What goes in an MCS heat pump handover pack?

MIS 3005-I clause 7.1.1 sets the minimum: copies of the commissioning forms and checklists, maintenance requirements and services, manufacturer manuals and warranty details, and any incentive scheme paperwork. A signed handover document under clause 7.2.1 goes with it.

Is there an MCS heat pump handover checklist?

MIS 3005-I carries a model handover document in Appendix D and an example commissioning checklist in Appendix C. Neither is a full pack checklist, so copy the list in this post and add anything your commissioning produces.

What does an MCS heat pump commissioning checklist record?

The MIS 3005-I example records the customer and company details, the make, model and serial of the heat pump, indoor unit and interface, then the electrical, hydraulic and control checks. It also says to follow the manufacturer’s own checklist, which can affect the warranty.

When must the MCS certificate for a heat pump be issued?

The standard says the installation must be registered on the MID and the certificate generated no later than 10 working days after commissioning. The Customer Commitment separately promises the customer certificates within 30 calendar days of completion.

How does Baton help with a heat pump handover pack?

Baton makes the equipment record on site: a nameplate photo and two unit photos per item, with manufacturer, model and serial checked by a person. The register comes as PDF, Excel and CSV in your Google Drive, ready to go in the pack.

Does Baton issue the MCS certificate or register the warranty?

No. You register the installation on the MID and the warranty with the manufacturer, and you issue your own certificates. Baton gives you the checked serials and the register, and lets you attach your certificates to the job.

MCS heat pump handover pack: what MIS 3005-I makes you include, a checklist to copy, and the deadlines

The MCS heat pump handover pack must hold, as a minimum, copies of every form and checklist used to commission the system, the maintenance requirements, the manufacturer’s manuals and warranty details, and any paperwork a grant scheme needs. A signed handover document goes with it, and the MCS certificate follows once the unit is registered on the MID, no later than 10 working days after commissioning.

The short answer, and why the pack gets chased

MCS heat pump installs are built to standard MIS 3005-I, and its section 7 sets what the pack holds. A customer who is missing a document does not usually say so on the day. They find out when they sell the house, when the unit fails, or when a scheme asks to see the file. On a heat pump forum a homeowner described receiving little beyond the manufacturer’s instructions, and another member said a certification body acting for MCS had asked their installer for the full pack.

The fix is not a longer pack. It is a pack that is made up from records taken at the unit, on the day, so that nothing has to be rebuilt from an invoice weeks later.

What MIS 3005-I section 7 actually says

Clause 7.1.1 says the MCS contractor must collate a comprehensive handover pack. As a minimum it includes copies of all forms and checklists used to commission the system, the maintenance requirements and maintenance services available, the manufacturer’s user manuals and warranty details, and any documentation or checklists required for incentive schemes.

Clause 7.2.1 adds a document signed by the contractor, handed over with the pack and explained to the customer. The table below lists what it must contain. The copy MCS publishes carries a 2021 date in its footer, so check you are reading the latest issue before you build a template from it.

The signed handover document under MIS 3005-I clause 7.2.1
What the document must contain	Where it comes from	Who supplies it
Declaration that the installation meets the standard	Signed by the contractor’s on-site representative	Your engineer
Client name and address, and site address if different	Job file	Your office
Contractor name, address, contacts, MCS certification body and number	Your company record	Your office
List of the key components installed	The units actually fitted: make, model, serial	Your crew, at the unit
Estimated system performance, calculated under section 4	Your design	Your designer
Recommended interval for the first periodic inspection	Your service terms	Your office
MCS contact details (helpdesk phone and email)	MCS	Your template

A checklist you can copy

Start from the clauses above and add what your own commissioning produces. Tick each line before the customer signs.

Signed declaration and the clause 7.2.1 details, including the MCS certification body and number.
List of key components with make, model and serial for the outdoor unit, indoor unit or cylinder, and controller or interface.
Copies of every form and checklist used to commission the system, including the manufacturer’s own commissioning sheet.
Estimated system performance and design flow temperature from your design.
Manufacturer user manuals for the heat pump, controls and cylinder, with the warranty terms and what the customer must do to keep them valid.
Maintenance requirements, the services you offer, and the checks the customer should carry out themselves, how often, and what to do if one fails.
Recommended interval for the first periodic inspection.
Any paperwork a grant or incentive scheme requires, such as the forms Ireland’s SEAI names for its scheme.
The MCS certificate, added once the MID registration is done, and any Building Regulations certificates.
A record of the settings you chose at handover, and a signature from the customer.

The clocks: 10 working days, 30 days and 30 days again

Three deadlines apply, and they start from different events. Clause 7.2.2 requires the installation to be registered on the MCS Installation Database (MID), and the certificate generated, no later than 10 working days after commissioning. Register on the MID only after the system is fully installed and commissioned, and send the certificate to the customer with instructions to include it in the pack.

The MCS Customer Commitment promises the customer the MCS certificate, and Building Regulations certificates where needed, within 30 calendar days of completion. And the manufacturers set their own clock for the warranty, covered below. Keep the commissioning date written down once and use it for all three.

