What Is a WRAS Approved Tap?

If you've spent any time shopping for taps, you'll have seen "WRAS approved" printed on product pages, tucked into spec sheets, or stamped on the tap itself, and most people nod along and assume it's some sort of quality badge, a bit like a safety certificate for a plug or a British Standard kitemark. It's related, but the real answer is more specific than that.

Here's what WRAS approval actually means, why it exists at all, and how to check a specific tap has it before it's sitting on your worktop with the plumber halfway through the job.

What WRAS actually is

WRAS stands for the Water Regulations Advisory Scheme. It isn't a government department and it doesn't write the rules itself.

Instead, it's an approval body that tests plumbing fittings, including taps, against the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, the actual legislation that governs what's allowed to be connected to the mains water supply in England and Wales (Scotland has its own near identical byelaws, and Northern Ireland has its own near identical regulations).

When a tap passes WRAS testing, it gets listed on the WRAS Water Fittings and Materials Directory, a searchable online database of every approved product. That listing is the proof.

The tap itself will often carry a WRAS mark too, but the directory is the definitive source if you want to check for certain.

So WRAS approval isn't a marketing tick box. It's a demonstration that a specific tap, from a specific manufacturer, has been independently tested and found to comply with the regulations that protect the UK's shared water supply.

Why the regulations exist in the first place

It's easy to think of your taps as your own business, sitting on your own pipework, in your own house. In one sense they are, but every tap in the country is also connected to the same shared mains network.

Water doesn't just flow one way through a badly designed fitting. Under certain conditions, it can be pulled or pushed backwards, out of your sink or basin and back into the pipework that feeds your neighbours too.

That's the entire reason the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 exist, and you can read the underlying rules yourself on the gov.uk guidance page.

They're not really about your convenience, but about protecting drinking water quality for everyone drawing from the same supply, which is why water companies take fittings seriously even though most homeowners never think about it.

Backflow prevention in plain English

"Backflow prevention" sounds like dry engineering language, but the idea behind it is simple. Normally, water flows one direction: from the mains, through your pipes, out of your tap.

Backflow is when that direction reverses, usually because of a drop in mains pressure (a burst pipe nearby, for example, or maintenance work) combined with a tap or fitting that lets water get sucked backwards.

If your tap spout sits below the flood level of the sink, or a hose is left submerged in a bowl of water, a pressure drop can actually siphon dirty water, washing up liquid, or worse, back up through the tap and into the pipework behind it.

WRAS testing checks that a tap's design includes the right air gaps, valves, or other physical barriers so this simply can't happen, regardless of what's happening elsewhere on the network.

That's the whole mechanism in a nutshell. It's not about your tap failing in isolation, it's about your tap being a weak point that lets contamination travel into a system that thousands of other households rely on too.

How to actually check if a tap is WRAS approved

There are two reliable ways to confirm approval for any specific tap you're considering.

• Search the WRAS directory. The WRAS website hosts a free, searchable Water Fittings and Materials Directory. You can look up a manufacturer or product name directly and see if it's listed as approved.
• Check the manufacturer's documentation. Reputable brands state WRAS approval clearly on the product page, in the spec sheet, or on the box, often alongside a certificate number you can cross reference against the directory.

If neither of those turns anything up, treat that as a warning sign rather than an oversight. A properly approved product is easy for a manufacturer to prove, because the whole point of the scheme is that the paperwork exists and is public.

Is it actually illegal to fit a non-approved tap?

This is where people get confused, understandably, because the legal position is a bit more nuanced than "WRAS approved taps are legal and everything else isn't."

The law itself is the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999. It's the regulations that are legally binding, not WRAS approval specifically.

In theory, you could fit a tap that isn't on the WRAS list and still be compliant, if it truly meets the same technical requirements. That's a difficult and risky thing to prove without independent testing in practice, which is exactly the gap WRAS approval fills.

