Blog · 19 October 2026 · 12 min read

How to Become a Chimney Sweep in the UK (2026 Guide)

Anyone in the UK can call themselves a chimney sweep. There's no licence to apply for: chimney sweeping isn't on the government's register of regulated professions, and the Victorian Chimney Sweepers Acts were repealed in 1938 for England and Wales.

What homeowners, letting agents and insurers look for is a trained sweep who belongs to a recognised scheme and leaves a certificate after every sweep. This guide covers how to become one: what the job involves, the training routes and what they cost in 2026, what HETAS and the trade associations ask of you, the safety training you need, and your first year in the trade.

What does a chimney sweep do?

Most of the work is in people's homes, sweeping the chimneys and flues of open fires, wood-burning and multi-fuel stoves and other solid-fuel appliances. The HETAS Chimney Sweeping Code sets out what a proper visit includes:

• a risk assessment, and an inspection of the chimney before and after sweeping;
• sweeping the full length of the flue with brushes and rods, by hand or with power-sweeping kit, protecting the room as you go and leaving no soot behind;
• a smoke draw test, in every case, to check the flue carries smoke away;
• testing the carbon monoxide alarm and checking its expiry date;
• recording anything wrong (a damaged cowl, a nest, poor ventilation, signs of heat damage) and leaving a certificate with the customer.

The same code says vacuuming alone, or chemical cleaning alone, isn't acceptable practice: neither can be relied on to clear mortar, loose bricks or a bird's nest.

It's physical, dusty work in other people's homes, so you need to be careful, tidy and good with people. If you work for yourself, you're also the one who answers the phone, quotes prices, plans the round and does the paperwork.

Do you need qualifications to become a chimney sweep?

Not by law. In practice you need recognised training, for three reasons:

• The schemes require it. As a newcomer, you can't register with HETAS or join the Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps, NACS or APICS without their training and an assessment.
• Insurers may ask for it. A home insurance policy can make chimney sweeping a condition of cover, and some say who must do it: one specialist thatch policy, for example, requires a member of NACS, the Guild or APICS.
• Customers look for it. HETAS, the Guild, NACS, APICS and the ICS each run a public search where homeowners can find a sweep near them.

There's no apprenticeship in chimney sweeping (the government's apprenticeship finder has none), and the old Level 2 NVQ in chimney sweeping was withdrawn in 2022. One regulated qualification exists today, the GQA Level 2 NVQ in Sweeping, Servicing and Inspecting Flues and Appliances, but it's assessed on a portfolio of evidence from real jobs, so it's for sweeps who are already working rather than a way in. APICS encourages its members to take an NVQ, or register with OFTEC, within two years of full membership; the Guild doesn't require one.

Chimney sweep training courses and costs in 2026

A new sweep has two kinds of route: HETAS's beginner course at an approved training centre, which leads to HETAS registration, or a trade association's own training programme, which leads to membership. We checked every price below on the provider's own website on 19 October 2026. Prices and dates change, so check before you book.

The HETAS range is from the training centres that publish their prices. APICS and the Chimney Sweep Academy don't say whether theirs include VAT.

HETAS: Combined Sweeping and Servicing

HETAS's four-day beginner course, now called Combined Sweeping and Servicing and still listed as H011 on some pages, runs at approved training centres. It needs no previous knowledge or experience, and alongside sweeping methods it covers flue draught testing, commissioning, carbon monoxide alarm positioning and HETAS's Unsafe Situations Procedure. HETAS's list of centres covers Aberdeen, Newcastle upon Tyne, Wigan, Liverpool, Blackpool, Worcester, Bishop's Cleeve, Colchester, Surrey and Carmarthenshire. Robinsons UK charges £1,550 + VAT and Mr Soot £1,600 + VAT.

Passing the course lets you apply to the HETAS Sweep & Service scheme. A HETAS inspector then watches you sweep on site in a pre-registration assessment, and you need public liability insurance of at least £2 million. Registration costs £472.80 for the first year and £409.20 a year to renew, including VAT (HETAS price list). Once registered, you're listed in HETAS's search for homeowners.

NACS

The NACS Chimney Sweep Course costs £1,879 including VAT. You spend four days at the National Chimney Training Centre in Stone, Staffordshire (no sweeping experience needed), then a fifth day of training and assessment in your own area with a NACS Area Assessment Inspector. You also complete at least 25 training sweep certificates in your own area. Passing brings a NACS qualification certificate and membership, and NACS members issue a certificate or a warning notice for every chimney, on the day. Course dates are listed through to November 2027.

The Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps

The Guild's training programme for new sweeps comes in three parts. Parts 1 and 2 cost £1,800 including VAT: four days of theory and practical training at a training centre, ending in an open-book multiple-choice test, then at least four days on real jobs with experienced Guild members, split between two trainers. Part 3, £450 including VAT, is the final assessment (a written Q&A, then sweeping at least four different appliances and their chimneys) with your first year's membership and a starter pack.

Before you book the final assessment you need your own vehicle with a sealed bulkhead, the equipment on the Guild's list and at least £2 million public liability insurance. The Guild runs courses at centres in Aberdeen, Guildford, Seaham, Sudbury and Blackpool; when we checked, no dates were listed and it was taking registrations of interest. An older Guild page still shows £1,500 and £399, so confirm the price when you enquire.

APICS

APICS trains new sweeps in stages, for £1,950 in total: three classroom days with your first year's probationary membership (£1,050), four days on site with an experienced sweep (£600) and an assessment (£300). After the classroom days you're recognised as a Level One APICS sweep, provided you have a criminal records check, £5 million public liability insurance and a waste carrier's licence.

Level One lasts up to two years. During it you keep a log book of the sweeps you do, then an assessor spends a day with you for full membership, which costs £270 a year to renew. APICS members issue a sweeping certificate to every customer and renew their criminal record check every three years.

The ICS

The ICS runs a two-day course for £1,245 including VAT: a day of theory online, then a day sweeping alongside an experienced sweep on a real job. The ICS says its training is the first step to membership.

Independent courses

Some trainers aren't linked to a trade association. The Chimney Sweep Academy in Skegness, for example, runs a one-day course for £649, with continual assessment rather than an exam, leading to a listing on its own sweep finder. Before you choose a short course, check whether it leads to the registration or membership your customers and their insurers look for.

Which route should you choose?

The course price is only part of it. Compare these too:

• Recognition. The thatch policy above names NACS, the Guild and APICS. HETAS works with four partner associations (APICS, the Guild, NACS and Sweep Safe), and sweeps who join through one of them still take the appropriate HETAS course to register with HETAS. You can hold HETAS registration and an association membership.
• Supervised time on real jobs. Routes differ a lot here. The Guild includes at least four days on site with two different trainers and APICS four days, while NACS asks for 25 training certificates in your area. If your route has little supervised work, get more: APICS offers a shadowing day for £125, and Mr Soot offers optional work-experience days.
• Running costs. HETAS renewal is £409.20 a year and APICS full membership £270 a year. We couldn't find published annual fees for the Guild, NACS or the ICS, so ask before you choose.
• Insurance. HETAS and the Guild want at least £2 million of public liability cover; APICS asks for £5 million.
• Dates and travel. NACS lists course dates through 2027 at its centre in Staffordshire; HETAS courses run at centres around the UK; the Guild had no dates listed when we checked.

Safety training you need

Asbestos

Older fireplaces and flues can contain asbestos. HETAS's code says it's often found in closure plates, flues and cowls, and advises sweeps not to touch it and to tell the customer to call an asbestos specialist. The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 require training for anyone liable to be exposed to asbestos at work, and they apply to the self-employed as if they were both employer and employee. HSE's guidance on asbestos training explains awareness training, which is about knowing where asbestos may be and avoiding disturbing it. Do the course before your first job.

Soot

Soot isn't just mess. The International Agency for Research on Cancer lists soot, as chimney sweeps are exposed to it, among the agents that cause cancer in humans (IARC Monographs, Volume 100F); the link was first made in British chimney sweeps in 1775. Cover up, wear a P3-rated mask or respirator (it's on HETAS's equipment list for assessment), use a HEPA-filtered vacuum and wash soot off your skin between jobs.

Gas, heights and installations

• Gas fires. If a chimney serves a gas fire, don't disconnect or reconnect it yourself. In England, Wales and Scotland that's gas work under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, and only a Gas Safe registered engineer may do it.
• Ladders and roofs. Working at height is a separate skill, and HETAS's assessment doesn't cover it. If you'll go up ladders or onto roofs, get trained and use proper access equipment.
• Fitting stoves. In England and Wales, fitting a stove or a flue liner is building work that has to be notified, and HETAS's sweep scheme conditions say even a like-for-like replacement of a whole appliance or liner counts. Installers self-certify through a competent person scheme such as HETAS's installer registration, which is separate training and registration from sweeping.

