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WRAS

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WRAS
TypeProduct certification scheme
Current expansionWater Regulations Approval Scheme
Former expansionWater Regulations Advisory Scheme (1999–2021)
Operated byWater Regulations Approvals Scheme Limited
ParentWater Regs UK Limited
AccreditationISO 17065 certification body
Related requirementWater Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, regulation 4

WRAS is the certification scheme under which plumbing products and materials are approved as capable of complying with the United Kingdom water fittings regulations. The initials have outlived a change of meaning: from 1999 they stood for the Water Regulations Advisory Scheme,[1] and they now stand for the Water Regulations Approval Scheme, an independent certification body accredited to ISO 17065 which certifies plumbing products and materials.[2] A WRAS approval is evidence towards the statutory requirement that a water fitting be of an appropriate quality and standard and suitable for the circumstances in which it is used;[3] it is not the requirement itself.

The 2021 restructure[edit]

WRAS Ltd was incorporated on 4 August 2008 as a subscription company limited by guarantee with 23 founding subscribers, all UK water companies, and began trading on 1 April 2009 when staff working on WRAS activities transferred from WRc.[1]

On 1 April 2021 the company changed its name to Water Regs UK Limited and formed a new subsidiary, Water Regulations Approvals Scheme Limited.[1] The two functions that had sat in one organisation were separated by that change. Guidance, advice and the contractor schemes stayed with the parent, which no longer uses the WRAS name at all: Water Regs UK supports 30 water undertakers and administers WaterSafe and, for eighteen undertakers in England and Wales, the Water Industry Approved Plumbers Scheme.[4] Product and material approval, and the WRAS name and mark, went to the subsidiary, which trades as WRAS Approvals.[2]

This matters to anyone following a reference. The domain wras.co.uk now redirects to Water Regs UK, whose pages do not mention WRAS, so an older citation to it lands on an organisation that does not operate the scheme being cited.

What an approval means[edit]

WRAS Approvals describes itself as an independent UK certification body for plumbing products and materials, accredited to ISO 17065, and publishes a directory of approved products searchable by a seven-digit approval number, by company or by keyword, covering approvals from the last five years.[2]

An approval is a statement about a product, not about an installation. A compliant fitting installed so as to permit backflow, waste or contamination does not comply with the Regulations, and no product approval cures that. Materials in contact with water, backflow prevention, stopvalves and protection from freezing and damage are all dealt with in Schedule 2.[5]

Alternative routes to demonstrating compliance exist, so the absence of a WRAS approval does not by itself establish that a fitting is non-compliant.

Position in the framework[edit]

Enforcement of the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 sits with water undertakers, not with either body.[6] Guidance on interpreting the Regulations is published by Water Regs UK,[4] and WaterSafe operates the register of approved contractors, which Water Regs UK administers.[7][4]

Three separate functions are routinely conflated under the one set of initials: approval of a product, guidance on the rules, and approval of a person to work to them. Since 2021 they are not even carried out by the same company.

See also

References

  1. abcHistory of Water Regs UK. Water Regs UK. Retrieved 2026-09-05
  2. abcWRAS Approvals: the Water Regulations Approval Scheme. WRAS Approvals. Retrieved 2026-09-05
  3. ^The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, regulation 4: requirements for water fittings. legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2026-09-05
  4. abcAbout Water Regs UK. Water Regs UK. Retrieved 2026-09-05
  5. ^The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, Schedule 2: requirements for water fittings. legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2026-09-05
  6. ^The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999. legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2026-09-05
  7. ^WaterSafe. WaterSafe. Retrieved 2026-09-05
Categories: Regulation and industry bodies | Water industry