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CCNSG Safety Passport Course

The CCNSG Safety Passport is the recognised health and safety training scheme for workers in the engineering construction, industrial and process sectors. Accredited by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), the two-day course gives workers the safety knowledge needed to work on site, and results in a safety passport card that many contractors require before granting site access.

The scheme exists to raise health, safety and environmental awareness across the industry and to remove the need for repetitive site inductions. For employers, that means lower accident rates, fewer incident-related costs and less time lost inducting the same workers repeatedly.

Course Details

  • Duration: 2 days
  • Format: Classroom
  • Awarding body: ECITB
  • Assessment: Multiple-choice papers, 80% pass mark on each
  • Passport validity: 3 years, renewable by a 1-day course
  • Suitable for: Workers and contractors in engineering construction, industrial and process sectors
  • Prerequisites: None, but National Insurance number and photo ID are required
  • Cost: From £150.00 + VAT

Prices vary by provider and location. Use the course search below to compare dates and fees.

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What is the CCNSG Safety Passport?

The CCNSG Safety Passport is a nationally recognised site safety qualification accredited by the ECITB. It is issued as a card you carry on site, and demonstrates that the holder has completed baseline health and safety training covering the hazards common to engineering construction and industrial sites.

Many client companies and principal contractors require a valid passport before allowing anyone onto site. The training complements site-specific induction rather than replacing it — the passport covers the general knowledge, the induction covers the particular site.

The scheme was previously known as the SCATS card, and the two names still get used interchangeably on older paperwork.

What does CCNSG stand for?

CCNSG stands for the Client Contractor National Safety Group. It is the body behind the safety passport scheme, which is administered and accredited by the ECITB — the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board.

You will see it referred to as the CCNSG Safety Passport, the CCNSG card, the ECITB Safety Passport, or simply the safety passport card. They all mean the same thing.

Who needs a CCNSG Safety Passport?

The passport is aimed at anyone working on engineering construction, industrial or process sites:

  • Contractors and subcontractors working on client sites
  • Operatives in engineering construction, power generation, oil and gas, chemicals and process industries
  • Maintenance and shutdown workers
  • Anyone required by a client to hold a recognised safety passport before site access

In practice, most people take it because a client or principal contractor has made it a condition of working on their site. If you have been asked for a safety passport, this is almost certainly the one meant.

What does the CCNSG Safety Passport course cover?

By the end of the two days, delegates should be able to:

  • Explain health and safety law and permits to work
  • Outline safe working practices relating to scaffolding
  • Outline safe working practices for access and egress
  • Describe accident and first aid procedures
  • Explain fire precautions and procedures
  • Define COSHH and personal protective equipment
  • Explain the principles of manual handling
  • Outline noise procedures and practices
  • Define the regulations for work with cranes and heavy equipment
  • Outline excavation procedures and practices
How is the course assessed?

Assessment is by multiple-choice question papers at the end of the training. Delegates must achieve 80% on each paper to pass.

The course is designed to prepare you for the assessment, and there is no pre-course study or written assignment. What it does require is full attendance across both days.

When will I receive my safety passport?

You are issued a temporary passport at the end of the training, which can be used as evidence of your training for up to six weeks. The full ECITB safety passport card typically arrives within about three days.

That temporary passport matters if you need site access immediately — it means you are not waiting on the post before you can start work.

How long is the CCNSG Safety Passport valid?

Three years from the date of issue. To keep your card current you must complete the one-day CCNSG Safety Passport Renewal before the expiry date.

If the card expires you cannot take the renewal. You would have to retake the full two-day course instead, at the corresponding cost and time away from work. Note the expiry date when your card arrives, and diary the CCNSG renewal course a few months ahead of it rather than in the final weeks.

What do I need to bring?

There is no prior learning requirement, but delegates must have a good understanding of spoken and written English, since the assessment is completed in English.

You will need to bring:

  • Your National Insurance number
  • Photographic identification

Both are needed to register you with the ECITB and issue your safety passport card. Turning up without them is likely to mean you cannot complete the course.

CCNSG Safety Passport or SSSTS — which do I need?

They serve different purposes and different sectors. The CCNSG Safety Passport is a baseline site safety qualification for operatives and contractors, most commonly required on engineering construction and industrial sites. SSSTS, the Site Supervisor Safety Training Scheme, is a supervisory qualification for those with responsibility for others on construction sites, and is required by BuildUK.

If you work on site and need a passport for access, CCNSG is the one. If you supervise others in construction, SSSTS is the one. Some people hold both.

See our comparison of SSSTS and the CCNSG Safety Passport for more detail.

Progression after the Safety Passport

Holders of a current, valid CCNSG Safety Passport can go on to the one-day CCNSG Leading a Team Safely, which covers the additional responsibilities that come with leading a team on site. A valid passport is a prerequisite for that course.

Beyond the CCNSG scheme, common next steps include the SSSTS supervisor course for those moving into supervision, and IOSH Managing Safely or the NEBOSH General Certificate for those taking on wider health and safety responsibility.

Find a CCNSG Safety Passport course near me

CCNSG Safety Passport courses run at venues across the UK, with concentrations around the major engineering construction and process industry regions. If you are looking for a CCNSG course near you, find courses in your area:

Or compare all CCNSG Safety Passport courses in the UK.

Training more than one person on this course?

If you have a group to put through this course, it can be delivered at your own premises or a venue near you, on a date that suits your shift patterns. No travel, no overnight stays, and priced for the group rather than per person — which usually works out cheaper per head than booking individual places.

Tell us the numbers and roughly where you are, and we will come back with a written quote. Purchase orders and invoicing welcome.

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