It's the easiest, most widely recognised way to demonstrate compliance, which is why plumbers, building control officers, and water companies treat it as the practical standard.

Water companies do have enforcement powers under the regulations, including the right to require non-compliant fittings to be removed or replaced, and in some cases to disconnect a supply where there's a genuine contamination risk. That's rare for a domestic tap swap, but it's not a purely theoretical power either.

So while you won't be arrested for fitting an unapproved tap, you can end up on the wrong side of an inspection, a house sale, or an insurance claim if something isn't compliant and it comes to light.

Why it matters more for some taps than others

Not every tap carries the same risk. A basic bathroom basin tap with a simple on off action is a fairly low risk fitting by design.

Kitchen taps are a different matter, particularly if they're connected to anything beyond a straightforward hot and cold mixer.

Taps feeding a dishwasher connection, boiling water taps, or anything with an integrated filter or instant hot water unit involve more complex plumbing, more potential points where backflow could occur, and in some cases a direct connection to drinking water that's being consumed rather than just used for washing up.

That's exactly why it's worth checking approval carefully when you're choosing a kitchen tap, and worth being extra thorough if you're adding features like a boiling water spout or an integrated filtration system down the line.

The cost and practical side of getting this right

Here's the reassuring part. WRAS approved taps aren't necessarily more expensive than non-approved ones.

Approval is a testing and certification process, not a premium feature, so you'll find WRAS approved options across pretty much every price bracket, from budget basin mixers to high end designer kitchen taps.

The real cost isn't in the purchase price, it's in what happens if you skip the check. A non-compliant tap discovered during a house sale, a landlord safety inspection, or a building control sign off can mean removal and replacement, which is a far more expensive and disruptive job than simply buying the right tap in the first place.

If you're having a tap fitted as part of any wider work, it's also worth confirming with your plumber that they're happy to sign off on the fitting, since a competent plumber should flag a non-approved product before installation rather than after.

Checking approval before you buy costs you nothing but a couple of minutes on the WRAS directory. Not checking can cost you a second visit from a plumber, an awkward conversation with a buyer's surveyor, or a fitting that has to come straight back out again.

Assumptions worth double checking

• Assuming any tap sold in a UK shop is automatically WRAS approved. Being sold legally in the UK and being WRAS approved are two different things. Retailers aren't required to only stock approved fittings, so the responsibility to check sits with you.
• Buying an unbranded tap online from overseas without checking. Marketplace listings from unfamiliar sellers, particularly ones shipped from outside the UK, are the most common source of taps with no genuine approval behind them, whatever badges appear in the product photos.
• Ignoring approval when adding extras like dishwasher connections or boiling water taps. These fittings carry higher backflow risk than a simple mixer tap, so it's worth double checking approval specifically for the tap and any connected components, not just assuming the whole setup is covered.
• Confusing "CE marked" with WRAS approved. CE marking (or the UK's equivalent UKCA marking) relates to general product safety and electrical compliance across a huge range of goods. It says nothing about water regulations compliance or backflow prevention specifically.
• Trusting a WRAS logo on a product image without verifying it. Product photography can be edited or copied from a different listing entirely. If approval matters to you, cross check the actual product against the WRAS directory rather than relying on an image alone.
• Assuming your plumber will automatically catch it. Most plumbers are conscientious about this, but it's still your fitting and ultimately your responsibility if something's wrong. A quick check before you buy saves any awkwardness later.

Getting this right isn't complicated, it just takes a genuine two minute check rather than an assumption. Once you've found a tap you like the look of, search it on the WRAS directory, confirm the listing matches the exact model, and you can get on with the fun part of choosing a tap you'll actually enjoy using.

If you haven't settled on a tap yet, our kitchen tap buying guide and our guide to the best tap brands in the UK are good places to start, and once you've got the right tap, our step-by-step fitting guide will take you through the install itself. Our pick of the best bathroom taps is worth a look too, since every pick there is checked against the WRAS directory before it makes the list.