COSHH, law & TExT
An overdue test is not just a diary slip - for the period it is late, you cannot show your extraction was controlling anything.
The short answer
If your LEV goes past its 14-month deadline, you are in breach of COSHH Regulation 9 from the moment it lapses. The issue is not only the missed appointment. For every week the test is overdue, you have no current evidence that the system is still controlling exposure - and control that cannot be demonstrated is treated, in practice, as control that is not there. The gap is the exposure, on paper and potentially in fact.
The detail
The first risk is to people. A test exists to catch a system that is quietly underperforming; skip it and a degrading fan, a loaded filter or a split duct can be exposing workers to substances that cause asthma, lung disease or cancer without anyone knowing. That is the harm the interval is designed to prevent.
The second is enforcement. An overdue test is exactly the kind of finding an HSE inspector picks up first, and the response scales with risk: advice and an improvement notice to put it right, a prohibition notice stopping a process where there is a risk of serious injury, and for serious or persistent failures, prosecution with unlimited fines and director-level liability. Insurers, too, may ask for a continuous test history, and a gap can matter at claim time.
What it means for you
The instinct is to book a test and treat the lapse as closed. The test does need booking urgently - but the overdue period does not disappear. You cannot back-date a thorough examination; the record will always show the interval that was missed, and if anything happened during it, that gap is what gets scrutinised.
What you can do is limit it: get the examination done now, act on whatever it finds, and record the date honestly so the clock restarts from a clean, evidenced point. Then tighten the scheduling - a stated next-due date and a reminder - so a single busy month never puts you here again. If a defect is found that prevents control, the affected process should stop until it is fixed, rather than continue on an expired test.
The service behind the guide
If you are overdue we will get a thorough examination booked quickly, tell you plainly what is and is not working, and set your record straight from today with a clear next-due date.
Questions
You are in breach of COSHH Regulation 9 from the moment it lapses. You have no current evidence the system controls exposure, which is an enforcement finding and a genuine risk to workers if the system has degraded. Book a thorough examination urgently.
No. A thorough examination can only record the date it is actually done. The overdue interval remains on the record, so the priority is to test now, act on the findings and restart the clock honestly.
Responses scale with risk: advice and an improvement notice, a prohibition notice stopping a process where there is a risk of serious injury, or prosecution with unlimited fines and director liability for serious or persistent breaches.
It can. Insurers may ask for a continuous test history as evidence of control, and a gap in that history can become relevant at claim time - so keeping the interval unbroken protects more than just your HSE position.
Get it tested urgently. If the examination finds a defect that prevents effective control, the affected process should stop until it is fixed rather than continue on an expired test.
Phoenix Duct Clean · by the numbers
We can carry out a thorough examination and test quickly, confirm what is working and put your record straight from today. Call or email and we will prioritise it.