How Many Questions Are in the CSCS Test?
The CITB Health, Safety and Environment test has 50 multiple-choice questions and lasts 45 minutes. That is the same for all three versions — Operatives, Specialist and Managers & Professionals. You need 45 correct (90%) to pass, so you can afford five wrong answers.
50
questions
45
minutes
~54s
per question
5
wrong allowed
The types of question you will see
The test is computer-based and touch-screen. Beyond standard multiple-choice, CITB uses several question formats:
- Multiple choice — pick one answer from a list.
- Multiple choice with images — for example choosing the correct safety sign.
- Multiple response — questions that ask for two or three answers; you must select them all to score.
- Behavioural case studies — short scenarios that test safe decision-making rather than pure recall.
Our mock tests replicate the single-answer and multi-answer formats. Image-based and drag-and-drop questions are best practised with the official CITB revision app.
Timing on the day
Although the exam itself is 45 minutes, allow longer at the centre. You should arrive at least 15 minutes early, and before the clock starts there is a short tutorial explaining how to navigate the test. A countdown timer runs on screen throughout. Plan for roughly an hour and a half at the test centre in total.
Practise the real format now — our free mock test runs 50 questions against a 45-minute countdown with the same 90% pass mark, and flags multi-answer questions exactly as the real test does.
For the exam end to end, start with what the CITB HS&E test is. The two numbers people ask about next are the CSCS test pass mark and how hard the CSCS test is.
Format verified against citb.co.uk, July 2026.