The short answer
The CITB test is the Health, Safety and Environment test every CSCS card needs. You book it through CITB, sit it at a test centre on a computer, answer 50 questions in 45 minutes and need 45 marks to pass. Bring photo ID or you won’t be let in. The pass is valid for two years, and the test alone doesn’t get you a card.
Right, you’re booking the CITB test.
You’ve been told you need it before you can get your card, you’ve looked online, and you’ve found six different names for what sounds like the same thing.
HS&E test, health and safety test, CSCS test, CITB exam.
Well, they’re all one test. Simple enough.
We can probably guess what you’re thinking now. How do I book it? What happens on the day? How do I revise for it?
Well, let’s make this as simple as possible.
CITB is the Construction Industry Training Board. Among other things, it runs the Health, Safety and Environment test, which is the safety check CSCS wants before it issues a card.
Loads of people get the name muddled, so:
Passing it is a step, not the card. That comes from CSCS against a qualification, with your test pass sat on top.
There are three different types, and booking the wrong one is more common than you’d think. So let’s break it down.
The one most people sit. It’s the version behind the green labourer card and the blue skilled worker card. If you’re on the tools, this one’s for you. If you’re after the green labourer card, the qualification behind it is the Level 1 Award in Health and Safety in a Construction Environment.
These are trade-specific versions for a handful of occupations with their own safety content. Your card scheme will tell you if you need one. Gold supervisors sit the Specialist Supervisory version.
The version for the black manager card and the white academic or professional cards. Same length, same pass mark, different questions, with a lot more on managing risk. If you’re running sites and heading for the black card, this is your test.
It’s very straightforward.
Go to the CITB website and find the Health, Safety and Environment test booking page, or ring their booking line.
Choose the version you need: operatives, specialist, or managers and professionals.
Pick a date and time. Weekday daytime slots are the easiest to get, but early mornings and Saturdays exist at many centres.
Complete the booking and keep the confirmation. You’ll get a reference number and you’ll need the details on the day.
You can book through a training provider or an agency too.
If English isn’t your first language, don’t worry.
Ask for a voiceover when you book. The test can be sat with narration in a range of languages, and you can also request a British Sign Language version or extra time where there’s a genuine need. Ask at booking, not on the day.
Turn up at least 15 minutes early. The test centre won’t wait for you and it won’t let you in late.
You’ll need photo ID from the list CITB accepts. No ID, no test, and you lose the booking. Check the current list on the CITB website before you set off rather than assuming a work pass will do.
You’ll be shown to a computer. There’s a short tutorial first so you know how the screen works, then the clock starts. Fifty questions, 45 minutes. Most are multiple choice with one right answer.
Your result comes up on screen and on a printed slip before you leave. Keep the slip. When you apply for your card, the pass shows on CITB’s records, and it stays valid for that application for two years. The same two-year rule applies when you renew a CSCS card.
CITB publishes the revision material the real test is drawn from, so that’s what we point people at.
Use the official CITB revision app or book to practise against the actual question bank rather than a copy of it.
At the end of each practice run you’ll see your score, every wrong answer with the right one, and a short line on why. The revision questions draw on a smaller bank than the real thing, so learn the reasons, not the answers.
You need 45 out of 50, whichever version you sit. It’s a high bar, but health and safety isn’t a joke. It’s meant to be taken seriously.
If you don’t pass, you book again and sit it again. You can’t re-sit inside 48 hours of a fail, so all you lose by failing is a couple of days and the nerves of doing it twice.
Your score slip shows which subjects you dropped marks in. Revise those before the retake.
This is the bit people miss.
The test on its own gets you nothing. To apply for a card, you need a qualification that matches it. Unlike the test pass, an NVQ never expires.
For a blue skilled worker card, it’s a Level 2 NVQ in your trade. For a gold supervisor card, a Level 3. For the black card, a Level 6 or 7. If you’ve been doing the job for a couple of years, the NVQ is assessed on site by an assessor who comes to you, and you can hold a temporary red experienced worker card while it’s being done.
We don’t run the test, but we do everything on the other side of it. Ring us on 01942 673047 with your trade and how long you’ve been in it, and we’ll tell you which version of the test to book, which qualification to apply with and whether the NVQ is funded for you. Straight answers, no classroom.
