Who needs the CSCS Operatives test?

The Operatives test is the version most site workers take. CITB describes it as being for general site workers, and it is the test behind the Green Labourer card as well as most Blue Skilled Worker applications. If you supervise, manage or work in one of the 12 specialist trades, you may need a different version — check the official CSCS Card Finder before you book.

How many questions can I get wrong on the Operatives test?

Five. The pass mark is 45 out of 50, or 90%, so a sixth wrong answer fails you. That is why it is worth taking full mocks until you are clearing 45 consistently rather than scraping it once.

What is the CITB GT100?

GT100 is CITB's official revision publication for the Operatives test. CITB states it contains all of the content covered in the test, in question-and-answer form, and it is also sold as a digital download. There is also a CITB Operatives app with timed test simulations.

Can I take the Operatives test in another language?

CITB says the Operatives app is available in the 14 voiceover languages it offers, and CITB provides a range of reasonable adjustments for candidates sitting the test at a Pearson Professional Centre. Arrange any adjustment when you book, not on the day.

Is this mock test the same as the real one?

No. Our questions are written by us, not taken from CITB's bank, and no revision site has the real questions. What matches is the format: 50 questions, 45 minutes, 90% to pass, drawn across the same knowledge areas.

CSCS Mock Test for Operatives

The CITB HS&E test for Operatives is the version most workers take — CITB describes it as the test for general site workers, and it is the one behind the Green Labourer card. This free mock mirrors the real exam: 50 multiple-choice questions, 45 minutes, and a pass mark of 45 out of 50 (90%).

CITB HS&E Operatives Mock Test (timed)

50 questions · 45 minutes · pass mark 90%
Timed, exam conditions — answers are revealed at the end, just like the real CITB HS&E test.
Some questions need more than one answer — these are clearly marked.

The five core knowledge areas

CITB states that the Operatives test covers five core knowledge areas. Every question in the real exam sits in one of them, so if you are failing mocks it is worth working out which area is costing you the marks rather than simply resitting the whole thing.

1. Working environment

How a site is set up and run around you: signs and signals, site transport and segregation, working near excavations and buried services, plant movements, and the environmental duties that come with the job.

2. Occupational health

The slow-acting risks that do not announce themselves — dust and fumes, noise and vibration, hazardous substances, manual handling, and the welfare facilities you are entitled to.

3. Safety

The everyday duties: your responsibilities and your employer's, risk assessments and method statements, PPE, fire and emergency procedures, first aid and accident reporting.

4. High risk activities

The activities that kill and maim most often — working at height, excavations and confined spaces, electrical safety, and lifting operations.

5. Specialist

A smaller block of questions on activity-specific hazards. It is what the Specialist test expands into a whole section, which is why the two tests overlap so heavily.

Areas verified against CITB’s Operatives test page, July 2026. Our 21 topic question banks break these five areas down further, so you can drill one weakness at a time.

How to use this mock properly

Sit it cold, once

Take a full timed attempt before revising anything. A first score tells you which of the five areas you are actually weak in — revising the ones you already know is the commonest waste of a fortnight.

Then drill by topic, untimed

Work the topic banks with explanations on. The point at this stage is to understand why an answer is right, not to beat the clock.

Come back and retake, timed

Questions are reshuffled on every attempt, so a second run is not the same paper. If you are memorising answer positions rather than the knowledge, this exposes it.

Only book when 45 is routine

One pass at 45/50 is luck as much as knowledge. Book the real test when clearing the pass mark has stopped feeling close.

Is Operatives definitely your test?

There are three versions of the HS&E test and sitting the wrong one means paying £23.50 twice. Operatives is for general site workers. If you supervise, or work in one of the 12 specialist trades, you need the Specialist version; managers and professional-card applicants need the Managers & Professionals test. CITB points candidates at the official CSCS Card Finder to confirm, and so do we.

Prefer the exam under its other name? The CITB mock test is the same 50 questions, and the Specialist mock test covers the trade-specific versions.

When you are ready, read the pass mark and scoring rules, check the ID you must bring, then book the real test.

Operatives test — common questions

Who needs the CSCS Operatives test?: The Operatives test is the version most site workers take. CITB describes it as being for general site workers, and it is the test behind the Green Labourer card as well as most Blue Skilled Worker applications. If you supervise, manage or work in one of the 12 specialist trades, you may need a different version — check the official CSCS Card Finder before you book.
How many questions can I get wrong on the Operatives test?: Five. The pass mark is 45 out of 50, or 90%, so a sixth wrong answer fails you. That is why it is worth taking full mocks until you are clearing 45 consistently rather than scraping it once.
What is the CITB GT100?: GT100 is CITB's official revision publication for the Operatives test. CITB states it contains all of the content covered in the test, in question-and-answer form, and it is also sold as a digital download. There is also a CITB Operatives app with timed test simulations.
Can I take the Operatives test in another language?: CITB says the Operatives app is available in the 14 voiceover languages it offers, and CITB provides a range of reasonable adjustments for candidates sitting the test at a Pearson Professional Centre. Arrange any adjustment when you book, not on the day.
Is this mock test the same as the real one?: No. Our questions are written by us, not taken from CITB's bank, and no revision site has the real questions. What matches is the format: 50 questions, 45 minutes, 90% to pass, drawn across the same knowledge areas.