NEBOSH — the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health — is the awarding body behind the UK’s most widely held health and safety qualifications. Established in 1979 as an independent examination board, it sets the syllabus and marks the assessments; the teaching is delivered by accredited learning partners across the UK and internationally.
A NEBOSH qualification is widely regarded as the benchmark for health and safety competence, and is frequently named as an essential or desirable requirement in job descriptions. The range runs from short awards through to degree-level diplomas, so the right one depends less on what you already know than on where you are heading. All are available in classroom, live online, e-learning and distance learning formats, or on-site for groups.
Which NEBOSH qualification do I need? If you manage health and safety as part of a wider role, the General Certificate is the usual starting point. If you work in construction, the Construction Certificate covers the same principles applied to site work. If you are building a career in health and safety, the Diploma is the qualification that opens senior roles and IOSH membership.
Working overseas? The International versions cover international standards rather than UK legislation. If health and safety is only part of your job rather than the whole of it, IOSH courses are shorter and may suit better. Not sure? Get in touch before you book.
Certificate-level qualifications
The most widely held NEBOSH qualifications, suitable for managers, supervisors and those entering the profession. No formal entry requirements.
Around 10 days — the standard entry qualification
★ Most popular
The UK’s most widely held health and safety qualification and the standard starting point for the profession. Assessed by the NG1 open-book examination and the NG2 practical risk assessment carried out in a real workplace.
NEBOSH Construction Certificate
9 days — construction managers and site staff
✓ Construction
Covers CDM duties, excavations, demolition, working at height and site transport in far more depth than the General Certificate. Assessed by one open-book examination plus a closing interview. Worth comparing against SMSTS, which contractors often specify separately.
Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management
✓ Specialist
Fire risk assessment, fire safety management and the duties of the responsible person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Suits those with responsibility for fire safety in buildings, and anyone moving into fire risk assessment work.
NEBOSH Environmental Certificate
Certificate in Environmental Management
✓ Specialist
Environmental management systems, impact assessment and legal duties. Increasingly requested as environmental responsibilities are added to existing safety roles rather than given to a separate function. See also environmental training.
NEBOSH Health and Safety at Work
Award level — shorter introduction
◆ Award level
A shorter, award-level introduction for those who need working health and safety knowledge without the depth of the General Certificate. A useful stepping stone if you are not ready to commit to ten days.
NEBOSH International General Certificate
International equivalent of the General Certificate
◆ International
The same structure as the National General Certificate but built on international standards and ILO codes rather than UK legislation. The right choice if you work outside the UK or expect to.
A note on the practical assessment. The General Certificate is assessed by two separate units. NG1 is an open-book examination sat remotely on a fixed date set by NEBOSH, not one of your choosing. NG2 is a risk assessment carried out in a real workplace and written up as a report. That applies to every study format including e-learning, so it is not a qualification you can complete by working through materials alone. Worth deciding in advance which area you will assess — our risk assessment guidance is a useful starting point. If you do not currently have access to a workplace, ask the provider what they accept before booking.
Diploma-level qualifications
Substantially more demanding qualifications for those specialising in health and safety. Normally taken after a certificate rather than instead of one.
Occupational Health and Safety — degree level
◆ Degree level
The qualification that opens senior health and safety roles. Meets the academic requirement for Graduate Membership of IOSH and is a recognised route towards chartered status. Studied over many months rather than days.
International equivalent, by distance learning
◆ International
The international counterpart to the National Diploma, built on international standards. Commonly studied by distance learning around a working role.
Diploma in Environmental Management
◆ Degree level
Advanced environmental management for those specialising in the field, or taking on senior environmental responsibility alongside health and safety.
Specialist and HSE-developed courses
Shorter qualifications targeting a specific skill, several developed jointly with the Health and Safety Executive.
Investigation
Developed with the HSE. Covers investigating incidents properly, establishing root causes and preventing recurrence.
Risk assessment
Practical risk assessment skills, developed with the HSE for those who carry out assessments as part of their role. See our risk assessment guidance.
Board level
Aimed at senior leaders and directors, focusing on the behaviours that shape safety culture from the top. See also legal responsibilities.
Process industries
For oil, gas, chemicals and manufacturing, where major accident hazards apply and the controls differ from general workplace safety.
Environmental
A short introduction to environmental responsibilities in the workplace, suitable for any role and any sector.
