Checking an anonymised tap installation

Before You Fit: 3 Checks to Verify WRAS Approval for Taps (UK)

WRAS approval is the most common way to prove a tap meets Regulation 4 of the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999. It is voluntary, not a legal requirement in itself, but it is the certification plumbers, landlords and specifiers trust most. Approval means the tap has passed material and mechanical testing, including BS 6920 assessment for anything that touches water.

TL;DR:

  • WRAS approval is based on laboratory testing for materials and mechanical properties, with tests like BS 6920 and BS EN ISO 17025 accreditation ensuring independent verification.
  • The approval is valid for five years and appears in the WRAS directory, but water companies still enforce actual compliance through regulation and inspection.
  • Checking approval requires verifying the seven-digit number and reading installation restriction notes to prevent misuse or installation outside specified limits.
  • Alternatives like Kiwa’s KUKreg4 scheme are recognized legally equivalent to WRAS approval, and certificates from either scheme should be retained with installation records.
  • Manufacturers must submit detailed technical documentation online, wait for laboratory review, and typically receive approval within a few weeks, valid for five years with periodic surveillance.
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Table of Contents

What is WRAS and who runs the approval scheme?

WRAS stands for the Water Regulations Approval Scheme, run by Water Regulations Approval Scheme Limited, a company accredited to ISO 17065 for product certification. That accreditation matters because it means an independent body checks WRAS’s own testing and decision-making process, not just the taps it approves.

An approval is not a badge you can buy. It means a tap has been through defined tests and now sits in the WRAS approvals directory for a fixed period, currently five years, after which it needs renewing. WRAS itself does not police your plumbing or send inspectors round.

  • It certifies test evidence, not installations.
  • Water companies and building control still enforce the underlying regulations.
  • An approval number is your paper trail if a dispute ever arises over compliance.

Is WRAS approval mandatory for taps in the UK?

No single certification scheme is written into UK law by name. What is legally required is compliance with Regulation 4 of the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, which applies across England and Wales, with equivalent byelaws in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Every tap connected to the mains supply has to meet it.

WRAS approval is simply the most widely recognised way to demonstrate that compliance. Other routes exist and are equally valid in the eyes of water suppliers.

  • Fitting a non-compliant tap can mean disconnection notices or enforcement action from your water company.
  • Many housing associations, contractors and merchants still specify “WRAS approved” by default, purely because it is the recognisable shorthand.
  • A tap without any recognised approval evidence is a genuine risk on a commercial job, even where the fitting itself might be fine.

How is a tap actually tested for WRAS approval?

Getting a tap into the directory involves real laboratory work, not paperwork alone. Any non-metallic component that contacts water, seals, washers, cartridges, has to pass BS 6920 testing to prove it will not taint water taste, odour or support microbial growth.

Mechanical tests run alongside the material checks: endurance cycling, pressure resistance and flow performance, each measured against a test code sheet with defined pass thresholds. Manufacturers submit a schedule of materials listing every component and supplier, which speeds things up considerably when a part already carries a valid BS 6920 report from previous approvals.

  • All testing has to be carried out in laboratories WRAS recognises, accredited to BS EN ISO 17025.
  • Applicants supply schematics, photographs and full technical documentation alongside test reports.
  • Failing components can sometimes be retested alone rather than resubmitting the whole tap, for instance if only the headworks fail an endurance run.

Pro Tip: If you are a small manufacturer or importer, ask your component suppliers for existing BS 6920 certificates before you commission your own testing. Reusing valid reports on cartridges or seals can cut both cost and waiting time considerably.

How do you check if a tap is WRAS approved?

Checking is quicker than most buyers expect, and it takes minutes rather than days.

  1. Go to the WRAS approvals directory and search by the seven-digit approval number printed on the box, the manufacturer’s name, or a product keyword.
  2. Open the approval record and read the installation requirement notes, or IRNs, carefully. These flag restrictions such as cold-water-only use, maximum pressure, or specific pipework requirements.
  3. If the packaging carries no logo or number at all, contact the retailer or installer directly and ask for the approval reference before you buy or fit it.

Skipping step two is where most disputes start. A tap can be genuinely approved yet still be installed wrong, because the IRN ruled out hot water use or set a pressure ceiling nobody checked.

What does WRAS approval mean for buyers and installers?

An approval number on a box is only half the job. What it actually permits, and what it rules out, sits in the installation requirement notes attached to that specific record.

  • Always pull up the IRN before installation, not after, since some approvals apply to cold feed only or cap the working pressure.
  • Installers who ignore a documented restriction can create a regulatory offence even when the tap itself is properly approved.
  • Fitting outside the stated limits, running hot water through a cold-only approval, for example, can invalidate the compliance evidence entirely.
  • A WaterSafe registered plumber, the WRAS directory, and the retailer’s own documentation are the three places to resolve any doubt.

Are there alternatives to WRAS approval?

Regulation 4 compliance is the actual legal target, and WRAS is one accepted way to prove it, not the only one. Kiwa’s KUKreg4 scheme is a recognised alternative that UK water authorities treat as practically equivalent for demonstrating conformity.

Acceptance of these alternative routes has grown, even though specifications still often default to asking for “WRAS approved” out of habit rather than legal necessity, according to Kiwa’s own analysis of the market.

  • Treat any recognised scheme’s documentation as valid if it clearly evidences Regulation 4 conformity, not just the WRAS logo specifically.
  • If a specifier insists on WRAS by name, a quick explanation of the equivalent scheme’s status usually resolves it.
  • Keep whichever certificate you receive, KUKreg4 or WRAS, with your installation paperwork regardless.

How do manufacturers apply, and how long does it take?

For manufacturers or importers bringing a new tap to market, the process runs through a defined portal now rather than paper forms for most products.

  1. Register for the WRAS online application portal, currently the primary route for taps and showers, or use the F2 form for product categories still handled that way.
  2. Assemble your schedule of materials, BS 6920 test reports, mechanical test data, product schematics and clear photographs before you submit.
  3. Wait for laboratory review and any queries, then receive your certificate by email once approved, listed in the public directory shortly after.

Approval typically runs for five years before renewal, with WRAS carrying out surveillance checks during that period to confirm the approved product hasn’t quietly changed.

Carl’s checklist for buying compliant taps

The most common mistake is not knowing a tap should carry evidence; it’s assuming a nice-looking box implies compliance. My three-point check: confirm the seven-digit number in the directory, read the IRN before you fit anything, and file both alongside your installation records. Our bathroom taps guide and boiling water tap picks are worth a look if you want to see specs laid out properly before you commit to a purchase.

— Carl

Buying WRAS compliant taps from Simco Direct

We offer a straightforward route to compliant bathroom fittings without wading through certification paperwork yourself. Bathroom taps, boiling water taps and related fittings are available, with product pages setting out specifications clearly so you can check what you are buying before it arrives.

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Browse our best boiling water taps guide for current recommendations, or head straight to a product like the Titan Chrome Straight Towel Radiator if you are finishing off the same bathroom refit. If you have questions about a specific tap’s approval status before you order, our team can help you find the documentation, so get in touch or start browsing the range today.

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