Cards & Testing · 21 July 2026
Booking the CITB test: which version you need, and the mistake that costs you a day
There are three versions of the CITB health, safety and environment test, and booking the wrong one means sitting the right one again. Here is how to pick, what it costs and how long a pass lasts.
Every CSCS card needs a current pass on the CITB health, safety and environment test. It is a straightforward test - and yet people lose a whole day to it regularly, for one avoidable reason.
There are three versions, not one
Operatives. This is the basic level of health, safety and environmental awareness. It is the test for the Labourer card, the Trainee and Apprentice cards, most Blue Skilled Worker cards and most Gold Advanced Craft cards.
Specialists. Everything in the operative test, plus material on a specialist area such as supervision or working at height.
Managers and Professionals, usually shortened to MAP. Everything in the operative test, plus material relevant to managers and professionals. This is the test for the Black Managers card and for Academically or Professionally Qualified Person cards.
The mistake
Somebody going for a Black card books the operative test, because that is the one everybody talks about. They pass it comfortably, apply for the card, and find the pass does not count for the card they want. Then they book again, take another day off, and pay again.
Check which card you are applying for before you book the test, not after. If it is a Black card, you need MAP. If you are going for a supervisory card, check whether the Specialist version applies to you.
What it costs
The test is £23.50 at a standard test centre. Mobile testing events cost more - £32.75 - because the testing comes to a site rather than the other way round.
How long a pass lasts
Two years. To apply for a CSCS card, your test pass must have been achieved within the last two years.
This catches people who pass the test, then take months to finish the qualification behind their card. If your NVQ takes longer than expected, keep an eye on the test date, because an expired pass means sitting it again.
Turning up
Bring valid photo identification - a test centre will turn you away without it, and that is a wasted morning nobody refunds.
Revision material is widely available, and it is worth going through. The test is not designed to catch you out, but it does assume you have read the current material rather than relying on what you remember from a site induction years ago.
Booking
You can book directly with CITB, or through a test centre. If you are getting a card with us, book the test at the same time as the qualification and you will not have two separate things to remember.