Cards & Testing · 14 July 2026
The green Labourer card now lasts two years, not five
Since February 2025 the first CSCS Labourer card is issued for two years instead of five. If you got a card recently, it expires sooner than you think - here is what changed and how renewal works.
If you have held a green Labourer card for years, you will be used to a five year card. That is no longer what a new applicant gets.
What changed
From 1 February 2025, the first Labourer card issued to someone is valid for two years. Those still working in a labouring role after that can renew for a further five years, but the renewal requires a declaration confirming that labouring is genuinely the work they do.
Why CSCS did it
The Labourer card was never meant to be a general purpose site pass. It is for people whose work is labouring - not for skilled tradespeople who have not got round to their NVQ, and not as a permanent alternative to a trade card.
A shorter first card creates a natural checkpoint. If you are still labouring in two years, you renew and carry on. If you have moved into a trade, that is the moment to get the card that reflects it.
What you need for the card
Two things: the Level 1 Award in Health and Safety in a Construction Environment (or an approved alternative), and a pass on the CITB health, safety and environment test taken within the last two years.
Both can be done quickly. The Level 1 award is a short course, and the test is booked at a centre and taken the same day.
If you are actually a tradesperson
Be honest with yourself here, because it affects your pay. If you lay blocks, fix steel, hang plasterboard or finish tape joints, the Labourer card is not your card. The Blue Skilled Worker card is, and it needs a Level 2 NVQ in your trade.
Sites increasingly check that the card matches the work being done. Holding a green card while doing skilled work is a conversation nobody wants to have with a site manager, and it usually costs you money on rate.
Check your expiry date now
The cheapest thing you can do this week is look at your card. If it was issued after February 2025, count two years, not five - and put a reminder in your phone three months before it runs out. Renewals are calm. Expiries are not.