BS 8484,
explained

What is BS 8484?

BS 8484 is the British Standard code of practice for the provision of lone worker services. It sets out how a lone worker device or app, the people who monitor it and the response behind it should work together so that a genuine alert gets the right help quickly. The current version is BS 8484:2022, published by BSI on 31 March 2022.

If you are buying a lone worker app or alarm, you will see BS 8484 on almost every sales page. This guide explains what the standard covers, what changed in 2022, how it connects to police response, and how to decide whether your organisation needs a certified service or whether an aligned app is enough.

If you're choosing between products, the BS 8484 buyer's guide and apps vs devices vs certified services go further, and our comparison of 8 UK lone worker apps shows which are certified.

What BS 8484 covers

BS 8484 gives recommendations for protecting lone working employees where the employer's risk assessment shows a lone worker service is needed. According to BSI, the service it describes includes a lone worker device and/or a lone worker application, plus training, management information and response options.

In practice the standard looks at the whole service, not just the hardware or the app: how a worker raises an alert and shares their identity and location, how alerts are verified so false alarms are kept down, the training users and managers receive, the reporting a supplier gives the customer, and how incidents are passed to the right responders.

It is a code of practice, written as recommendations rather than rules. UK law does not require you to use a BS 8484 service. Your legal duty, as HSE puts it, is to manage the health and safety risks before people work alone.

What changed in BS 8484:2022

BS 8484 was first published in 2009 and revised in 2011, 2016 and 2022. The 2016 revision brought smartphone apps into scope; before that the standard was written mainly around dedicated devices.

Monitoring moved to BS 9518. BSI states that monitoring of lone worker services is now excluded from BS 8484 because it is covered by BS 9518, the code of practice for processing alarm signals at an alarm receiving centre (ARC). BS 9518:2021 explicitly includes lone worker signals and replaced BS 8591:2014.

Staff screening and wellbeing. People involved in delivering the service are expected to be security screened in line with BS 7858, and the 2022 text puts more weight on wellbeing and safety culture, not only the alarm itself.

BS 8484:2022 superseded the 2016 edition. If a supplier still quotes 2016 certification in 2026, it is worth asking why.

BS 8484 monitoring: the ARC standards behind a certified service

A BS 8484 service normally relies on an alarm receiving centre to handle alerts, and the ARC side is covered by separate standards. BS EN 50518 is the European standard for monitoring and alarm receiving centres, covering the building, resilience and operations. BS 5979 Category II is the older British standard for remote centres, still recognised in police requirements. BS 9518 covers how the ARC processes alarm signals, including lone worker alerts.

These standards give the monitoring side its credibility. An app on its own, however good, is not an ARC.

BS 8484, URNs and Level 1 police response

The main practical reason organisations seek a certified service is police response. Police response to monitored alarms, including lone worker services, is governed by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) requirements for security systems.

Under those requirements, URNs (unique reference numbers) are issued by police forces for systems monitored by recognised centres. Monitoring companies must be certificated by a UKAS-accredited certification body, and the ARC must meet BS 5979 Category II or BS EN 50518, together with BS 9518. Lone worker services have their own appendix, and lone worker URNs are held by the monitoring centre and renewed each year.

With a URN, a verified alert can be passed by the ARC straight to the relevant police force for a Level 1 response. The NPCC defines Level 1 as immediate attendance, while noting that response is ultimately set by demand, priorities and resources. It is a priority route, not a guarantee. Its value is verification: the ARC operator listens in, checks the situation and only escalates when police are genuinely needed.

Who certifies BS 8484 lone worker services

In the UK, BS 8484 certification is carried out by UKAS-accredited certification bodies. The two you will see most are NSI (National Security Inspectorate) and SSAIB, both of which certify lone worker service providers to BS 8484.

If a supplier claims certification, ask for the certificate, the certification body, the version (2022) and the scope. Certification applies to a specific service and provider, not to a phone or an app in isolation.

Certified service or aligned app: what you get

"BS 8484-aligned" means an app or service has been designed around the principles of the standard but has not been independently certified against it. Vygard is BS 8484-aligned. It does not hold BS 8484 certification.

A certified service gives you an independent audit by a body such as NSI or SSAIB, 24/7 ARC monitoring to BS EN 50518 and BS 9518, and the police URN route, usually at a higher cost that reflects the ARC and certification.

An aligned app such as Vygard gives you SOS, fall detection, live GPS and an audit trail, with fast escalation to your own team as the core feature. ARC monitoring and the URN route are available only by escalating to a certified ARC partner, and the cost per worker is lower.

When you need a certified service

Your risk assessment calls for police priority response. Staff facing a real risk of violence or aggression, such as enforcement officers, housing officers or people visiting unknown clients alone, may need the URN route.

Your insurer requires it. Some insurers set conditions around lone worker protection, so check your policy wording.

A tender or contract requires it. Public sector and larger buyers often ask for BS 8484 certification by name, and an aligned app will not meet that requirement.

You have no one to respond 24/7. If nobody in your organisation can pick up an alert at 3am, you need a professional ARC.

When an aligned app is enough

For many organisations the main risks are accidents, medical events, lone driving or being out of contact, rather than violence. What matters most is that an alert reaches someone who knows the worker, fast, and that nothing slips through.

An aligned app can be the right choice when your risk assessment points mainly to slips, falls, medical events or being unreachable, when supervisors can respond during working hours, when you need a clear record of check-ins and alerts, and when budget matters and you want to cover more staff.

Vygard is built for this. Workers raise an alert with one-tap or voice SOS, and fall and man-down detection can trigger one automatically. Live GPS shows where they are. Alerts follow an escalation cascade from buddy to supervisor to duty manager, then to an ARC and 999, with acknowledgement timers so an unanswered alert moves on. Every event is logged. Because Vygard can escalate to an ARC, you can combine in-house response with professional monitoring where your risk assessment needs it.