For BREEAM Assessors
Both credits, with no scheme process for you to manage.
If you are targeting the security credit on a BREEAM project, Proctor gives your client both the standard and the exemplary credit from one security appointment, and gives you a ready-to-upload evidence package. This page sets out what that means for your role.
Check a project
Is Proctor a fit for this project?
Answer three questions for a quick read on whether Proctor fits. Nothing is stored, and you can carry the answers straight into an enquiry.
What you do
Reference the scheme and upload the certificate.
When a Proctor Certificate is awarded, both the standard and exemplary security credits are satisfied. Your workflow is to reference the recognised scheme in the BREEAM assessment, upload the certificate to BRE and confirm both credits. The Security Needs Assessment (SNA), compliance review, design integration check and construction-stage implementation review are carried out within the scheme and independently validated before the certificate is issued.
Comparison
How this differs from the standard credit.
Each row shows who is responsible for the activity under each route. Pursued alone, the standard credit leaves every check with the BREEAM Assessor. With Proctor, the Proctor Assessor and a Suitably Qualified Security Specialist (SQSS) carry them out within the scheme, independently validated before the certificate is issued.
| Activity | Standard credit (SNA) | Exemplary credit (SNA & Proctor) |
|---|---|---|
| Review SNA compliance | BREEAM Assessor | Proctor Assessor |
| Verify specialist competency | BREEAM Assessor | Proctor Assessor |
| Check design integration | BREEAM Assessor | SQSS |
| Security oversight during construction | Nobody | SQSS |
| Verify implementation at completion | BREEAM Assessor | SQSS |
| Exemplary credit | Not available | Via the Proctor Certificate |
The evidence
The evidence you receive.
For projects pursuing BREEAM Design Stage Interim certification, you receive a validated interim Proctor Certificate at design stage. For projects submitting at Shell and Core or Post-Construction, you receive the final Proctor Certificate at that stage. The certificate includes independent validation by a separate organisation, confirming that the Proctor Assessor's scoring is correct and the Proctor Assessor meets the required security specialist competency.
Timing
When to recommend Proctor.
BREEAM requires the SNA during or before Concept Design (RIBA Stage 2), and a later appointment can still earn the standard credit where the specialist confirms that nothing which could have been recommended has been ruled out by the delay (Hea 08 M1.2, Rsl 04 M3.2). Proctor's cut-off is the end of RIBA Stage 3. Recommend Proctor as early as possible so there is time for design coordination. If a project is already in detailed design but has an SNA on track to finish by Stage 3, the exemplary credit is still within reach. Where the Proctor assessment is commissioned after Stage 2, the assessor reviews early design records to confirm security has been considered.
Commissioning
One appointment during the pilot.
A Proctor Certificate involves two engagements: the client appoints an SQSS for the SNA and the continuing specialist role, and commissions the Proctor assessment from a licensed Proctor Assessor Organisation. Proctor is in its pilot phase. During the pilot, Toren Consulting Ltd, currently the sole licence holder, assesses only SNAs it has written itself, so both engagements are taken together under one appointment, with a single proposal and a single point of accountability. The specialist and assessment roles are held by different individuals, and every rating is independently validated. SNA Authors from other practices will be trained before their SNAs can be assessed. Where a project is targeting the exemplary credit, recommend that the appointment is made early.
Recognition
Named in the BREEAM manual.
Proctor is named directly in both manuals as a recognised route to the exemplary security credit: BREEAM New Construction V7.1 at Hea 08 criterion 4 (methodology section M2) and BREEAM Refurbishment V7 at Rsl 04 criterion 8 (section M4). BREEAM awards the exemplary credit as an innovation credit. Both manuals state that where a recognised scheme is adopted, the standard security criteria are deemed met, provided the scheme process commences during Concept Design or earlier; where it commences later, both credits remain available and the standard credit is evidenced from the SNA in the usual way. You reference the scheme as set out in the manual. BRE recognises more than one scheme for this credit; Proctor's case rests on being proportionate, integrated into the security appointment, and independently validated before certification.
BRE's description of Proctor
“Proctor is a structured security rating scheme for buildings and assets. The scheme provides:”
- “Independent validation of the security risk management process.”
- “A three-tier rating system (Certified, Commended, Distinguished) based on mandatory performance criteria.”
- “Continuous specialist oversight throughout the project lifecycle, supporting exemplary security performance.”
Quoted from BREEAM UK New Construction V7.1, Hea 08, Recognised security rating schemes (SD6074, 26 August 2026). The same entry appears at Rsl 04 in BREEAM Refurbishment V7 (SD6075).
Take it with you
Download the assessor briefing.
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Briefings
Sessions for your team.
We run two sessions for BREEAM Assessors and the consultants who work with them, in person or online: an hour on the BREEAM security credits (a compliant SNA from the assessor's side, the pitfalls that lose or delay the credit, then Proctor and the exemplary credit), or a half-hour introduction to Proctor on its own.
Common questions
Questions assessors ask.
Reference Proctor in the relevant BREEAM scheme, and upload the Proctor Certificate.
Proctor reduces your workload. All you need to do is upload the Proctor Certificate.
No. When a Proctor Certificate is awarded, it confirms that both the SQSS and the Proctor Assessor meet the required competency standard (verified independently by the Independent Validator).
No. The Proctor Assessor reviews the SNA against the scheme's criteria, and the rating is independently validated before the certificate is issued.
Proctor assessments are conducted by licensed Proctor Assessor Organisations. Toren Consulting Ltd administers the scheme and is currently the sole licence holder; the scheme provides for licensing further assessor organisations as it develops. Every rating is independently validated by a separate organisation on the same terms, whichever organisation conducts the assessment.
During the pilot, Toren Consulting Ltd assesses only SNAs it has written itself, with the SNA and the assessment carried out by different individuals. SNA Authors from other practices will be trained before their SNAs can be assessed.
Proctor is currently recognised under UK BREEAM New Construction V7.1 and UK BREEAM Refurbishment V7. BREEAM Fit Out V7 is a separate manual and Proctor is not currently recognised under it. BREEAM International New Construction V7 carries no exemplary security credit, so Proctor is not applicable to those projects.
Recognition covers BREEAM New Construction V7.1, where Proctor is named in the Hea 08 issue (methodology section M2), and BREEAM Refurbishment V7, where it is named in Rsl 04 (section M4). Whether Proctor can be used under other BREEAM versions is for BRE to confirm; we will update this page as that position develops. If you are unsure, tell us about the project and we will confirm the credit position.
If you are formally submitting to BRE at design stage, the Proctor assessment is submitted to the Independent Validator and a validated interim Proctor Certificate is issued. If you are conducting a design-stage assessment for internal tracking only (not submitting to BRE), the assessment can be completed as an unvalidated working document. Either way, the design-stage work informs the final assessment, which receives full validation.
Proctor is designed as a proportionate, cost-effective route, built into the security appointment that produces the SNA. It keeps the specialist engaged beyond design, with security measures reviewed measure by measure through construction to practical completion.
Working on a project with the security credit in scope?
Tell us about it and we will set out the options.