Kit and insurance

You'll need a van, and enough rods and brushes for the chimneys in your area. HETAS publishes the minimum kit its assessors look for: protective clothing and a P3 mask, an industrial vacuum, rods in several sizes (including flexible rods for flexible flue liners), brushes from 5 to 18 inches, dust sheets and materials to seal the opening, a nest hook and brush-retrieval tool, a powerful torch and mirror, smoke pellets and matches for the smoke test, and a camera to look up the flue. Power sweeping needs its own rods and heads. For what it all costs, see our guide to starting a chimney sweep business.

For insurance:

• Public liability: at least £2 million for HETAS and the Guild, £5 million for APICS.
• Professional indemnity: a HETAS condition if you offer CCTV surveys or give professional advice.
• Employers' liability: a legal requirement as soon as you employ anyone, with at least £5 million of cover. You can be fined £2,500 for every day you're not insured (GOV.UK).

Setting up as a self-employed sweep

• Tell HMRC. You must register for Self Assessment as a sole trader once you earn more than £1,000 in a tax year (GOV.UK). Making Tax Digital is bringing quarterly digital updates to sole traders in stages; our Making Tax Digital guide has the dates.
• Register as a waste carrier if you take soot away. In England it's usually free if you only carry waste your own work produces (GOV.UK); Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own registers. HETAS's code expects soot to be moved with the right permissions, and APICS asks for a waste carrier's licence.
• Get a basic DBS check if your association asks for one, as APICS does (GOV.UK).
• Write your terms, a complaints procedure and a risk assessment. HETAS wants the work agreed in writing or set out in terms customers can see, a complaints procedure customers can see (with complaints records kept for six years) and a risk assessment of every sweeping visit.

Your first year

• A certificate for every flue you sweep. HETAS registrants must give it within 10 working days; NACS members give it on the day. Our chimney sweep certificate template goes through what each one should record, with an annotated sample.
• Keep your records. HETAS registrants keep their certificates and records for six years.
• Get found. List yourself in your scheme's directory, set up a Google Business Profile and ask every customer for a review. Our guide to getting more chimney sweep customers has the rest.
• Book the next sweep. HETAS recommends sweeping at least once a year, more often for some appliances and fuels, so every customer you look after well is a customer next year.

We Sweep is built for that first year. Customers book online and pay by card, or by cash or bank transfer on the day; you fill in your certificates on your phone at the property, one per flue; and about 11 months after the sweep, for bookings made through We Sweep, the customer gets a prompt to book their next one. You pay We Sweep nothing; your customers pay a £1.95 online booking fee, which you can subsidise, and standard card processing of 1.5% + 20p applies to card payments. Apply here.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to become a chimney sweep?

The courses run from one to five days. Most routes then add supervised work and a final assessment: at least four days on site with Guild trainers, four days on site with APICS, or 25 training certificates for NACS. HETAS registration follows the course with an inspector watching you sweep on site. How long it takes overall depends on how quickly you can fit those days in and, for some routes, on course dates.

How much does chimney sweep training cost?

From £649 for a one-day independent course to around £2,000 for the association programmes: £1,879 including VAT for NACS, £1,950 for APICS, and £2,250 including VAT for the Guild's full programme with its final assessment and first year's membership. HETAS's four-day course is £1,550–£1,600 + VAT at the centres that publish prices. Then budget for kit, insurance and registration or membership fees.

Do I need to be HETAS registered to sweep chimneys?

No, it's voluntary. HETAS registration is one recognised route; membership of a trade association such as NACS, the Guild or APICS is another, and you can hold both.

Is there a chimney sweep apprenticeship?

No. There's no apprenticeship in chimney sweeping, so the way in is one of the courses above, ideally with as much time as you can get alongside an experienced sweep.

Do chimney sweeps need a DBS check?

Only if your scheme asks for one. APICS wants a DBS check less than six months old at assessment and a new criminal record check every three years; HETAS asks applicants to declare unspent convictions.

Can a chimney sweep install stoves?

Not under a sweep registration. In England and Wales, fitting a stove is notifiable building work, self-certified through a competent person scheme such as HETAS's installer registration or notified to building control. HETAS's sweep scheme doesn't cover installation, so that's separate training and registration.