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Which CSCS card do I need, and how do I get one?

Last checked 02-11-2026. A plain guide, not legal advice: check the official guidance below for your job.

You need the card that matches your job and your qualification: green for labourers, blue for skilled workers with a Level 2 NVQ, gold for Level 3 and supervisors, black for managers, red while you train, and white for degree and professional-body routes. Almost every card also needs a pass in the right CITB Health, safety and environment test, taken within the two years before you apply.

What a CSCS card is, and whether you need one

A CSCS card shows that someone working on a UK construction site has the training and qualifications for the job they do. CSCS says holding a card is not a legal requirement, but most principal contractors and major house builders ask for one. Holding a card does not guarantee entry either: you need the right card for your occupation, and the principal contractor controls who gets on site. Sites can check any card with the logo through CSCS Smart Check.

Cards are for people doing recognised construction occupations. Visitors and people doing non-construction work on site do not need one, though they may need an induction, supervision or a risk assessment instead.

CSCS is one of 38 card schemes in the CSCS Alliance. It covers the core trades and site roles. Some occupations, such as plant operators, electricians and plumbers, are carded by other Alliance schemes whose cards also carry the CSCS logo.

At the time of writing (11-2026) a card costs £36, and the Apprentice card is free. Apply through the My CSCS app or CSCS Online. CSCS says cards should arrive within five working days of approval. Third-party agents can apply for you, but CSCS warns they often add admin fees.

The card colours and what each one needs

Each card has its own qualification, test and lifespan. All cards below last five years unless stated.

  • Green Labourer: for labouring duties only. You need the Level 1 Award in Health and Safety in a Construction Environment (or an approved alternative) and the CITB Operatives test. The first card lasts two years.
  • Blue Skilled Worker: a construction NVQ or SVQ at Level 2 (SCQF level 5), or a recognised apprenticeship.
  • Gold Skilled Worker (older paperwork calls it Gold Advanced Craft): an NVQ or SVQ at Level 3 (SCQF level 6), an approved apprenticeship, or a City and Guilds Advanced Craft Certificate from an employer-sponsored apprenticeship.
  • Gold Supervisory: a supervisory or technical NVQ or SVQ at Level 3 or 4, plus the CITB Specialist Supervisory test.
  • Black Manager: a construction management or technical NVQ or SVQ at Level 4, 5, 6 or 7 (SVQ at SCQF level 10 or 11), plus the CITB Managers and Professionals (MAP) test.
  • White Academically Qualified Person: certain construction degrees, HNCs, HNDs, CIOB certificates and NEBOSH diplomas, plus the MAP test or the CIC Health and Safety Test.
  • White Professionally Qualified Person: current membership, at an accepted grade, of a CSCS-approved professional body such as CIOB, RICS or ICE, plus the MAP or CIC test. It cannot be renewed: when it expires you apply for a new one.
  • Red Apprentice: free, for people on a recognised apprenticeship. Lasts four years and six months and cannot be renewed.
  • Red Trainee: five years, not renewable, if you are registered on an NVQ, SVQ, HNC, HND or degree that leads to a skilled card. Or two years if you hold an approved Level 2 or higher trade diploma or T Level gained in the last five years (CSCS calls these non-competence qualifications), then a three-year card once you register on an NVQ.
  • Red Experienced Worker: normally at least one year of on-the-job experience in the last three, and registered on an NVQ or SVQ at Level 2 or higher. One year, not renewable.
  • Red Experienced Technical, Supervisor or Manager: as above but registered on a supervisory, technical or management NVQ or SVQ at Level 3 or higher. Three years, not renewable.
  • Red Industry Placement: for learners on a course with a work placement of at least three weeks, such as a T Level. Two years, not renewable, and it does not lead to a skilled card.
  • Red Provisional: for people on a probation period, on work experience of under three weeks, or new to the industry. Six months, once only, and only if you have never held a CSCS card.

The red cards are temporary. CSCS expects you to finish the qualification before the card runs out and then apply for the skilled card. Use the Card Finder on the CSCS website to match your exact job title and qualification to a card and a test level.

The CITB Health, safety and environment test

What people call the "CSCS test" is the CITB Health, safety and environment (HS&E) test. CITB runs it and CSCS does not. Book it with CITB: online through Pearson, by phone on 0344 994 4488, or at an Internet Test Centre. Bring photo ID with a signature and keep your score report.