Deadlines that apply to a heat pump handover
Deadline	Starts from	Source
MID registration and MCS certificate generated: 10 working days	Commissioning	MIS 3005-I clause 7.2.2
MCS and Building Regulations certificates with the customer: 30 calendar days	Completion of the installation	MCS Customer Commitment
Register the unit with Vaillant: 30 days	Installation	Vaillant heat pump guarantee page
Register the warranty with Baxi: 30 days	Commissioning	Baxi air source heat pump warranty page
Annual service for a Baxi unit: within 60 days of the anniversary	Commissioning anniversary	Baxi air source heat pump warranty page
Keep installation records: at least six years	Not stated	MCS Customer Commitment

Where the serial number bites

The MIS 3005-I example commissioning checklist has fields for the heat pump’s make, model and serial, the indoor unit’s model and serial, and the interface’s model and serial. It also warns that the manufacturer’s own checklist and record requirements may affect the warranty.

Vaillant’s guarantee page asks for the full 28-digit serial number when the unit is registered within 30 days of installation. Miss that and the guarantee falls to 12 months from installation, provided the Benchmark logbook was completed, and otherwise from the manufacture date on the data plate. A 28-digit number typed from memory, or read off a photo taken at an angle, is the kind of error nobody finds until a claim.

In Ireland, SEAI’s documentation alert says the commissioning documents and the RECI certificate are the papers most often missing at inspection, and that the contractor is responsible for giving the homeowner everything before the Declaration of Works is submitted.

Mistakes that cause rework or a refused claim

Most failures are small, and each has a plain fix.

A copied pack. PBC Today’s handover guidance says to check each home individually, because records must match the actual unit, controls and commissioning results, including late changes. Fix: build the key parts list from the units photographed on that job.
A serial that does not match the plate. Fix: check it against the photo, not from the delivery note.
The MCS certificate sent late. Fix: set the 10 working day date from the commissioning date the day you commission.
A warranty registered after the manufacturer’s window. Fix: register the same day, from the checked serial.
Chosen settings not written down. Fix: record them on the handover sheet, so the maintenance team does not guess.
Grant paperwork left out. Fix: put the scheme’s forms in the pack before you leave site.

How a crew and an office do this with Baton

Your crew opens a link or scans a QR code, or types the 6-digit job code. There is no account and nothing to install, and it works with no signal. They photograph the nameplate of the outdoor unit, the cylinder and the controller, take two photos of each unit, and record its condition and where it sits. Heat pumps and cylinders are not in a fixed list, so the crew can name any equipment type on site.

Two AI models read every nameplate. A person in your office then checks manufacturer, model and serial against the photo, so the serial you register with the manufacturer is the one on the plate.

Each job gets one handover register as PDF, Excel and CSV, saved in your own Google Drive. The PDF shows each unit’s nameplate and unit photographs on its own page, and the Excel and CSV carry a pointer to that page. That is the list of key components the pack needs. You set a warranty start date and length for each equipment category, and the register prints the end date.

The attachments index lists the files you add, such as your MCS certificate, commissioning forms and manuals, each with a reference, date and issued-by. The cover carries a person-check stamp and a sign-off block for the customer.

What Baton does not do

Baton does not issue the MCS certificate, register the installation on the MID, register the warranty with the manufacturer, or run commissioning tests. It does not hold your test results or guarantee that a pack meets any standard. Those stay with you.

Attach your own documents instead: the signed clause 7.2.1 handover document, the MCS certificate once issued, the commissioning forms, the manuals and any grant forms. Baton gives the pack its equipment record and keeps those files on the same job.

Quick answers

What goes in an MCS heat pump handover pack?: MIS 3005-I clause 7.1.1 sets the minimum: copies of the commissioning forms and checklists, maintenance requirements and services, manufacturer manuals and warranty details, and any incentive scheme paperwork. A signed handover document under clause 7.2.1 goes with it.
Is there an MCS heat pump handover checklist?: MIS 3005-I carries a model handover document in Appendix D and an example commissioning checklist in Appendix C. Neither is a full pack checklist, so copy the list in this post and add anything your commissioning produces.
What does an MCS heat pump commissioning checklist record?: The MIS 3005-I example records the customer and company details, the make, model and serial of the heat pump, indoor unit and interface, then the electrical, hydraulic and control checks. It also says to follow the manufacturer’s own checklist, which can affect the warranty.
When must the MCS certificate for a heat pump be issued?: The standard says the installation must be registered on the MID and the certificate generated no later than 10 working days after commissioning. The Customer Commitment separately promises the customer certificates within 30 calendar days of completion.
How does Baton help with a heat pump handover pack?: Baton makes the equipment record on site: a nameplate photo and two unit photos per item, with manufacturer, model and serial checked by a person. The register comes as PDF, Excel and CSV in your Google Drive, ready to go in the pack.
Does Baton issue the MCS certificate or register the warranty?: No. You register the installation on the MID and the warranty with the manufacturer, and you issue your own certificates. Baton gives you the checked serials and the register, and lets you attach your certificates to the job.