CIS checks for Birmingham contractors and labour providers

SubSure works online across the UK. There's no office in Birmingham. The checks run in your browser, and the company check reads the Companies House register at the moment you ask.

Construction in Birmingham

In 2026 there were 3,795 construction businesses registered for VAT or PAYE in Birmingham City Council's area, up 8% on 2021 (UK: up 9%).

Source: UK Business Counts, enterprises by industry and size, 2026 (Office for National Statistics, on Nomis), read 26 October 2026. ONS rounds each count to the nearest 5.

What that means for your checks

• 95 in every 100 construction businesses in Birmingham have fewer than 10 people (the same as the UK's 95%). Most firms you might pay are small, so verify each one with HMRC before you first pay them, however well you know them. How to verify.
• Specialised trades are 58% of the construction businesses here (below the UK's 63%). Ask each firm you pay whether they pass the work on, and to whom, and write down the answer. Supply chain due diligence.
• For a limited company, check the register before the first payment: how new it is, overdue filings and director changes. Run the free company check.

Major projects in and around Birmingham

Two major projects, from official sources:

• HS2 Birmingham Curzon Street station

  The HS2 station in Birmingham's Eastside. HS2 says the main building phase supports more than 1,000 construction jobs.

  Stage: Being built. Its foundations were finished in 2025.

  Source: Birmingham Curzon Street, HS2 (last updated 19 August 2026), read 26 October 2026.

• Birmingham Eastside Metro extension

  1.7km of new tram line from Bull Street to Digbeth, with four new stops.

  Stage: The first part opened to passengers on 5 April 2026. Work goes on in Digbeth.

  Source: Birmingham Eastside Metro Extension, Midland Metro Alliance (no date shown), read 26 October 2026.

Labour supply in Birmingham

In 2026 there were 255 temporary staffing agencies registered in Birmingham City Council's area, out of 665 businesses in employment activities of all kinds. That is about 6.7 for every 100 construction businesses there, above the UK's 2.7 (10,455 agencies in all). These counts cover agencies for every sector, not only construction, and we name none of them.

Source: UK Business Counts, enterprises by industry and size, 2026 (Office for National Statistics, on Nomis), read 26 October 2026. ONS rounds each count to the nearest 5.

Under CIS an agency that supplies workers to do construction work under its own contract with them is a subcontractor, and the contractor must apply the scheme to its payments. An agency that only introduces a worker, who then contracts with the contractor, is not. Source: Construction Industry Scheme: a guide for contractors and subcontractors (CIS 340).

Since 6 April 2026 the rules reach payments made or received, so a labour provider is judged on the money it is paid as well as the money it pays out. Source: Tackling Construction Industry Scheme fraud (policy paper, 26 November 2025). Read CIS checks for labour providers.

Start with one company

What this check cannot tell you. We cannot see a company's CIS registration or gross payment status. Only you can, by verifying them with HMRC before you pay.

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New to the rules? Start with the CIS guides.