What Is the CITB HS&E Test?
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The CITB Health, Safety and Environment (HS&E) test is the exam almost every UK construction worker sits before getting a CSCS card. CITB sets it, you sit it in person at a test centre, and every version has 50 questions in 45 minutes with a pass mark of 45 out of 50. Most people call it “the CSCS test”. It is the same exam.
Test, card, and who does what
CITB
Sets and owns the Health, Safety and Environment test, and publishes the official revision materials (GT100 and GT200).
Pearson VUE
Delivers the test at its Pearson Professional Centres and handles bookings. CITB also approves local Internet Test Centres.
CSCS
Issues the card once you have both the test pass and the qualification your occupation requires.
The three versions of the test
Operatives test
The standard version for site workers: labourers and most skilled trades. Covers five core knowledge areas plus behavioural case studies.
Specialist test
The Operatives core knowledge plus one of 12 specialist topics, from Supervisory and Demolition to the HVACR trades.
Managers & Professionals (MAP)
For Manager and professional cards. Five sections covering legal and management, occupational health, general safety, high-risk activities and environment. Broadened in June 2023.
All three share the same format: 50 questions in 45 minutes, pass mark 45/50 (90%), fee £23.50. Which one you sit depends on the card you are applying for, and CITB points candidates to the CSCS card finder to check.
It is also called the CSCS touch screen test, after the terminal you sit it on.
Why the test exists
Construction remains one of the highest-risk industries in the UK. The HS&E test sets a minimum standard of health, safety and environmental awareness before anyone goes on site, that you can spot a hazard, know your legal duties, and know what to do when something goes wrong. For employers, a workforce that has passed it is evidence of that baseline competence.
Because it is a baseline rather than a reading test, CITB will read it to you. The Operatives version offers a voiceover in 14 languages, while Specialist is English and Welsh and MAP is English with Welsh on screen. The CSCS test languages differ by version, so check yours before you book.
What the HS&E test is not
- It is not the card. A pass is one half of a card application. CSCS issues the card once you also hold the qualification your occupation requires, such as the Level 1 Award (or an accepted alternative) for the Labourer card, or an NVQ/SVQ Level 2 for the Blue Skilled Worker card. The card side has its own page: What is a CSCS card?
- It is not a training course.The Level 1 Award and CITB's eCourses are training. Passing one, even with its own exam, does not pass the HS&E test for you.
- It is not something you sit at home. You book online and sit it in person. The section Can you take the CITB test online? below explains why.
- It is not the American CSCS exam. Here CSCS means the Construction Skills Certification Scheme. The US NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist exam shares the initials and has nothing to do with construction.
- It is not run by this site. We are an independent revision site, not CITB, CSCS Ltd or Pearson VUE. To book the real test, start from CITB's official HS&E test page.
Can you take the CITB test online?
No. You book the CITB HS&E test online and sit it in person. CITB publishes no remote or at-home option for any version. You book with Pearson online or by phone, or directly with your local Internet Test Centre, then attend in person with ID that includes your photo and signature. The steps are on how to book the CSCS test, and the documents accepted on the day are on CSCS test ID requirements.
The name “Internet Test Centre” is what convinces people otherwise. CITB defines an ITC as a centre it approves to provide testing facilities for tests such as the HS&E test. It is a venue you travel to, not a way of sitting the test from home. CITB also runs a mobile testing service, but an organisation books that for a list of candidates through Pearson. It is not an at-home option either.
Most people searching for an online CITB test are thinking of one of three different things. Only one of them is the exam.
| What it is | Can it be done online? | What it gets you |
|---|---|---|
| CITB HS&E test | No. Sat in person at a Pearson Professional Centre or an Internet Test Centre | The test pass a CSCS card application needs |
| Level 1 Award in Health and Safety in a Construction Environment, or CITB's Health and Safety Awareness eCourse | The eCourse, yes: CITB lets you take its exam online with Pearson remote invigilation. For the Level 1 Award, check with the provider | The qualification that sits alongside the test for a Labourer card |
| Other CITB eCourses | Yes, CITB advertises them as 100% online | Training and awareness. Not a test pass |
If a training provider told you your “CSCS course” could be done online, they almost certainly meant the second row. CITB itself says the Health and Safety Awareness exam is different from the HS&E test for Operatives, and a Labourer card needs both. The full list of what that card asks for is on the green CSCS card page.
Be careful what you are buying
“CITB test online” is a useful search term for anyone selling something. If a site offers you an online CITB test, read the small print before you pay: you are being sold either a revision product or a course, and neither is the exam. The CITB exam costs £23.50 and is booked through CITB and Pearson VUE. There is no route to a CITB HS&E test pass without attending a centre in person.
Some trades are carded by CSCS Alliance card schemes with their own health and safety assessments. Those are separate exams for those cards, not an at-home version of the CITB test.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the CITB HS&E test the same as the CSCS test?
- In everyday use, yes. People say 'CSCS test' but the exam is officially the CITB Health, Safety and Environment (HS&E) test. CITB sets and administers it; CSCS issues the card you can apply for once you have passed.
- Who runs the CSCS test?
- CITB (the Construction Industry Training Board) owns the test. Pearson VUE delivers it at its Pearson Professional Centres, and CITB also approves local Internet Test Centres, often training providers or colleges, that you can book with directly.
- Do I need the test to get a CSCS card?
- For almost every card, yes. A valid HS&E test pass is required alongside the relevant qualification. Which version you sit depends on the card you are applying for.
- How long is my test pass valid?
- It varies by card. Several cards require a pass within the last two years at the point of application, and the Labourer card's initial renewal treats the pass as valid for three years. Check your card's requirements before you apply.
- Can I take the CITB HS&E test online at home?
- No. CITB publishes no remote or at-home sitting option for the HS&E test. CITB says you book it with Pearson online or by phone, or directly with your local Internet Test Centre, and every route ends at a venue you attend in person with ID that includes your photo and signature. CITB's mobile testing service does not change that: an organisation books it for a group of candidates. What you can do online is book, revise, and take some of the courses that sit alongside the test, such as CITB's Health and Safety Awareness eCourse for a Labourer card.
The rest of what you need to know about the test
Four questions come up more than any others once people understand what the HS&E test is. Each has its own page.
When you are ready to sit it, start with how to book the CSCS test, then check the CSCS test cost, the CSCS test centres and what happens on CSCS test day. If you already know your trade needs a specialist version, compare the CSCS specialist tests instead.
This page explains the test rather than rehearsing it. To practise, the free CSCS mock test for Operatives runs 50 questions against a 45-minute clock, and a free CSCS practice test on our homepage is the quickest place to start. Sitting the Managers and Professionals version? Use the free MAP mock test instead.
Test format, pass mark and fee verified against citb.co.uk and cscs.uk.com, July 2026. Booking routes, the Internet Test Centre definition, the ID requirement, the mobile testing service and the CITB eCourse and Health and Safety Awareness exam formats verified against citb.co.uk (Booking your HS&E test, Internet Test Centres and eCourses pages), October 2026.