  • Operatives: for the Labourer, Trainee and Apprentice cards and most blue and gold skilled cards.
  • Specialists: the Operatives content plus a specialist area. The supervisory specialist test is needed for the Gold Supervisory card, and some trades, such as demolition and plumbing, have their own.
  • Managers and Professionals (MAP): for the Black Manager card and the white AQP and PQP cards.

Each test has 50 questions in 45 minutes. The pass mark for all three is 90%, which means at least 45 correct answers.

CITB charges £23.50 for the test at the time of writing (11-2026). The CSCS FAQ still says £22.50, so go by the price CITB shows when you book. You can rearrange or cancel free online up to 72 hours before the test. By phone, rearranging costs £5 and a cancellation refund has a £10 fee taken off. Inside 72 hours you cannot change the booking and you get no refund.

For most cards the pass must be dated within the two years before you apply. CITB sells revision material, including GT100 for the Operatives test.

Renewing a card

Renew through the My CSCS app. CSCS lets you renew from six months before the expiry date printed on the card up to a year after it.

  • Blue, gold and black cards: renew with the same qualification you used last time, plus the right level of HS&E test passed within the last two years. An NVQ is a lifelong qualification, so you do not redo it.
  • White AQP card: renew with your qualification and a MAP or CIC test passed within the last two years.
  • White PQP card: apply for a new card with proof of this year's membership and a MAP test passed within the last two years.
  • Red cards cannot be renewed, except that a two-year Trainee card moves on to a three-year one once you are registered on an NVQ.
  • If your job has changed or you have a new qualification, apply for the new card rather than renewing the old one.

What has changed since 2024

  • Industry Accreditation has ended. These were cards issued on an employer's recommendation instead of a qualification. All of them expired by 31-12-2024 and the route is closed. Former holders need a qualification, which for experienced people is normally an NVQ assessed at work with no college attendance, or the AQP or PQP route. While they complete it they can hold a red Experienced Technical, Supervisor or Manager card.
  • Labourer card, from 01-02-2025: the first card lasts two years, not five. To renew for five years you must show you are still labouring, using the Labourer Declaration Form signed by your employer (or by the main contractor if you are self-employed) or a letter on headed paper. The HS&E test used for the first card counts for three years when you renew that first card. Skilled workers holding a Labourer card will be refused site access. Note that the CSCS renewal page says the second card lasts three years while the Labourer card page says five, so check the length when you apply.
  • The Level 1 requirement for labourers: you need the Level 1 Award in Health and Safety in a Construction Environment, which never expires, or an approved alternative. Alternatives include the CITB Health and Safety Awareness course (five years) and the IOSH Safety, Health and Environment for Construction Workers course (three years, and IOSH e-learning is not accepted). A five-year alternative must have been completed within four years of your application. If you are on, or have finished, a qualification for a skilled trade, you do not need the Level 1 Award: use your qualification to apply for the card that matches your role.
  • Trainee card, from 01-02-2025: the two-year route for people with an approved Level 2 or higher college qualification was added, leading to a three-year card once they register on an NVQ.
  • Industry Placement card, announced 16-07-2026: the minimum placement fell from 30 days to three weeks, the card now lasts two years instead of three, and a one-day Construction Health and Safety Awareness course is now accepted instead of the HS&E test.
  • Coming but not yet in force: CSCS and the Finishes and Interiors Sector have published a draft carding journey for dryliners, with a proposed start of December 2026, that may add fire safety training and CPD at renewal. CSCS says cardholders do not need to do anything different yet.

Worked example: a labourer at Brunel Terrace

Thomas Telford is labouring at Brunel Terrace with no card and wants the green card. His route, with the fixed fees at the time of writing (11-2026):

  • Take the Level 1 Award in Health and Safety in a Construction Environment. The price varies by provider: CSCS points people to local colleges, training providers or Jobcentre Plus.
  • Pass the CITB Operatives HS&E test: £23.50. He needs at least 45 out of 50.
  • Apply for the Labourer card in the My CSCS app: £36. Fixed fees so far: £23.50 + £36 = £59.50, plus the Level 1 Award.
  • The card lasts two years. The renewal window opens six months before the expiry date printed on it.
  • If he is still labouring then, his employer completes the Labourer Declaration Form. His original test still counts, because the first renewal allows a test up to three years old. He pays the card fee again.

If Telford would rather become a bricklayer, the green card is the wrong start. CSCS says it shows he is not on a training pathway. Instead he registers on a Level 2 bricklaying NVQ and applies for the five-year red Trainee card with the same test. When the NVQ is done he applies for the blue Skilled Worker card.

Sources

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