Risk management
Developed with IIRSM, covering risk management principles beyond health and safety alone.
Training a team? NEBOSH certificates run over several days, so sending people out one at a time adds up quickly in travel and time away from the job. Most courses can be delivered at your premises or a venue near you, priced for the group rather than per person, with everyone sitting the same examination date. See on-site training for groups or call 0808 1966 830.
How NEBOSH courses are delivered
Four study routes, all leading to the same qualification and the same externally set examination.
Face to face with a tutor and other delegates. Suits people who learn better in a room and would rather be away from work interruptions.
Live tutor-led sessions by video. Same syllabus and same certificate, with no travel — which matters on a course running ten days.
Self-paced study with tutor support. The most flexible and usually the cheapest, but it demands more self-discipline than the tutor-led routes.
Structured home study with materials and tutor support. Common for the Diplomas, which are studied over many months.
NEBOSH syllabus topics
The subjects NEBOSH qualifications cover, with our free guidance on each.
Identifying hazards, evaluating risk and applying suitable control measures — and the basis of the NG2 practical assessment.
Falls from ladders, roofs and access equipment remain one of the leading causes of workplace fatalities in the UK.
Chemicals, dusts, vapours and fumes, and the COSHH assessments and controls that sit behind them.
Lifting, carrying and repetitive handling, and the musculoskeletal injuries that account for a large share of lost working days.
Prevention, evacuation planning and the responsible person’s duties — covered in depth by the Fire Certificate.
Duty holders, notification and the management of construction projects — central to the Construction Certificate.
Workplace stress, wellbeing and occupational health, and the employer duties that apply to health as well as safety.
What the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and its regulations require of employers, managers and individual employees.
Our full library of free workplace health and safety guidance, covering hazards, duties and practical controls.
NEBOSH course questions
Do NEBOSH qualifications expire?
No. NEBOSH certificates and diplomas carry no expiry date and there is no refresher requirement, unlike CITB Site Safety Plus certificates, which lapse after five years. Employers may still expect you to keep your knowledge current, but the qualification itself stands indefinitely.
How long does the General Certificate take?
Around ten days of taught content, usually delivered as two blocks of a week rather than ten consecutive days. Providers schedule those blocks around the examination dates NEBOSH sets centrally, so the full commitment from course start to result is normally two to three months.
The Construction Certificate is nine days. E-learning and distance learning routes are self-paced, but still tied to the same fixed examination dates. Durations for the specialist courses vary by provider, so check the individual course page.
Is NEBOSH the same as IOSH?
No — they are separate organisations. NEBOSH is an examination board offering longer, externally examined qualifications aimed at people building a career in health and safety. IOSH is the chartered membership body for health and safety professionals, and its courses are short, practical and aimed at people managing safety as part of a wider role. Many people do both, usually IOSH first.
Do I need a certificate before starting the Diploma?
Not formally, but it is strongly recommended and most providers expect it. The Diploma is a degree-level qualification and assumes the grounding the General Certificate provides. Going straight to the Diploma without it is possible but considerably harder.
What happens if I fail a unit?
You resit only the unit you did not pass rather than the whole qualification, at the next available examination sitting. Resits carry a separate fee, set by NEBOSH rather than the provider, and there is a time limit within which all units must be completed. Ask your provider what their resit support includes before booking — it varies considerably.
Does the NEBOSH Construction Certificate replace SMSTS?
No. They are different schemes serving different purposes. The Construction Certificate is a knowledge qualification with no expiry; SMSTS is the CITB Site Safety Plus course that most principal contractors name in their site requirements, valid five years. If a contract specifies SMSTS, a NEBOSH certificate will not satisfy it. Many site managers hold both.
How much does NEBOSH training cost?
It depends on the qualification, the format and the provider. E-learning is normally the cheapest option, classroom the most expensive because of venue and materials costs, with live online sitting between the two. Check whether the price quoted includes NEBOSH examination and registration fees, as some providers list these separately. For groups, on-site delivery is usually cheaper per head. Current prices for every date are shown on the course search.
Related training
IOSH Managing Safely
CITB courses
SMSTS
NVQ health & safety
Construction NVQ
Construction courses
CDM training
Fire safety training
Environmental training
Mental health & wellbeing
Health & safety guidance
Free health & safety tools
All health & safety courses
On-site group training
All NEBOSH courses listed here are delivered by independent accredited NEBOSH learning partners.