Vesting Certificate
A document transferring ownership of materials to the employer before they are installed — usually so the contractor can be paid for goods stored off site, while the employer gets title to what it has funded.
The purpose is protection against insolvency. If the contractor collapses with £2m of your switchgear sitting in a warehouse, a vesting certificate is what determines whether that switchgear is yours or an asset of the liquidation.
And it is frequently worth less than people assume, because vesting is only as strong as the contractor’s own title. If the contractor has not paid its supplier, and the supply contract carries a retention-of-title clause, the contractor never owned the goods and therefore could not vest them in you. The certificate is signed, filed, and worthless. Insurance, clear marking and the supplier’s own terms matter as much as the document.