Risk assessment of soils polluted by potentially toxic trace elements generally is a complex procedure that includes many variables and parameters, many of them difficult to assess. The proposed methodological approach is an easier procedure to obtain reasonable security for the potential risk of a soil contaminated by trace elements. This approach can be successfully applied in most of the case studies, avoiding a sometimes flawed risk analysis procedure, which many times leads to an unnecessary declaration of soil pollution, resulting in mandatory and expensive reclamation actions. The protocol supposes that: a) high concentrations of potentially toxic trace elements exceeding generic reference levels are not always a risk to human health, and b) the mobile fractions of potentially toxic trace elements and their bioavailability are the key factors to consider in any sort of risk assessment, when such assessments are needed. The proposal consists of successive steps that ranges from a simple documentation and investigation of available information of the history, present state of the potential polluted site (PPS), mapping and field works to a detailed study that involves determination of local reference values, geoaccumulation factors, soil parameters, mobility, bioavailability, operational speciation, etc. For As, Hg, Cd, and Pb, particular procedures are also proposed. As can be deduced from the proposal, anomalously high concentrations of potentially toxic trace elements in a soil, although they may exceed the generic reference levels, do not always pose a health risk. Thus, risk assessment is only necessary in a very few cases. •Trace elements exceeding soil screening levels not always pose a health risk•Local baseline and bioavailable fraction should be key factors to consider for risk assessment.•The proposed protocol avoids undesirable errors derived from risk analysis methods.•The method allows assessing the potential risk without overestimating the pollution.