The National Caravan Council and the Approved Workshop Scheme: A Guide for Caravan and Motorhome Dealers

Last updated 29 September 2026.

If you sell touring caravans or motorhomes, your customers, their insurers and the manufacturers behind their warranties will all ask the same question sooner or later: is your workshop approved? In this trade that means the Approved Workshop Scheme, run by the National Caravan Council. This guide explains what the NCC is, what dealer membership asks of you, what the NCC badge on a new unit means, how the Approved Workshop Scheme works and how a dealer workshop joins.

This guide is based on what the NCC, the Approved Workshop Scheme and the two big clubs publish as of September 2026. Scheme rules change, so check the linked pages before you rely on a detail.

What is the National Caravan Council?

The National Caravan Council (NCC) is the UK trade association representing the whole caravan and motorhome supply chain: manufacturers, dealerships, suppliers, service providers, and holiday and residential parks (The NCC). It was founded in 1939, is based in Aldershot and says it has around 850 member outlets (NCC: about us).

Alongside technical and regulatory support for members, the NCC runs several schemes you will come across as a dealer:

• the Manufacturer Approval Scheme, behind the NCC badge on new units
• CRiS, the touring caravan registration and history database
• TowCheck, for checking a car and caravan combination is safe and legal
• the NCC Academy, which trains caravan and motorhome technicians
• the Approved Workshop Scheme

If you run history checks on touring caravans, our guide to the CRiS check and caravan registration covers that scheme in detail.

NCC membership for caravan and motorhome dealers

Retail dealers of touring caravans and motorhomes are one of the NCC’s membership categories, alongside manufacturers, park operators, holiday caravan distributors, and suppliers and service providers (NCC: membership). When you apply you formally agree to abide by the NCC’s terms of membership. The NCC lists advice from its technical services team, training support and industry statistics among the benefits (NCC: join us). It says dealer membership fees are worked out from several factors, so you contact it for a quote (NCC: dealer member benefits).

The standards dealer members sign up to are set out in the NCC Best Practice Guide for Leisure Vehicle Dealerships (first edition, April 2024). It applies to sales made on or after 29 April 2024, and compliance is expected of all dealer members. Persistent breaches go through the NCC’s disciplinary procedure, which can mean a warning, suspension or losing membership. Among other things, the guide says member dealers should:

• display the NCC member dealer logo in sales offices, on marketing material and on their website, following the NCC’s brand guidelines
• give every buyer a copy of the guide, and make it available to download from the website
• check the provenance of every pre-owned unit for outstanding finance, theft and write-offs, and keep the results
• show clear on-the-road prices including VAT, and avoid high-pressure selling
• use TowCheck or a similar service for every touring caravan sale, and give the buyer a copy
• carry out a PDI on new units, with a signed check sheet kept in the sales file
• have pre-owned units safety checked and serviced, including the habitation area, by a qualified technician in their own workshop or an appointed AWS workshop
• acknowledge complaints within seven days and give a final written decision within 28 days

For complaints the dealer cannot settle, the NCC runs an informal dispute resolution service, and eligible cases can then go to an Independent Case Examiner. Member dealers cooperate with the examiner and pay the cost of a referral. The guide does not replace the law: the dealer is still responsible under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for what they sell. Our guide to the Consumer Rights Act for used vehicle dealers explains those rights.

What the NCC badge on a new caravan or motorhome means

The NCC badge means the unit was built by a manufacturer in the NCC Manufacturer Approval Scheme and inspected against the relevant standard: BS EN 1645 for touring caravans and BS EN 1646 for motorhomes and campervans (NCC: Manufacturer Approval Scheme). Holiday caravans are covered by BS EN 1647.

According to the NCC, factory inspections check 500 to 600 individual points depending on the model, covering gas and electrical safety, escape routes, ventilation and whether appliances are suitable and correctly installed. Manufacturers must pass three consecutive formal inspections, followed by unannounced visits. A badged motorhome is also type-approved and registered with DVLA as a motor caravan rather than a van. The NCC promotes this to buyers as “look for the badge”.

For dealers, the badge matters at the point of sale. The best practice guide says NCC member dealers should only sell new and pre-owned units approved under the scheme (or another recognised scheme that assesses against the same standards), unless they tell the buyer in writing before the sales agreement is signed and note it on the order form. Take extra care with post-registration conversions, which the guide says need increased diligence on type approval and fitness for purpose.

What is the Approved Workshop Scheme?

The Approved Workshop Scheme (AWS) is a network of independently assessed workshops that service touring caravans, motorhomes and light trailers. It was set up on 1 January 1978 by the NCC, the Caravan and Motorhome Club and the Camping and Caravanning Club, and says it is the only scheme supported by all of the major UK manufacturers (Approved Workshop Scheme). The NCC now administers it (Camping and Caravanning Club: servicing guide).

The scheme says it has more than 550 fixed and mobile workshops across the UK. You will see lower figures on older club pages, so use the scheme’s own count if you quote one. Approval means the workshop passes an annual assessment by an independent assessor and keeps to the scheme’s standards. Its public list of supporting manufacturers includes Adria, Auto-Sleeper, Auto-Trail, Bailey, Coachman, Erwin Hymer Group, Swift and others (AWS: scheme supporters).

