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CSCS cards

CSCS Cards: Every Card Type and Which One You Need

Thirteen cards, and the colour only tells you half of it. Answer two questions and we will tell you which one you need, which qualification earns it and which CITB test goes with it.

Which card do I need? See every card

Card checker

Which CSCS card do I need?

Two questions. No sign up, nothing stored, and it tells you the qualification and the test as well as the card.

Every card

Every CSCS card, and who each one is for

Thirteen cards, and the colour is only half the story. Two of them are gold and they are not the same card.

A red CSCS Industry Placement card, the card for a student on a construction work placement Red Industry Placement card A student or learner doing a work placement that forms part of a construction qualification. 2 years A red CSCS Provisional card, the temporary card for someone new to construction Red Provisional card Someone brand new to construction who needs to get on site quickly while they sort out a qualification. 6 months A black CSCS Manager card, the card for a site manager Black Manager card A site manager, contracts manager or project manager running construction work. 5 years A green CSCS Labourer card, the card for general site operatives Green Labourer card A general site operative doing labouring work. It is not for skilled trades. 2 years on the first card, then 5 years on renewal A gold CSCS Supervisor card, the card for a site supervisor or foreman Gold Supervisor card A site supervisor, foreman or ganger running a team on site. 5 years A gold CSCS Advanced Craft card, the card for a tradesperson holding a Level 3 NVQ Gold Advanced Craft card An experienced tradesperson who has taken their trade to Level 3. 5 years A blue CSCS Skilled Worker card, the card for a tradesperson holding a Level 2 NVQ Blue Skilled Worker card A qualified tradesperson: bricklayer, joiner, plasterer, painter, glazier, roofer, tiler and so on. 5 years A white CSCS Academically Qualified Person card, the card for someone holding a construction related degree, HNC or HND White Academically Qualified Person card Someone with a construction related degree, HNC, HND or an accepted NEBOSH or CIOB qualification. 5 years A white CSCS Professionally Qualified Person card, the card for a member of an approved professional body White Professionally Qualified Person card A current member, at a professionally qualified grade, of a CSCS approved professional body. 5 years A red CSCS Trainee card, the temporary card for someone registered on a qualification Red Trainee card Someone registered on a construction qualification and working towards it. There are now two different routes with two different cards. 5 years on the competence route, 2 years on the non competence route A red CSCS Apprentice card, the temporary card for someone on an apprenticeship Red Apprentice card Someone registered on a recognised construction apprenticeship. 4 years and 6 months A red CSCS Experienced Worker card, the temporary card for someone with site experience but no qualification yet Red Experienced Worker card Someone who has done the work for years but never got the qualification. This is the card that buys you time to fix that. 1 year A red CSCS Experienced Technical, Supervisor or Manager card, the temporary card for an experienced technical, supervisory or management worker Red Experienced Technical, Supervisor or Manager card An experienced supervisor, manager or technical worker who has not yet got the qualification to match. 3 years

Qualification to card

Which NVQ leads to which card

Every qualification we deliver, and the card it earns. All of them are assessed on the job, so nobody goes back to college for one.

Bricklaying

Carpentry & Joinery

Painting & Decorating

Plastering

Glass, Glazing & Fenestration

Site Inspection

Roofing & Cladding

Solar Panels

Wall & Floor Tiling

Site Logistics

Plant Operations

Supervision & Management

Health & Safety

Teaching, Assessing & IQA

Lifting Operations

Paying for it

You may not have to pay for the card or the test

From August 2026, learners on an eligible Level 2 or Level 3 construction qualification can have their CSCS card application fee and their Health, Safety and Environment test covered through the Adult Skills Fund. Eligibility depends on the qualification and on the learner, so the sensible thing is to ask before you pay for anything.

Ask whether you qualify

CSCS cards: common questions

Thirteen, and the colour does not identify them on its own. Six of them are red, two are gold and two are white, and within each colour the cards are for different people and need different qualifications.

It depends on the work you do and the qualification you hold. Use the card checker at the top of this page: two questions and it tells you the card, the qualification behind it and which CITB test goes with it.

Every card needs the Health, Safety and Environment test or an accepted alternative. There are three tests: Operatives, Specialists, and Managers and Professionals. A few cards also accept a one day Health and Safety Awareness course certificate or a Certificate of Unit Credit instead.

No. Industry Accreditation, which people called grandfather rights, is closed. Renewals stopped on 30 June 2024 and the last cards expired on 31 December 2024. The red Experienced Worker card and the red Experienced Technical, Supervisor or Manager card are the routes that replaced it, and both require you to register for an NVQ.

Yes. We run our own CITB Health, Safety and Environment test centre, so for cards like the green Labourer card you can do the one day course in the morning and sit the test the same afternoon rather than booking a test somewhere else afterwards.

No. Both are Site Safety Plus courses rather than regulated qualifications, so CSCS do not accept either one for a card. The black Manager card needs a Level 4 to 7 management NVQ and the gold Supervisory card needs a Level 3 or 4 supervisory NVQ. Most sites ask for the course as well as the card, which is why the two get confused.

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