t got the qualification yet

It may be held up by extra quality checks by BIIAB and Ofqual. The SIA says you should contact BIIAB directly, and it won’t do this for you. You can’t apply for a licence until the qualification shows in your SIA account.

If you were booked on a course but haven’t done it

Check with your training provider that the course is still going ahead. There are five other awarding bodies that offer SIA licence-linked qualifications, and the SIA has a search tool to find approved providers.

Training in Bootle, north Liverpool

Our training centre is at St Mary’s Complex, Waverley Street, Bootle L20 4AP, in north Liverpool. By train, take a Merseyrail Northern Line train towards Southport to Bootle New Strand, about an 8-minute walk from us, or Bootle Oriel Road, about a 12-minute walk. There’s free on-site parking if you drive. If your plans have been disrupted, get in touch. We run the Door Supervisor course, the Door Supervisor refresher and Emergency First Aid at Work.

Sources

• GOV.UK: The SIA ending its endorsement of BIIAB: what it means for you (updated 12 August 2026)