For an NCC member dealer, AWS is not optional. The best practice guide calls it “a mandatory requirement for NCC member dealerships to either operate a workshop under the scheme or contract their work out to an appointed AWS member workshop”, and says that includes any subcontracted workshop used for repairs or habitation servicing.

What approved workshops promise customers

Approved workshops commit to a set of customer standards (AWS: why use the scheme). They:

• display their prices and labour rates
• give an estimate for work over £150
• use genuine parts where available
• get the customer’s authorisation before starting, and again if they find extra work
• provide a checklist of the work done
• normally guarantee service-related repairs for at least six months
• take reasonable steps to protect any unexpired warranty

The Camping and Caravanning Club adds that all members follow the same nationally agreed service schedule and that the annual AWS service covers more than 40 separate checks. Unresolved complaints can go to the scheme’s own informal dispute resolution service, which is free for consumers.

How buyers, insurers and warranty providers use it

Most caravan and motorhome owners meet the scheme through their warranty. The Camping and Caravanning Club says manufacturer warranties generally insist on at least an annual service, and most accept a service by an AWS member, though owners should check with their manufacturer. The service window varies: Practical Caravan lists different windows around the purchase anniversary for Bailey, Coachman, Erwin Hymer Group and Swift, and says a missed service can invalidate the warranty. Our guide to habitation checks for caravan and motorhome dealers covers what that service involves.

Insurers and cover providers can set their own rules. The Caravan and Motorhome Club tells members to get their provider’s agreement before authorising an insured repair, or they risk the cost not being covered. Buyers of used units, meanwhile, use the AWS directory to find workshops offering pre-purchase inspections.

For a dealer, an approved workshop is a practical selling point. It lets you service in-warranty units for customers, supports the PDI and safety checks the NCC guide expects, and gives buyers of used stock a stamped service record they understand.

How a dealer workshop joins the Approved Workshop Scheme

You apply through the online application form on the AWS membership page. Fixed workshops (with or without mobile units) and mobile-only businesses can apply, for touring caravan servicing, motorhome servicing or light trailer servicing. The scheme lists these requirements:

1. Qualified technicians. The NCC (or City and Guilds) Caravan Service Award, STGW or ACS gas, and the NCC Electrical Test and Inspection and NCC Electrical Systems and Circuits qualifications. The NCC Academy runs courses for these.
2. Calibrated equipment, including an RCD tester, multimeter, torque wrenches and tyre pressure gauges.
3. Insurance, including public liability.
4. Professional customer service, with a complaints procedure.
5. An annual independent assessment once you are in.

Members get use of the AWS logo, a listing in the scheme’s directory and app, promotion by the NCC and the clubs (including at the two major industry shows at the NEC), and the option to buy AWS-branded service sheets, damp reports and workwear. Fees are not published on the membership page, so ask when you apply.

What to tell customers in your marketing

Stick to what the schemes actually promise. Claims you can back up, if they apply to you:

• your workshop (or the one you use) is in the Approved Workshop Scheme and is independently assessed every year
• your technicians hold recognised caravan servicing, gas and electrical qualifications
• the new units you sell carry the NCC badge
• you are an NCC member dealer working to the NCC’s best practice guide, with access to its dispute resolution service
• service-related repairs normally come with a six-month guarantee

Put the AWS and NCC logos on your website only if you are entitled to use them, and link to the member directory so customers can check. Reviews from past customers help too.

Common mistakes

Mistake	What to do instead
Using a subcontractor who is not in the scheme	If you are an NCC member, any workshop you use for repairs or habitation servicing must be an AWS member. Check the directory before you book work out.
Letting a technician's qualifications lapse	Track each technician's gas and electrical certificates and renewal dates. The annual assessment checks them.
Missing a customer's warranty service window	Record the handover date and remind customers before their anniversary. Windows differ by manufacturer.
Selling a non-badged unit without saying so	Tell the buyer in writing before they sign, and note it on the order form.
Handing over a used unit without a habitation check	Have it safety checked and serviced, habitation area included, and confirm it to the buyer in writing.
Using the logos without the right to	Only show the NCC or AWS logo if you are a current member, and follow the brand guidelines.
No written complaints process	Acknowledge within seven days, decide within 28 days, and tell the customer about the NCC dispute service.

For the wider legal picture, including trading standards and consumer law, see our guide to the legal requirements for running a used vehicle dealership.

How Haswent helps

Haswent keeps touring caravans and motorhomes in the same stock system as your cars and vans. Its inspections let you build your own checklist templates, such as a PDI or a habitation check sheet, record photos and notes against each item, and print a branded report for the sales file or the customer. When a deal closes, review requests go out by email automatically, and you can send one manually from any deal or contact. Contact us for a demo.

Sources

• NCC: about the National Caravan Council
• NCC: member benefits for dealers
• NCC: membership and join us
• NCC Best Practice Guide for Leisure Vehicle Dealerships (April 2024)
• NCC: Manufacturer Approval Scheme
• Approved Workshop Scheme, including its membership page, why use the scheme and scheme supporters
• NCC Academy
• Camping and Caravanning Club: a guide to caravan and motorhome servicing
• Caravan and Motorhome Club: servicing and repairing your caravan
• Practical Caravan: caravan servicing

Frequently asked questions