What are BOHS courses?
BOHS courses lead to qualifications awarded by the British Occupational Hygiene Society, the Chartered Society for Worker Health Protection. Founded in 1953 and granted a Royal Charter in 2013, BOHS is the UK’s awarding body for occupational hygiene: the discipline of recognising, measuring and controlling the workplace exposures that make people ill, from asbestos fibres to legionella bacteria.
The courses on this page are BOHS proficiency qualifications, the “P” modules. Each one is a short, practical course built around a single job role, ending in a BOHS-set examination. They are the qualifications employers, clients and UKAS-accredited organisations look for when they need evidence that someone is competent to survey for asbestos, manage it in a building, or run a hot and cold water system safely. BOHS states that its qualifications are recognised by HSE, UKAS and the International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA).
What is available here. Three BOHS proficiency qualifications: two in asbestos (P402 and P405) and one in legionella control (P901). All three sit at Level 4 in the BOHS qualifications framework, which BOHS describes as equivalent to NVQ Level 4.
Depending on the course, places are offered in the classroom or as live online sessions led by a tutor. Each course page shows the current formats, dates and prices from independent BOHS training providers, so you can compare them side by side.
Available BOHS courses
Two BOHS asbestos courses and one BOHS legionella course. Choose by the job you need to be competent to do.
Asbestos — Surveying
The standard asbestos surveyor course, and the qualification HSE’s survey guide HSG264 names as the most commonly held in the field. Three days covering building construction and asbestos uses, survey types, bulk sampling, material assessment, survey reports and quality control. Assessed by a practical sampling assessment and two written examinations.
Asbestos — Management
For the people who hold or support the duty to manage: dutyholders, building and facilities managers, and anyone who buys in surveys, analysis or removal. Normally three days, covering how to manage identified asbestos, keep the records straight, procure asbestos services and judge the quality of what contractors deliver.
Legionella — Water systems
A one-day qualification for responsible persons, facilities and maintenance staff and water hygiene technicians. Covers legionella risk in hot and cold water systems and the controls expected under ACoP L8 and HSG274 Part 2, ending in a written theory examination. It is also the entry point to the more advanced P903 and P904 modules.
Putting a team through? Surveying companies, consultancies and estates teams often need several people qualified at once. BOHS courses can usually be arranged for a group at your premises or a venue near you, priced for the group rather than per person. Get a group quote or call 0808 1966 830.
Which BOHS course do I need?
The three qualifications answer three different questions. Picking by job role is more reliable than picking by title.
■ You find it
P402 if you survey
You carry out asbestos surveys, take bulk samples, manage a surveying team, or write and check survey reports. Also useful for architects and building surveyors who need to understand what a survey can and cannot tell them.
▲ You manage it
P405 if you hold the duty
You are responsible for asbestos in premises, keep the register and management plan, or commission surveys and removal work. Surveyors and analysts also take it to move into asbestos management or consultancy.
◆ You control water risk
P901 if you run water systems
You are the responsible person for hot and cold water services, or you carry out monitoring, flushing and temperature checks. New to legionella control? BOHS recommends some grounding first, such as a legionella awareness course.
A common misunderstanding. These are not awareness courses. Asbestos awareness is for anyone who might disturb asbestos by accident and takes a few hours. P402 and P405 are professional qualifications with invigilated examinations, and P402 assumes you already have that basic grounding. If awareness is what you need, start with our asbestos training courses; for water hygiene, see the legionella and water treatment courses.
Who are BOHS courses suitable for?
BOHS proficiency qualifications suit people whose job involves assessing or controlling a specific health risk at work, and who need a recognised certificate to prove it. Typical candidates include:
- Asbestos surveyors, analysts and consultants, and those training to become one
- Dutyholders, building owners, landlords, and estates and facilities managers
- Health and safety advisors and environmental health officers
- Responsible persons for legionella, and water hygiene technicians and engineers
- Principal contractors and project managers who commission asbestos surveys before refurbishment or demolition
- Anyone responsible for monitoring or controlling exposure to hazardous substances
There are no formal entry requirements, but BOHS expects good literacy and numeracy, and the examinations are demanding. The qualifications work best alongside experience, and they sit naturally within a wider approach to managing workplace health risks.
Related training and guidance
The topics that sit either side of a BOHS qualification.
Awareness, non-licensed work and duty to manage courses. The usual starting point before P402 or P405.
Who holds the duty to manage, what an asbestos register and management plan must contain, and where asbestos is found.
What asbestos consultants do and the qualifications and accreditation to look for when you appoint one.
Legionella and water treatment courses
Awareness, responsible person and duty holder courses that sit alongside P901.
Asbestos has its own regulations, but legionella and most other workplace health hazards are controlled under COSHH.
Asbestos Duty to Manage Checker
A free tool that works out whether the regulation 4 duty falls on you and where your arrangements fall short.
BOHS course questions
What is BOHS?
The British Occupational Hygiene Society, the Chartered Society for Worker Health Protection. It was founded in 1953, received its Royal Charter in 2013, and is the UK awarding body for qualifications in occupational hygiene, asbestos and legionella control. Courses are delivered by independent training providers approved by BOHS, and BOHS sets and marks the examinations.
Is P402 a legal requirement for asbestos surveyors?
Not by name. The law requires surveyors to be competent, and HSE’s survey guide HSG264 sets out what that means. HSG264 refers to P402 as the most commonly held qualification in the field, and in practice clients, employers and UKAS-accredited surveying organisations expect it. A certificate alone is not competence: HSG264 also expects supervised field experience.
Should I take P402 or P405?
P402 if you will carry out or supervise surveys; P405 if you manage asbestos in buildings or buy in asbestos services. Many asbestos professionals hold both, and the order depends on the job you do now. If you hold the duty to manage and simply need to understand it, a shorter duty to manage course may be enough.
How are BOHS proficiency qualifications assessed?
By BOHS-set examination. P402 has three parts: a practical sampling assessment during the course and two written examinations. P901 ends in a written theory examination. For all of them, you need to pass every part within 12 months to be awarded the certificate.
Do I need experience or other qualifications first?
There are no formal entry requirements. P402 is best taken after asbestos awareness training, and BOHS recommends its P900 foundation course, or equivalent legionella awareness, before P901 if you are new to water hygiene, although neither is compulsory. For P901 you should also be familiar with ACoP L8 and HSG274 Part 2.
Do BOHS qualifications expire?
The certificates themselves do not carry an expiry date. Refresher training is a separate matter: the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 require asbestos training to be kept up to date, and BOHS offers refresher courses for P402 and P405 for that purpose. Call us on 0808 1966 830 if you need a refresher and cannot see one listed.
Related training
Legionella training
COSHH training
NEBOSH courses
IOSH courses
IWFM courses
CDM training
Construction safety courses
Online instructor-led courses
Classroom courses
On-site group training
All accredited courses
Envico is an independent training intermediary. We are not accredited by or associated with BOHS. All courses listed here are delivered by independent BOHS approved training providers and certificated by BOHS.