How to renew a CSCS card

The renewal window

CSCS cards can only be renewed six months before, and up to a year after, the expiry date printed on the card. Individual cardholders renew in the My CSCS app; employers, training providers and third parties use CSCS Online.

Six months is a comfortable margin, and you will probably need it: the test pass, not the form, is what usually takes time.

Renewable or not? Card by card

From the CSCS renewal page:

For the PQP card, CSCS is blunt: applications to renew existing cards will be rejected, so start a new application instead. The non-renewable red cards exist so that you finish your apprenticeship or qualification and move to a skilled card before they run out.

Do I need to retake the CSCS test?

Usually, yes. For the five-year cards, CSCS asks for the appropriate CITB Health, safety and environment test passed within the last two years. Your card lasted five years, so the pass you used last time is out of date and you need a new one. The test level is the one for your occupation: Operatives for most blue and gold cards, a Specialist test for supervisors and some trades, MAP for managers. The card finder confirms it, and CSCS warns that scheme rules may have changed since you last applied.

Practical points from CITB when you rebook:

• The test costs £23.50 and is booked directly with CITB.
• If you fail, you cannot re-sit within 48 hours, and each new booking is paid again.
• If you took your first test with a CITB-provided interpreter, CITB covers that fee only once in a lifetime; for a renewal test the interpreter's fee is charged on top of the test fee.

Our CSCS test revision guide and booking guide cover the rest.

SOLAS Safe Pass holders: a Safe Pass is accepted in place of the Operatives or Specialist test (not Supervisor or MAP) if it was completed within two years of the application. The CSCS renewal page accepts a Safe Pass passed within the last three years for renewing a five-year Labourer card; if you rely on an older Safe Pass, check what the app accepts before you apply.

Renewing a Labourer (green) card

The Labourer card has its own rules, introduced on 1 February 2025 (CSCS Labourer card page):

• First card: valid for two years.
• Renewing the first card: you must still be in a labouring role, shown by a completed Labourer card renewal declaration form filled in by your employer (or the main contractor if you are self-employed), or a letter on company headed paper. For this renewal only, the HS&E test used for your first application is accepted for three years, so you may not need a new test.
• Renewing a later Labourer card, or a card you held before February 2025: you need evidence that you work as a labourer and a HS&E test pass from the last two years.
• Expired by more than a year: you have to go through an appeal with evidence of labouring work.

Two CSCS pages disagree on the length of the renewed card: the Labourer card page says it is renewed for a further five years, while the general renewal page says a further three years. The app will show what you are being issued; the requirements above are the same either way.

Check your health and safety course too. The Level 1 Award in Health and Safety in a Construction Environment has lifetime validity, but the alternative courses expire and can only be used once. A five-year alternative must have been completed within four years of the application, and the IOSH course must still be inside its three-year validity. If yours has run out, you need a new course, or the Level 1 Award.

When renewal is the wrong move

If you have changed role or gained a new qualification, CSCS says you may need to apply for a new card rather than renew. A labourer who has started an NVQ, for example, should move to the card for that trade; our CSCS card types guide shows where each qualification leads. Industry Accreditation cards issued from 1 January 2020 expired on 31 December 2024 and cannot be renewed using IA.

Some occupations also need a copy of the qualification certificate before a renewal goes through; CSCS will contact you if it needs one.

What renewal costs

CSCS quotes one card price: £36, or free for the Apprentice card. It does not publish a separate renewal price on the pages we read. Add £23.50 if you need a new test pass, and the cost of any course you have to redo. CSCS says the only official places to apply are CSCS Online and the My CSCS app, and that third parties often add admin fees.

Lost or damaged card?

A lost, stolen or damaged card is replaced through My CSCS or CSCS Online. That is a replacement, not a renewal: it costs £36 and the new card carries the expiry date printed on the original one.

If your renewal needs a fresh pass, our free CSCS practice test is a quick way to see which areas have slipped since you last sat it, from working environment to specialist activities. Our questions are original; passmock is independent and not connected with CSCS or CITB.

Sources

• Renew or replace a CSCS card — CSCS (checked October 3, 2026)
• Labourer card — CSCS (checked October 3, 2026)
• Professionally Qualified Person card — CSCS (checked October 3, 2026)
• Blue Skilled Worker card — CSCS (checked October 3, 2026)
• Applying for CSCS cards — CSCS (checked October 3, 2026)
• CSCS FAQs — CSCS (checked October 3, 2026)
• Alternatives to the CITB Health, safety & environment test — CSCS (checked October 3, 2026)
• About the Health, safety and environment (HS&E) test — CITB (checked October 3, 2026)
• Replacing a CSCS card — CSCS (checked October 3, 2026)
• The 'CSCS test', everything you need to know — CSCS (checked October 3, 2026)
• CITB Testing Services, test booking terms and conditions (April 2026) — CITB (checked October 3, 2026)

The Health, safety and environment (HS&E) test is owned and run by CITB. CSCS is the Construction Skills Certification Scheme. passmock is an independent practice service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by CITB, CSCS or Pearson VUE. Our questions are original and are not taken from the CITB question bank.