Please check your scope of accreditation in the FORS evidencing system before submitting your application to make sure you include all operating centres in scope, but no more than that. Remember that both your Bronze and Silver accreditations need to be maintained and remember that there must be a minimum days left on your Bronze and Silver accreditations when submitting evidence for a Gold application for the first time. For re-approval of Gold, there must also be 45 days left on your Bronze, Silver and Gold accreditation.

To assist members progressing to Gold, or maintaining their Gold accreditation, FORS has produced a number of free templates and toolkits for a number of requirements, as listed below. These documents are available to download from the relevant section of the evidencing system or you can click on the relevant buttons below to access these. You can use these for guidance and to complete with your information prior to uploading.

• G3 FORS case study template: mandatory template to use. This means applications submitted using a previous case study template will be rejected so please ensure you download and fill in the latest version
• G6 Sustainable operations template: not a mandatory template, however, you are encouraged to use it to ensure that you cover all aspects of the requirement. However if you have your own template which contains the same information, this will be accepted as evidence and should be uploaded in the usual way
• G8 Workplace Travel Plan Toolkit, comprising a template and step-by-step guidance: not a mandatory template, however, you are encouraged to use it to ensure that you cover all aspects of the requirement

Check the frequently asked questions to help you prepare for the audit, as well as the section below on the most common audit failures and how to avoid them.

READ – the most common reasons for audit failures and tips on how to avoid them

Application

FORS operators applying for initial FORS Gold accreditation must be:

• FORS Bronze accredited with at
  least 45 calendar days before their
  expiry date; and
• FORS Silver accredited with at least 45
  calendar days before their expiry date

To gain Gold accreditation, FORS operators must provide evidence for every OC that is in scope of FORS Gold accreditation, demonstrating that they meet the specific equirements for Gold. Where multiple OCs are in scope of the Gold accreditation, this may be evidenced in one upload. This must be carried out by accessing FORS online and submitting evidence via the evidencing system (please refer to section 4 of the FORS Standard for details of the Gold requirements).

Progression to Gold is not mandatory and there are two routes available to organisations – for more information, please check section 4 of the FORS Rules and Procedures. You can also check the special unified audit frequently asked questions page.

To apply for Gold, click here.

FORS Gold accreditation does not require a physical audit.

You will be informed of the outcome within 15 working days of submission of your Gold application. If your application is not successful you will be asked to provide further evidence via a follow-up Gold submission within 30 calendar days of notification of your result. If you don’t achieve Gold accreditation within the 30 day follow-up period, a new full submission is necessary.

The scheme administrator will email the primary contact with the application outcome, attaching a copy of the FORS Gold electronic certificate if successful. The certificate includes all locations in scope of accreditation.

Following accreditation, you will receive your FORS Gold certificate. As a FORS Gold operator, you only need to undertake your Bronze re-audit every two years, but you still have to make sure your Silver and Gold evidence is supplied yearly. For an overview on audits, click here.